Jay Moriarty
Jay is the main character in this book. He was one of those people who were born to do something and for Jay, it was to surf. When he was 15 years old, he was so much better than all the other surfers that were his age. The day that Jay went with Frosty to watch him surf the mavericks, was the day that he knew he had to eventually do that. The thing he didn't realize is the amount of training and experience it took to do that. Jay had Frosty Hesson train him for when the day came to surf the mavericks and that day was not to far away. Jay was not a quitter through the rough and brutal training Frosty put him through. He knew he had to do this so nothing was going to stop him. When the day came, the day the biggest waves California had ever seen, was the day that Jay was both mentally and physically prepared to take on the Mavericks. Jay became a hero in Santa Cruz, because the myth of the mavericks was not a myth anymore. He had done it. A few years later, he had died in a tragic free diving accident in the Maldives. He was only 22 years young. The hero from Santa Cruz, California will be missed and always remembered for what he had accomplished.
Frosty Hesson
Frosty Hesson is the Character in this book who is the, so called, "legend" in Santa Cruz. He is a very experienced surfer who has been surfing the mavericks for a long time. Everyone thought the Mavericks were a myth, however, they were not and Frosty and his crew wanted to keep the secret to them selves. Frosty was not the type of person to teach others to surf but he had to make an exception for Jay. Him and Jay had a real connection so Frosty took Jay under his wing to teach him how to surf the mavericks. He pushed Jay so hard because he knew what it took to be able to surf the big waves. Along the journey he lost his wife Brenda while she had a stroke in their kitchen. There were a lot of obstacle that got in his way but he managed to overcome them from the help of Jay. Frosty was a not only a teacher and trainer to Jay, he was like a dad.
Kim
Kim was the girl of Jay's dreams. She and Jay were best friends growing up but that changed as they moved into high-school. She would try not to be seen around Jay when in public, however, when they were alone with no one around she was a totally different person around him. Deep down she was always the right girl for Jay and she knew it. It just took her a while to figure that out. As time went on, the two of them quickly became very close again as they were in the old days. She was always there to support Jay no matter what. The two of them eventually got married before the accident that led to Jays death.
Blonde
Blonde was Jays best friend in the book. He was the one who really taught Jay how to surf the first time Jay tried to. He was like a brother to Jay. As they got older and moved into high-school, Blonde was not the same kid. He and Jay started to grow apart and they were not as close. Blonde began to hang out out with all the druggies and became one of them. Jay didn't want to just give up on Blonde because he was the one who first taught him how to get up on a wave. If it wasn't for him, Jay would not be where he is today.
Brenda
Brenda was Frosty's wife. She was a person who was the one mainly taking care of the children because Frosty was always out surfing and working. She loved Frosty very much and they both were really close. She never liked the idea of Frosty surfing the big waves because she didn't want anything to happen to him that would make there kids grow up without a dad. She was also a very nice and loving person to everyone. Unfortunately, one day after Frosty got home from work, he was in the shed fixing a surfboard and one of his daughters came out running and screaming help, mommy is sick. Brenda suffered from a stroke and did not make it. It was not easy for anyone to get over this because she was such a good person.