. >> rose: we conclude this evening with laird hamilton, the extraordinary surfer, and susan casey, the author of a book called "the wave: in pursuit of the rogues, freaks, and giants of the ocean." >> the planet is mostly ocean and life comes from the ocean. and so one of the things i really aim to do with my writing is to take people into these places and show them the incredible majesty and in some cases the fear and in some cases the wackiness. but there's, like, a parallel universe. and it's in our world that we live in. how often do we see it. >> and if you part patriot, then you'll appreciate, then you'll revere. so all of those things i think are so critical in what needs to happen for the ocean. we need these books, we need these waves, we need people to be in awe of them maybe at first, to participate in activities and then ultimately be pro active in trying to protect the ocean. >> rose: melody barnes, laird hamilton and susan casey when we return. captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. >> rose: melody barnes is he

it's impressive also because i think it speaks a lot about laird hamilton himself.d, which i found really impressive. maybe the rogue waves are the secret because they may be the fountain of youth. and in case you're wondering the book which you heard in the story called "the wave" has just been released. it's $27.95. and you can see both susan and laird on "good morning america" later this morning. and you can check out that fine physique there. >> i know what caught your eye. coming up, the trouble defining the word "family" these days. >> we'll be right back. everyth. in fact, it only pays up to " 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying .up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp p

big-wave surfer, laird hamilton, and his wife, gabrielle reese, tell us that we should think that allyou clean the rivers, you have a clean ocean. >> gabby said she will be out with the kids, cleaning their beach. i'll be picking up trash in miami, as well. 7 million tons of debris from our coastlines last year. think how much we can do this year. robin's cleaning up our beach. the "gma" beach. put it right here in this bag. we'll link you on how you can do it at abcnews.com. how you can help this year. robin -- i know. i can't even get up. this is the scary part. >> this is a nice look, isn't it? please, continue. >> let's get to the boards. one or two things we want to talk about. the line of severe storms. gets a bead of moisture. i'm trying to get up thousand. chicago, you're a little bit a part of that. more minneapolis is going to get heavy rain out of this. this is all of that moisture streaming up from the southwest. we're concerned in phoenix, about how much rain will fall here. it is gorgeous along the west it's that easy. "gma" beach is almost cleaned up. all that weather,

with her is laird hamilton, one of a handful of people in the world, who has been on top of these giants morning. >> good morning. >> ladies first. susan, early and often you write, on average, two dozen large ships go missing and take their crews with them. and entire towns have been washed away. why don't we know more about these waves? >> the big problem, a lot of times when people see a giant wave, they don't come back and tell about it. i wanted to find people that could take me to the top, and by extension, readers, to the top of a 100-foot wave and see what it's like. >> the stories are incredible.t and you craft words, descriptions, images, more beautifully than anyone i have red in modern day. it's lovely, the way you write. why was it important for you to tell the wave story? >> this is an ocean planet. we know so little about it. so poorly understood, that we know more about the moon or splitting the atom, than we do about this force of nature, which is actually, when you think of 100-foot wave, other than the sun, probably the most powerful force of nature there is. >> my fri

. >> reporter: susan was a competitive swimmer and laird helped her get into waters normally off-limits to amateurs. hamiltonan is right, that something is brewing, something new. >> this last winter in hawaii was as big a winter as we've ever seen. >> reporter: bigger storms meaning bigger waves. some of the biggest swells on record. >> i can say i've been waiting a few decades to have a winter like this. >> reporter: we visited him on his home turf, in hawaii. surf this big is always risky. >>ive had stitches and broken bones and, you know punctured cheeks. the conditions give you a certain power and strength that you wouldn't have if they weren't there. so -- look at this one. oh, yeah. >> reporter: but it's not only climbing the highest mountain -- >> it's a little bit like ballet. there's so much to do, even the most minute movement is something to be refined. >> reporter: so you will surf little tiny waves? >> absolutely. >> reporter: here's our chance. ready to go. >> similar. >> yeah, look. >> reporter: the water that day was safe but so flat. both of us were hoping for excitement, but laird really w