1:12:02
... and legendary
North Shore lifeguard...
1:12:04
... and Waimea Bay rider
Darrick Doerner...
1:12:06
...launched the surf
at Sunset Beach...
1:12:08
... in a 16-foot inflatable Zodiac.
1:12:12
Neither of the three could've imagined
that by the time they got back...
1:12:16
... big-wave surfing
would be changed forever.
1:12:52
They weren't riding waves
that were significantly bigger...
1:12:55
...than guys had ridden. It was
how they were surfing the wave.
1:12:59
This radical new approach
of being whipped into a wave...
1:13:02
... came to be called "tow-in surfing."
1:13:04
You get the slingshot from
the tow rope, you let go...
1:13:07
...and there you are, on this beautiful
wave with no one anywhere near you...
1:13:11
...on this big, giant board,
there's no crowd there.
1:13:15
Bingo.
1:13:19
Progress came quick, as the trio
swapped the clumsy inflatable...
1:13:23
... for the faster
and more agile Jet Ski.
1:13:27
With the Jet Ski, you can catch waves
and not even get your hair wet.
1:13:32
Back in 1987, North Shore veteran
Herbie Fletcher...
1:13:35
... who for years had been exploring
the outer reefs on a Jet Ski...
1:13:38
... towed pro-surfer Martin Potter
into a wave at second-reef Pipeline.
1:13:44
An innovative idea that, surprisingly,
failed to inspire others...
1:13:48
...until five years later, when
Hamilton, Kerbox and Doerner...
1:13:51
... revealed tow-in surfing's
true potential.
1:13:56
In traditional big-wave surfing,
the boards were very large.