It was January 29th 1998, 32 year old Ross Clarke-Jones grabbed his board, jumped off the back of the jetski and announced to his partner Tony Ray, "I'll go first".
These two men were among an elite handful who carved their way into history on the biggest waves ever ridden. On a reef several several kilometres off the north shore of Oahu in Hawaii 50ft waves were rolling in. These waves are so big that the surfers are towed by jet ski to give them enough initial speed to make the take-off.
So far, no-one has died riding these mammoth waves but It's going to happen sooner or later.