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.
My guest is Kelly Slater,
a nine-time world champion.
Most people regard him
as being the greatest
surfer ever.
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.
Hello.
Hey.
I try to
get the surfers here
at just the right time
when the waves are
expected to get big
and gnarly.
It is Raimana
that advises his guests
when to come to Tahiti
and surf the famous wave
at Teahupo'o.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Check that,
it's the worst wind
we're having here.
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...
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?
Come on!
Whoo!
The big Tahitian
waves can pin surfers down
until they drown.
Raimana insists his guests
are well prepared
both physically and mentally.
Raimana pretends
he is not the least
bit competitive,
but he would rather drown
than come up for air
before me.
Perhaps
a demonic wave is
by definition unpredictable.
on rare occasions,
the surf at Teahupo'o can
be as gentle as a kitten.
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.
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.
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.
Oh.
It's beautiful, huh?
Yeah.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Raimana loves
the paddleboard.
He can stand up and
see the waves coming,
and of course,
Tahitians are the world's
greatest paddlers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
That was a good one.
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.
That's like stitches.
What do you mean?
Come on, man.
You've surfed Teahupo'o,
like, 40 feet.
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.
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.
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.
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 surfable 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.
The best waves are not
too small or too big,
and the wind has to
come from the front.
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.
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.
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.
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.