Photo: ©Ed Grant grantsgraphics.com
This is a story about the history of Maverick’s, and the surfers who ride the giant waves.  This special eight part series focuses on how the wave was discovered, and features contributions from some of the world’s greatest surfers sharing their experiences surfing Maverick’s and what they do when they’re not riding one of the world’s biggest waves.  Every Wednesday surfers including Kelly Slater, Greg Long, Jeff Clark, Tom Curren, Grant “Twiggy” Baker, Peter Mel, Matt Ambrose, Ryan Seelbach and Grant Washburn will provide detailed insights into one of the biggest waves in the world, and what these surfers do when they’re not busy chasing some of the ocean’s most powerful waves.

Click here for Maverick’s Untamed Part 1.

Click here for Maverick’s Untamed Part 2.

Click here for Maverick's Untamed Part 3.

Click here for Maverick's Untamed Part 4.

Click here for Maverick's Untamed Part 5.

Click here for Maverick's Untamed Part 6.

Matt Ambrose emphasized what it takes to surf big waves.  “I will say this because I’ve been wanting to say this for a long time.  People say you need to train with other people to prepare for surfing big waves.   Basically, every guy who is a big wave surfer just goes and tries it,” said Ambrose.  “You get to a certain point where you surf a lot, and you want to surf bigger waves and you eventually want to surf the biggest wave, and you want to know if you’ll survive it.  I don’t think you need to train to surf big waves, but you need to surf.

“I don’t think you need to sit in a room and hold your breath and that kind of stuff.  Kind of like Greg Long and those guys that go chase big waves.  That’s what it’s all about,” said Ambrose, paying Long a huge compliment.  “I would be proud if there was some guy younger than me that just got out there and tried it, instead of just talking about it and wanting someone to hold their hand.  Everyone’s like, ‘You ‘ve got to train.’  Why?  It’s a big, giant a-frame that breaks out in the middle of the ocean, and that’s where you take off.  If you don’t know that, you’re retarded and you shouldn’t be surfing it.”

Santa Cruz surfer Peter Mel, who was recently crowned the Big Wave World Tour Champion, is another Maverick’s veteran who shared his expertise on charging big waves.  “We don't get to surf big waves every day.  You can't just go down to your local beach and practice surfing 30-foot waves,” said Mel.  “This year especially is a prime example of a year that wasn't that great for big surf here in the Pacific.  We only had three or four days where we actually got to paddle Mavericks this year.  We didn't have the event, so it was kind of a bummer.

“With age, you get to pack those sessions in, and have that wisdom.  I've had 20 years of big wave surfing (experience), which is probably 40 sessions, maybe 50 sessions total that I got to do,” continued Mel.  “I'm as physically fit as I've been in a long time, so I want to keep competing in the big wave stuff, and I'm staying focused with my surfing, by surfing in these other events, as well as watching and learning.”

“Dick Keating was my mentor.  And Shawn Rhodes.  And Jim Kibblewhite.  These guys were all older than me, and all three of them were my mentor,” added Ambrose.  “No one was going with you though.  Everyone was doing their own thing.  There was no way to ease our way out there.”

Click here for Maverick's Untamed Part 8.