Garrett "G-Mac" McNamara

Surfing is the cutting edge sport. ----------------------- Extreme surfing is the cutting edge of surfing


Garrett McNamara is a citizen of the world. He walks the land as an ordinary man, but what he does in the ocean is anything but ordinary. At a time when big-wave riding has reached new heights of popularity, a number of surfers have stepped to the front. None of them can surpass McNamara's combination of talent, courage and thirst for the unknown. Over the past five years, McNamara has been on a mission to catch the biggest, best waves on the planet, and he has succeeded mightily.
It's a tricky business, trying to predict the exact time, location and weather patterns of the most surfable swells. Whether it's Tahiti, South America, the freezing waters of Northern California or the tropical paradise of his native Hawaii, McNamara has shown an uncanny ability to be at the right place at the right time.

The Tahitian spot known as Teahupo'o has surpassed all others, as the heaviest shallow water spot in the world. McNamara has surfed some of the biggest, hollow tubes, ridden there. Oahu's North Shore is his daily playground, featuring some of the most attractive outer reefs in the realm of tow-in surfing. Peahi; the fabled "Jaws" on Maui, is the new epicenter for giant surf. McNamara's epic ride in 2003 remains the best successfully ridden barrel there. He always has an eye on Cortes
Bank, the rarely ridden break some 100 miles off of the coast of California, Garrett and his partner Kealii Mamala pioneered the new monster wave 50 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara (Shark Park). It was typical of McNamara's sense of timing that he rode Sandy Beach, on the east side of Oahu, during a shockingly big swell in the summer of 2004. Known for its six-foot, neck snapping beach breaks, the area came alive with wave faces up to 35 feet - and there was McNamara .He and his partner were riding the place alone. McNamara wasn't brought up in big surf. He didn't surf at all until he was 12 years old, moving from Massachusetts to Northern California in his youth.

Raised by a single mother, Garrett and his brother, Liam, were self-described "skateboarding freaks" in the melting pot culture of Berkeley, during the Dog Town era. When the family moved to Hawaii in 1978, Garrett was the only haole kid in his class at Waialua elementary school on the island of Oahu. Coming from a rough urban environment, he fit in quickly. There were a number of"future-great" surfers around Waialua at that time. As a surfing late bloomer, McNamara never dreaming of becoming a pro surfer, as he struggled through the waves of Haleiwa in his early teens. Just up the road, world class surfing was taking place daily at Pipeline and Sunset, "while my friends and I were going straight on the whitewater," he said. "The Sunset crew would come down to Haleiwa and surf circles around us."

In the meantime, Liam, his younger brother, was set on a career in baseball. Little did anyone know that by the mid 1990's, Liam would be one of the best surfers ever at Pipeline, invariably catching that one epic wave every one waits for. Liam became the first star of the family, focusing 110 % on Pipeline and Rockies, the two most photographed spots in the world. Garrett's love for Waimea, Sunset and other distant reefs kept him out of sight out of mind. Although the days Garrett ventured to Pipeline, he blew minds with his fearless backside attack. His performance in local contests qualified him as a professional surfer, but there wasn't much money for surfers back then. McNamara has always surfed for the love of it.

The end result was an invitation to the Eddie Aikau contest; surfing's most prestigious event. "That's the greatest honor, my dream, surfing Waimea with a few friends for Eddie". Waimea was his proving ground, and his first love as far as waves go. It's where he lives also. He has always trained there, jumping off the rocks, diving the caves, and running with rocks underwater. "Its where my ashes will rest in peace at the end." McNamara's charging spirit was so far ahead of surfing's mainstream, not many could relate.

Garrett's favorite style of training is surfing Sunset and Pipe with no leash, and usually with an over sized, hard-to-ride board. The horrendous wipe outs never seem to bother him, and he loves the incredible training those long swims to the beach while wave after wave pound on his head give him. 

McNamara became interested in tow-surfing the moment it started in the early 1990's, and it is now the sport he lives for. When the inaugural World Cup of Tow Surfing went off at Jaws in 2002 it offered the biggest surf and the largest first place prize in the history of competition.  McNamara won the contest and established his place in the tow-in world.  That summer he towed Teahupo'o in Tahiti for the first time. The waves he rode there seemed to received even more publicity then Bin Laden. The world now knew Garrett McNamara. In the Jaws Tow-In World Cup Expression Session the following year, he took first place again, proving it wasn't a fluke. Most surfers, even the great ones, have a size limit of some kind, McNamara seems to have no fear..

In an era when surfers seek out the mythical 100-foot wave, McNamara says, "I'm not interested in a 100-foot wave. I have a wife and 2 kids, it has to be at least a 120' so there are no doubts about it."  McNamara is known for taking off on anything, no matter what the size. Always humble,   he has never felt a sense of power over the ocean. "I will never challenge any wave," he says. "I like to compliment the waves, ride the waves the best they can be ridden - riding as deep as possible."

Garrett has directed the annual Quiksilver Molokai to Oahu paddle race for the past 10 years. He proved that he hadn't abandoned traditional surfing when he was invited to the 2005 Maverick's contest and surfed the place with his usual abandon. Tow-surfing, however, is the focus of his life. Sea Doos, and a 6-foot tow board is Garrett and his partner Kealii Mamala's avenue into the world's biggest waves.

When you've become part of surfing lore in a global manner, no single wave is going to stand out. McNamara's shining moment, though, had to be during the classic Jaws session of November 2003.  That's the day he pulled into an indescribably large tube, maybe 60 feet on the face, and came out. To this day it is known as surfing's definitive tube ride. As we learn
from his story, the man has much to be thankful for. He has been married 13 years to Connie, and they have two children: 12-year-old Ariana Kaimana McNamara and 9-year-old Titus Waimea McNamara. McNamara's story is one of hard work, self-belief, and making the most of God given gifts. He is living proof that you can do anything you want in life, and dreams do come true.