Reel Rundown: ‘100 Foot Wave’ shows lasting lure of big waters as surfers age
When the HBO series “100 Foot Wave” premiered on HBO in the summer of 2021, it thrilled anyone who has ever surfed – or even been near the ocean when big waves hit the beach.
What is especially impressive is how the series captures the giant waves that strike the coast of Portugal, especially during the winter months at the town of Nazaré. And no one is more central to the type of surfing craze that has hit Nazaré than a man named Garrett McNamara.
If that name sounds familiar, it may be because McNamara is the guy who on Nov. 11, 2011, broke the Guinness World Record for biggest wave ever surfed by riding a 78-foot wave at Nazaré. (The record is now held by German surfer Sebastian Staurdtner, who rode an 86-foot wave at Nazaré on Oct. 29, 2020.)
For three seasons now, the documentary filmmaker Chris Smith has followed McNamara and a core of other big-wave surfers as they have traveled the world to ride the giant towers of water in places such as the North Shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, the California coastal beach known as Mavericks and, of course, Nazaré.
Gradually, if inexorably, the focus has drifted away from Nazaré. But it remains rooted to McNamara and his ever-evolving life story.
Season 3, the first chapter of which was released on May 1, was filmed in 2022-23. And by this time, it’s clear that McNamara is past his prime. Not only is he in his 50s and feeling the wear that past accidents have had on him but he’s feeling the pull of family obligations.
Yet he still feels the lure of big water. And like so many aging athletes, he believes he has one last adventure in him. For McNamara, there’s got to be one last wave to ride. And, he hopes, it will be the biggest wave ever – the mythical 100-footer of the series title.
As has been the case of the entire series, McNamara isn’t the only one with a storyline. Several of the other surfers who have been featured over the course of the three seasons have their own tales for director Smith to tell. Some, like the England-born Andrew “Cotty” Cotton, are intrinsically linked to McNamara. And Cotton, in particular, feels the weight of that pressure.
Others, like the French surfer Justine Dupont, follow their own paths. In Season 3, Dupont’s pursuit of her surfing career is played out against her friendship with the Brazilian surfer Lucas Chumbo and her desire to put her career on hold so she can have a baby.
Season 3 also introduces us to new surfing sites and contests as well as new characters. Chapter III follows McNamara, Cotton, Dupont, Chumbo and others as they motor 100 miles west of San Diego to surf the open-water waves of Cortes Bank.
In Chapter IV, Smith’s cameras capture the action of the 2023 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, a contest that is held irregularly at Waimea Bay on Oahu’s North Shore. Much of the drama involves the efforts of lifeguard Luke Shepardson to do his lifeguarding duties while competing in the contest during his breaks.
Yet the action always returns to McNamara, whose wife Nicole has to be what my own wife likes to call the “Field of Dreams wife.” This means that no matter how tough her husband’s absences are on her and their children, she always – at least on camera – supports his desires to surf.
To get away from the pressures that confront them in Hawaii, the McNamaras in Chapter V move to a small village in Italy. And there McNamara himself tries to relax, enjoying the mountainous landscape, the small-town life and time with Nicole and their children.
But when he receives a call telling him about big waves off the coast of Morocco, he is tempted to return – especially when he gets the chance to spend time with his son Titus from his first marriage. What occurs then provides the perfect set-up for Season 4, which HBO already has approved.
This is good news for those of us who thrill at the sight of big waves, not to mention those of us who are curious to discover whether Garrett McNamara will ever finally feel fulfilled.