NARRATOR: There are 118 islands in French Polynesia.
There's Bora-Bora, Rangiroa, Moorea,
and of course, the most famous of all, Tahiti.
The great surfers have all made this long trek across Tahiti.
Most often they are hosted by the legendary
Tahitian surfer Raimana Van Bastolaer.
VAN BASTOLAER: My guest is Kelly Slater, a nine-time world champion.
Most people regard him as being the greatest surfer ever.
(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
NARRATOR: On the far side of the island of Tahiti, near the village of Teahupo'o,
there is perhaps the most dangerous wave on Earth.
Surfers call it "the demonic wave."
Hey.
KID: Hello. Hey.
VAN BASTOLAER: I try to get the surfers here at just the right time
when the waves are expected to get big and gnarly.
NARRATOR: It is Raimana that advises his guests
when to come to Tahiti and surf the famous wave at Teahupo'o.
VAN BASTOLAER: It's a wave that's hard to predict
because there are so many complex factors.
Wind, tides and distant storms.
It will come when it's good and ready.
NARRATOR: Ocean waves are echoes of the ebb and flow of vast energies
moving through the solar system.
Gravity's invisible hand reaches out across empty space
to shape the oscillating dance of the planets and their fluids.
The spin of the Earth and its tug of war with the moon and sun
help shape the planet's currents and tides.
But it is the sun's radiant gaze
that imparts the greatest energy.
Light's uneven heating induces the atmosphere and oceans
to perform a chaotic ballet.
Currents of hot and cold chase an impossible equilibrium.
A zone of low pressure can draw in air
from thousands of miles around,
generating winds of enormous power.
(WHIMPERS)
VAN BASTOLAER: When Kelly comes to Tahiti, the whole village comes out.
We have a big group of friends and everybody is invited.
Good surfers or bad, nobody gets left out.
That's what I love about surfing.
It's an honor to have so many great surfers come visit us,
guys like Shano and my old friend Kelly.
SLATER: I often come here to tune up between competition,
and I like to hang out with Raimana.
We call him the mayor of Teahupo'o.
He takes personal responsibility
for everything, including the weather.
His goal is to make everyone on Earth happy all of the time.
The waves are perfect today.
Are you kidding me? (BOTH LAUGHING)
Check that, it's the worst wind we're having here.
SLATER: We need some swell.
We need something big.
It's going to come, you know, but, I don't know, maybe...
How do you say? The sun... No, the moon, full moon,
we got to wait for full moon, too. You know?
Right now, this morning, on the way back...
VAN BASTOLAER: Sometimes when the waves don't show up,
you have to pretend you know more than you do,
and just keep everyone busy.
We better get some big waves, you know?
(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
(LAUGHING)
(EXCLAIMING)
(ALL LAUGHING)
Come on!
(YELLING)
(LAUGHING)
Whoo!
NARRATOR: The big Tahitian waves can pin surfers down until they drown.
Raimana insists his guests are well prepared both physically and mentally.
SLATER: Raimana pretends he is not the least bit competitive,
but he would rather drown than come up for air before me.
NARRATOR: Perhaps a demonic wave is by definition unpredictable.
On rare occasions, the surf at Teahupo'o can be as gentle as a kitten.
VAN BASTOLAER: When the waves are still small,
all the little ones in the village
know it's their turn to go surfing.
And it's time for me to get some lessons
from Fa'arua, my neighbor's kid.
(MEN LAUGHING)
SLATER'. Raimana would probably tell you
that surfing is not something that can be taught.
Well, there may not be teaching going on around Raimana,
but there's clearly a lot of learning.
(GRUNTING)
(EXCLAIMS)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
Raimana has the surfing talent to be a champion,
or at least when he was young and skinny,
but he wouldn't compromise his family,
not for a moment, not for a second.
Whoo! (WHOOPING)
Oh.
(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
It's beautiful, huh? WOMAN: Yeah.
SLATER'. But Raimana can get pretty restless waiting on the waves.
In Tahitian culture, there are dozens of gods
that influence the waves and the weather.
We rely on his expertise.
(RHYTHMIC DRUMMING)
NARRATOR: The island of Tahiti and those nearby were born out of the deep.
