Two weeks ago, we kicked off the premiere of SURFER Films with Part I of The Cradle Of Storms – the award-winning 2014 movie directed by Ben Weiland and Bryce Lowe-White, and photographed by Chris Burkard. We’re wrapping up the rollout with Part III of the film and the third and final section, written by Weiland, from the SURFER 55.04 cover feature (Click here to read Part I, and click here to read Part II).

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“So what does a professional hunter do?” Pete asked. “Just kill something bigger than most people?”

The plane had come and our food had finally arrived. Boxes of spinach, milk, orange juice, broccoli, eggs, and bacon sat piled in the kitchen. Scott had brought a bottle of whiskey, a rare treasure on the island. His friend Danny Boy came along too. We sat in the living room with our feet kicked up on chairs.

“Yeah, they try to shoot something bigger…and rarer,” Alex said. “Basically the same thing professional surfers do with waves.”

Scott pulled a topographic map out of a drawer and we huddled around. Danny Boy filled our glasses with another round. He was a native Aleut who worked as a guide for visiting hunters. He belonged to a group of 150 people in the island chain who still spoke the Aleut language fluently. Hunting and fishing still provides their food. Whenever he leaves town, he always takes his shotgun and rifle with him, ready to shoot a passing goose, duck, or seal. In traditional fashion he takes the meat to the elders in the village before distributing it to the rest of the community. He and Scott hadn’t eaten store-bought meat for as long as they could remember.

“We should check out that other bay,” Pete said. He pointed to a spot at the end of the treacherous trail we had avoided the first day. “It looks a little more exposed to swell.”

“The waves come in a lot bigger over there,” Scott warned.