The inspirational life of big-wave pioneer Sarah Gerhardt

Sarah Gerhardt became a star in the surfing universe in 1999 as the first woman to slice across a monster wave at Northern California’s legendary Maverick’s. Media coverage, sponsorship and adulation followed, but Sarah’s dramatic journey from poverty and despair to accomplishment and peace went unnoticed. Producers / Directors Sally Lundburg and Elizabeth Pepin’s “One Winter Story” traces Sarah’s strength and determination to their roots in a beautiful montage of film, voice, memory and emotion. The surfing footage is an awesome sight but the fine, intensely immediate rendering of Sarah’s experience is this unforgettable film’s real reward.

“One Winter Story” is an unprecedented glimpse into the male-dominated world of big-wave surfing from an unusual and seldom seen perspective – a woman’s. This unique hour-long 16mm and super 8 film explores the nature of fear and faith through the experiences of big-wave surf pioneer, Sarah Gerhardt. “One Winter Story” is a personal documentary that follows Sarah as she surfs Maverick’s, a monstrous wave that breaks in the freezing, shark-infested waters off Northern California, while simultaneously attempting to earn her Ph.D in Physical Chemistry, a scientific field of study women rarely pursue.

Sarah is a genuine big-wave pioneer, the first woman to surf what is one of the largest waves in the world. In the eight years that she has been surfing Maverick’s, Sarah has found that each time is a unique experience, determined by the wave itself and her own response. Through it all, we share Sarah’s fear and frustration, and come to understand how her family and her faith help her take on the obstacles in her life and find peace within herself.