Upwelling of a hot mantle plume from Earth's interior
promoted melting of rock under the oceanic crust
and the migration of magma toward the surface.
Over several million years, as the Pacific plate drifted over the hot spot,
a chain of volcanoes was formed.
Depositing blankets of lava and debris,
the volcanoes rose more than 10,000 feet
from the seabed to the ocean surface,
and built great fiery mounds that would erode into mountainous islands.
All that now live on these islands arrived from elsewhere,
drifting, swimming or flying above the ocean currents.
Plants, birds, fish, insects and humans
gradually turned the black, sterile volcanic rock into a Garden of Eden.
Early explorers reported smelling the flowers of Tahiti
long before their sailing ships appeared over the distant horizon.
VAN BASTOLAER: Our people came to the islands from across the Pacific
1,000 years ago in small canoes.
They must have had extraordinary courage.
Legend has it an ancient warrior named Pai
threw his spear into the mountain peak on the island of Moorea.
It must be true, because you can see
the hole in the rock to this day.
NARRATOR: Coral reefs eventually formed around the volcanic islands,
growing thicker and sinking deeper, creating formidable barriers,
but at the same time,
protecting island beaches from the relentless pounding of the sea.
Deep-sea currents push cold, nutrient-rich water up the flank of the island.
Pounding waves and surge help pump dissolved gases and nutrients
through the coral gardens,
creating a density and diversity of life otherwise impossible
in the warm, nutrient-poor waters of the South Pacific.
SLATER". I love coming to Tahiti
because its reefs are still healthy and filled with life.
But the ocean is both warming and absorbing CO2, becoming acidic.
Sooner or later, if we aren't careful,
we will destroy the reef and all that goes with it.
The fish, the people and the islands themselves.
I've seen reefs damaged all over the world.
NARRATOR: This world of light, energy and life
is made possible only as a result
of the volcanoes that formed these islands.
Without them, these islands would be 10,000 feet deeper,
near freezing, and locked in perpetual darkness.
Here in the vast wilderness of the South Pacific
is an oasis of extraordinary life,
a world of vibrant beauty that has already vanished from much of the planet.
Yet here the reefs still sustain
and inspire the people of Tahiti,
and enchant visitors from around the world
who come to dive, snorkel and surf.
The diversity of life in this place is tied to the corals.
They provide habitat and nourishment
to both the smallest creatures and the greatest hunters.
SLATER'. People worry a lot about sharks,
but I don't give them too much thought,
unless you were to fall on the reef and are bleeding in the water,
that's not good.
You should probably get out of the water pretty fast.
(GRUNTS)
Raimana loves the paddleboard.
He can stand up and see the waves coming,
and of course, Tahitians are the world's greatest paddlers.
(GASPS)
VAN BASTOLAER: When the wind is north-northeast
and the waves get at least three feet and building,
then it's time to go surfing and everybody knows it.
(YELLS)
(PANTING)
(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
(WHOOPING)
VAN BASTOLAER: People ask me what makes Kelly so good.
I think he just loves surfing more than anyone else.
He never takes his eyes off the waves,
always studying and thinking about how he can be better.
(GRUNTING)
(WAVES CRASHING)
VAN BASTOLAER: Our culture is all about the sea.
Terrible storms and typhoons have killed many people,
and their spirits seem to be with us all the time.
We have great respect and fear of the power of the ocean.
Sooner or later, all the villages have felt the anger of Ruahatu,
the evil god of the sea.
NARRATOR: Over the centuries,
countless ships and their crews have been driven to their doom
on the shallow reefs of these volcanic islands,
victims of the storms and typhoons of the South Pacific.
On the sea surface, wavelets form, shaped by turbulent air.
The water itself moves little,
but its motion will transfer energy over great distance.
Small waves collide,
sometimes canceling, and sometimes reinforcing each other
as they organize into larger waves
to carry the energy they have absorbed.
The roughened sea surface increases drag
and promotes more interaction with the moving air,
resulting in larger waves.
Bigger waves offer more surface to the wind.
Growth becomes exponential.
Storm winds transfer vast amounts of energy into the ocean.
Wave energy can reach hundreds of feet below the surface
and travel around the planet before colliding with land.
When the swells reach Teahupo'o,
local winds and weather will help shape their final form,
delivering sculptural perfection or fluid chaos.
