It’s early on a chilly January morning and Curt Myers has forgotten the most important piece of equipment he carries when he goes out to film monster waves: his life jacket.

Myers preaches water safety to anyone who will listen, often perched atop a jet ski, showing surfers the specific hand signals to use when they need to be rescued. But in the middle of what has been a slow season at Mavericks, California’s only big wave located just north of Half Moon Bay, the excitement of catching his beloved break on a world-class day is overriding Myers’ critical decision-making. “Ahhh, screw it,” he mutters to himself as he guns the watercraft out into the open ocean, his camera in the vehicle’s glove box.

The day is shaping up to be legendary: a major north west swell bringing waves up to 50 feet, and just-right tides with offshore winds from the east to shape the waves so they’re surfable.