The Big Juice: Epic Tales of Big Wave Surfing
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Normally before a Belharra session we would prepare for three or four days, getting pumped up and gathering all the gear and the various teams. But this time we hadn't done any of that. No preparation at all. When I woke up that morning I was still planning on going to Spain and never thought I'd be surfing Belharra. An hour later we launched at St. Jean de Luz-four surfers with two skis. Despite our lack of planning, we were very mellow, very calm. A photographer showed up at the last moment and asked if he could tag along. I said there was no room, but my friend on the other ski said, "I'll take you." And so he did.
We motored the 3 kilometers out to the break, took one look at the wave, and knew immediately that we should have been there right at dawn because it was so giant and the tide was so high. As it was, only the biggest sets would break, and they were very bumpy. We started cautiously, way out on the shoulder, slowly putting ourselves deeper and deeper as we got used to such wild seas; it was not a perfect day.
Then this big set starts rolling toward us, and I told my partner to tow me deeper than before, right into the pit. This clearly was one of the biggest sets of the day, and in such difficult conditions, I couldn't lose focus. I knew this was a once -in- a-lifetime situation, and I wanted to be completely present, in the moment. As I shot across the ocean I entered a kind of emptiness. And within this emptiness there were no thoughts and no feelings. I started surrendering, letting myself be guided by the wave itself. I let go mentally-and let go of the rope.
I don't remember much of the experience. The ride was very tight, and I came around the lip at the very bottom of the wave. But I had little idea or appreciation for the actual size of this wave, not until later, when I saw the photographs. But you can't measure such an experience in feet or in meters alone. The truth and the feeling come at the end of the day, and they can last for weeks sometimes. And on this day my body was vibrating at a higher level, and I had a strange time adjusting to the new vibration. Once there, it took a day or two to come all the way back down. During that time I could only talk to my friends, the few who might understand, who had joined me out at Belharra. We experienced a great adventure and forged a bond, a rapportborn of shared and sacred moments-otherwise impossible with my very brother.
It is very intense, riding big Belharra, miles offshore, the mountains of Spain towering in the background, the mountains of water rising before us. And the terrible power of the sea. There is also the aura of the Basque country and the Basque people, the fishing people. These are very strong folk, full of nerve and vigor. Over the centuries, many have perished in their boats, wrecked on the distant reef. And so all of these elements make the Basque Belharra an uncanny and powerful place, a mystical place. When we first went out there to challenge the great waves, the fishermen thought we were crazy. But in another sense they were happy because a tradition of fear surrounds Belharra, and like so many before us, we passed straight through that into something beyond. When we returned to shore after that great day we visited the bar where the fishermen go. It was just us and the Basque fishermen sharing a moment, sharing our experiences, the old culture of fishing mixed with the new culture of surfing, now drawn together by the timeless sea itself. That conversation, that place, that day, that wave-here were the gifts of the sea that make a life.
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We would also like to acknowledge the following writers and surfers for their contributions: Shane Dorian, Mark Healey, Dave Wassell, Greg Noll, Maya Gabeira, Mike Parsons, Greg Long, and Vincent Lartizen.
Also thanks to editor Gregory Hyman. Big Juice took about fifty different forms according to what we could and could not get cleared, and Greg rolled smoothly with all the changes. If he ever cussed-and we gave him good reason to-it was entirely under his breath. Lastly, special thanks to Jessica Haberman, who essentially produced Big Juice and wrangled, month after month, everything from photo editing to tracking down permissions from writers holed up in Haiti and the jungles of Thailand. We have a hell of a book to show for her efforts.
John Long's award-winning short stories have been widely anthologized and translated into many languages. His booksranging from literary fiction to instructional manuals-have sold more than two-million copies. He has written big budget feature films and Emmy and Monitor (international) award-winning TV shows, but his first interest has always been books. His large format book, The Stonemasters, won the Grand Prize at the Banff Film and Book Festival, widely considered the most prestigious outdoor-oriented literary award in the world. Several of Long's large format books are in the Museum of Modern Art. He lives in Venice Beach, California.
Sam George is one of the world's leading authorities on the sport of surfing. A former professional competitor, world traveler, editor of Surfer and Surfing magazines, and author (Surfing: A Way of Life, The Perfect Day, SURFER at 50), Sam has also written and/ or directed a number of award-winning documentaries, including Riding Giants, The Lost Wave: An African Surf Story, and Hollywood Don't Surf. He lives in Malibu, California.
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