Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger travels the globe with legendary windsurfer and pioneering waterman Robby Naish, a 24-time world champion, whose quest to mater the world's longest waves unexpectedly reveals his vulnerabilities as a competitor, mentor and father.

My friend Chuck Patterson was in New York City for the premiere of Robby Naish's new movie "The Longest Wave" and had invited me down to share in the inaugural showing of the film. No one in their right mind would pass up an opportunity like this. A quick flight from Burlington put me on the ground in NYC midday for some quick sight seeing of lower Manhattan before heading over to the film district for the first ever public showing of this long awaited masterpiece from acclaimed director, Joe Berlinger.

The Red Bull Media Group had specifically asked Joe to do this film after seeing his 2014 documentary "Metalica - This Monster Lives" and feeling that Joe would know how to make Robby's movie work. Robby Naish had turned down plenty of previous suggestions and offers to create a movie about his life, but something about Joe's involvement made this one feel differently. Robby is admittedly not one to self proclaim his accomplishments as an athlete or entrepreneur. However, this was not going to be your typical action sports pornography film highlighting the career of a well decorated waterman. Robby's reticent personality is what made him the quiet and successful competitor he has always been. The 24-time world-champion wanted to create something unexpected - something that would surprise its audience and even himself.

Berlinger was given full creative freedom. Naish was not interested at all in participating in the direction of the storyline. Instead, he insisted that the eight-time Emmy nominated filmmaker tell the story in his own cinema verite syle of movie making. Initially Joe wasn't so sure he was the right fit for the job. When he was first approached by Red Bull, he told them he'd never heard of Robby Naish. Additionally, he explained that his lack of interest and ability in virtually any and all athletic pursuits may not make him the best fit for this project. However, the more atypical Berlinger looked on paper for the role as director, the more they wanted him.

The timeline for the project was scheduled to take a year to film, edit, and produce. But the goal to create something unexpected, played out as a consistent theme both in and out of the film. The deep dive into Robby's heralded past was easily created with access to archival footage from his days on the professional windsurfing tour. Throw in some commentary from every legendary waterman still alive and you quickly get a sense of who Robby is and what he's accomplished as an athlete. But as the film catches up to present day, the challenges and fickleness of chasing waves half way around the world in hopes of capturing epic swells in high definition, challenge Robby's expectations for the film. Naish has consistently lived his life in pursuit of specific goals. He always had a target in mind and was extremely successful in hitting the bullseye with every attempt. At some point in every athlete's life, the pursuit of greatness is eventually encumbered by one's own physical limitations as the realities of aging slowly start to show their signs.

The modest year-long production schedule slid into a 5 year effort as Naish was consistently plagued with injuries. A fractured pelvis in 2016 followed by a broken foot in 2017 put things on hold to give Robby time to heal. Its during those down days of recovery that we get a glimpse into the person behind the athlete. We learn what its like to cope with the realities of not being able to compete at the same level as our younger self. Those realities are further compounded when your skills as a waterman are constantly compared to and measured against the success of the uber-water-wunderkind and team rider, Kai Lenny.

Kai and Chuck accompany Robby throughout the film on the quest to find the longest wave. The threesome travel across the globe to Namibia, Peru, and Costa Rica, hoping to score perfect waves at some of the world's most prominent left hand point breaks. But each destination fails to produce the magical conditions that would deliver on the expectations that Robby has set for the film. The team had done their homework and the charts looked promising, but the universe was not cooperating and the frustration of getting skunked was wearing on Naish.

As much as we appreciate the benefit that wave forecasting tools give us to accurately predict the size and timing of a swell, nature has a cruel way of reminding us that we're not in control. We learn a lot about a person in they way they respond to frustrations when plans go awry. During the making of this film, Robby was going through his second divorce, the first mis-steps in his business, and the most devasting injuries of his career. The unpredictability Robby was experiencing in his personal life had now manifested itself in the elusive cat and mouse game of finding the perfect swell to end his movie. Hard work and determination no longer guaranteed a bulls eye result and Robby was coming to grips with his lack of control over outcomes that used to occur more predictably.

At the risk of spoiling the ending I will share that Robby does in fact catch a very long wave at Pavones near the end of the film. The drone footage of the climactic ride is beautifully captured by Eric Sterman who's skilled enough to keep Chuck Patterson in frame as he catches and rides the second wave of the set. We get our story book ending to the quest for the longest wave, but as we all know, the teachings are in the journey, not in the results. We learned far more about Robby from the swells he missed than the one he made. This film was a marathon in the making where the endurance and perseverance of every cast member and crew was put to the test. There's no doubt Robby, Chuck, and Kai all learned things about themselves and one another that couldn't have been taught in any other way. Even Berlinger came away with some new skills as a new member of the standup paddle tribe. Robby bestowed a new SUP on the director as a token of his gratitude for his work on the film. How many people can say they received personalize paddling instruction from Robby Naish? Maybe there's something more to this world of documentary film making then we're led to believe? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.