BOOKS & CULTURE // No Man Is An Island

100-Foot Wave

HBO, 2021
Documentary series, three seasons

EXCERPT //

Narazé, Portugal — There is nothing like the power of the ocean to remind you that you’re a vulnerable ragdoll at the whim of the universe. If you’ve ever been violently rolled by a three-foot wave at the Jersey Shore, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would become a big-wave surfer, routinely putting themselves in front of potentially body-crushing, four-story water walls. But they do—and they travel the world looking for the perfect swell, the perfect barrel, that one moment of bliss where they’re one with the ocean. Garrett McNamara is one such surfer, and as he looks at 50, he wants more—he wants to surf a 100-foot wave. Believing that he’ll find his white whale on the unfathomably dangerous shores of Narazé, Portugal, he sets out not only to ride the biggest waves of his life, but to prove to the entire surfing community that Nazaré should be a big-wave mecca—and that he’s still a champion surfer. It’s unclear at moments whether his quest is enlightenment or just another form of ego-drunk addiction. In either case, his siren song lures in fellow travelers from around the world, all of whom must conquer their considerable and justified fear in order to experience moments of rapture. Local politics, surfer beefs, and family dynamics play throughout the (so-far) three-season documentary, which sometimes wades away from higher-minded philosophical questions into reality-TV-like waters, but it’s worth watching to remember just how beautiful—and dangerous—a dream can be. //

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