SLATER". Teahupo'o is unusually shallow,
so you should try to avoid falling altogether,
but at the same time,
you have to prepare yourself mentally to get dragged over the reef.
It's the most dangerous wave we surf.
NARRATOR: At its peak, the lip of the barrel at Teahupo'o
will heave some 20 tons of water
over the head of a brave surfer.
VAN BASTOLAER: If the wind is coming from the wrong direction,
it can make the surface of the water very bumpy.
It's more about surviving than surfing.
When it's too big to paddle, you have to tow the surfer out.
I only tow out the very best
because anyone else is going to get hurt for sure.
(LAUGHS)
That was a good one.
(ENGINE WHIRRING)
VAN BASTOLAER: So then I had to...
I didn't go to the doctor. I was walking by myself
on the black sand that I have by my house,
swimming by myself, and every day after that day...
How long? How long were you out of the water?
Maybe easy, like, two weeks, easy out of the water.
Two weeks? Yeah.
That's like a scrape, that's nothing.
But, for me, it's... (LAUGHING)
That's like stitches.
What do you mean? Come on, man.
You've surfed Teahupo'o, like, 40 feet.
SLATER: I waited about a month or two to get the surgery,
and right before my surgery, I tore my knee.
I tore some tendons in my knee and in my ankle.
And by the time I was recovered from my hip surgery,
I couldn't surf 'cause of my knee and my ankle still.
So that was like two months or something out of the water,
two and a half months maybe.
VAN BASTOLAER: The wave at Teahupo'o is thick and heavy
and the reef is very shallow.
You can easily get smashed onto the reef.
I have lost friends, all of us have.
There are times when you think it's not worth it.
(BELL TOLLING)
SLATER". Catching a wave at Teahupo'o
is a combination of that total euphoria and that ultimate fear.
You are never as real as when you might die.
(MAN SHOUTING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)
NARRATOR: For 1,000 years, Polynesians have struggled to comprehend
and even influence the mysterious
and deadly forces of the ocean.
The great waves are at the center
of Tahitian religion and culture,
bringing forth good fortune, exhilaration,
and sometimes disaster.
In the wake of the storm, faster waves outrun slower ones.
The waves become organized into sets.
Local winds, currents and tides
play their part in shaping the arriving swell.
The sea bottom plays the most critical role.
A gentle slope produces gently breaking waves.
A sudden shallow can produce a plunging breaker.
A shifting sandbar or a coral reef, a seamount or a rocky outcrop,
each has the potential to shape surf able waves.
Like a lens, the shape of the bottom
can focus or diffuse the energy of the wave,
change its course, or stop it altogether.
At Teahupo'o, a sudden shelf and shallow reef
compress the arriving wave energy,
dramatically increasing wave height.
As the wave slows, its crest continues to sweep forward,
generating a great cathedral-like barrel
that breaks across the reef with perfect symmetry.
For many surfers, it's the ultimate wave.
(GASPING)
VAN BASTOLAER: The best waves are not too small or too big,
and the wind has to come from the front.
SLATER". The thing that makes surfing so unique
is that every single wave is different.
The next wave could be the worst wave
or it could be the best ride of your life, the ultimate wave.
You just don't know unless you're on it.
(WHOOPS)
(LAUGHS)
NARRATOR: All the great surfers have made the long pilgrimage
to the distant shores of Tahiti.
But only a few are lucky enough
to surf the great wave at Teahupo'o
when the conditions are just right,
and lucky enough to confront the demons and walk away.
VAN BASTOLAER: My friend, Fa'arua, is a little too wild for his own good,
but he has the competitive spirit, too.
You see that in the great surfers.
After the waves calm down, Kelly gets restless.
You can see it coming,
and he has to be on the move again.
(SINGING FOLK SONG)
VAN BASTOLAER: Kelly was once the youngest world champion,
and now he is the oldest.
He has nine championships, the best ever.
I tease him that enough is enough,
time to just relax.
But he's always off to find another wave on the far side of the world.
I don't care for the competition much.
I think if you're connected with the right spirits,
then you don't need to chase after the waves.
If you are patient, the perfect wave will come to you.
(WHALE HUMMING)
(FOLK SONG PLAYING)