Riding Giants
Wednesday, December 27th, 2006
Whenever a surf movie is on TV, Mrs. Smithers and I can’t help but watch it.
I have been fascinated with surfing ever since I went to Hawaii with my family in 1999. I attempted to do some body surfing while I was there and it was a terrifying experience. Growing up in Minnesota does not set one up to be able to handle six foot ocean swells. But I could sit for hours and watch those who knew what they were doing ride those waves just as easy and natural as I ride a bike.
I don’t think there is another sport where a person can interact with the power of nature in the same way as you can while surfing. The only thing that might come close is wind-surfing or sailing, but surfing seems to be in a totally different league. The wind can take you away from trouble, a wave may only get you deeper into trouble.
So we sat and watched Riding Giants last Monday evening. If you have the chance to see it I highly recommend it. The film deals specifically with big wave riders, who they are and what motivates them to do what they do. Two of the most interesting backgrounds detailed are Jeff Clark and Laird Hamilton.
Clark began surfing Half Moon Bay California in 1967. He discovered the waves of Maverick’s in 1975 and, due to the fact that he could convince no one else to try them, surfed Maverick’s alone for 15 years until it was “discovered” by the surf media in 1990.
Hamilton is a well known name in surfing but I had no knowledge of his past. Born in 1964 Hamilton moved to Hawaii with his mother when he was two years old. He was adopted by Billy Hamilton, a world class surfer and board builder, and spent his youth surrounded by the surfing legends of the North Shore of Oahu. It was only natural that Hamilton would turn out to be the greatest big wave surfer in the history of the sport.
Numerous times during the movie I could only sit and shake my head at what these guys attempt to do. Some might say they are just adrenaline junkies or they have some kind of sick death wish. But at the end of the film I was left with the realization that they do what they do because it’s just part of who they are. When they can’t ride they are despondent, angry and depressed. Surfing makes them a whole person, they simply have to do it.
I think a lot of us involved in sport, or what ever past time or activity drives us, can easily understand that reality.
