Jaws Goes Off

A HUGE northwest swell hit the Hawaiian islands today. The national weather service issued a high surf warning with estimated wave heights of 35 – 50 foot faces. That kind of forecast means one thing on Maui – Jaws is going to go off. Jaws, or Peahi in Hawaiian, is the name of an enormous surf break where the wave only really breaks when the waves get really big. It’s become legendary in recent years as a handful of daredevils risk life and limb to tow-surf (towing in on a surfboard behind a jet-ski) or windsurf. The story of these watermen is told in the recently released movie “Riding Giants.” In a contest last year, a surfer won $70,000 in a contest to see who could catch the biggest wave. The prize money was $1,000 for each foot. That’s right, he rode a 70 foot tall wave!

Swells big enough to generate 50 foot + waves only happen a few times a year so we decided we would make an effort to go watch this phenomenon. We arrived at the turn off to Peahi around 9:00 in the morning. To get there, you turn off of the Hana Highway and drive a few miles through pineapple fields. As we turned off and began driving through the fields, we were amazed to find hundreds of cars already parked along the Hana Highway and along the pineapple field roads, and dozens of people hiking in to the cliffs overlooking Jaws. We drove all the way down and lucked out getting a parking spot 30 yards from the cliffs. The cliff was lined with hundreds of spectators watching the big wave spectacle.

Once we got to the cliff we could indeed see that Jaws was firing on all cylinders. There were dozens of support boats in the water and dozens and dozens of jet skis and their associated riders. The waves were huge, the biggest sets easily topping 50 feet. Photos and video really can’t convey the enormity of these monsters and as you’re sitting up on the cliff looking down on them, seeing the surfers dwarfed, you have to wonder what they look like from their perspective. A set of binoculars helps bring the action closer to home. You can zoom in on the rider and as he slides down a moving wall of water. Think about standing on the sidewalk next to a 5 or 6 story building. Look up to the roof. Now imagine that that building is a moving wall of water and you start to get the idea of what these guys are doing. But wait. Now imagine that you if you fall, that building is coming crashing down on top of you. It’s absolutely nuts!

There was a palpable energy in the air. The crowd watched. It cheered when a rider kicked out of particularly big wave or caught a really long ride. You could hear a chorus of "Oh my God" as a big set would come and when someone crashed and burned you could hear the collective cringe and people holding their breath to see if they guy would pop back up.

We didn’t have to wait long to witness the first wipe out and we saw several throughout the couple of hours we were there. The idea is that when the rider falls his jet ski partner will come in and grab him. Reality is that if you fall you will likely have to go through several waves before your partner can get to you. We watched over and again as a fallen rider would crash and burn. His partner would search frantically for a tiny head bobbing about in the sea of white foam. Often he would spot him only as another wave is coming down on the poor guy in the water. The guy in the water dives to avoid the worst punishment. After the wave passes, you search again for him, only to find him 20 or 30 yards further in. We watched guys go through 5 or 6 waves before getting pulled out. In one instance, the jet ski got there and pulled his partner up but just as they were heading out, a wave caught them both and sent them both into the water. Now they had to rely on other jet skis to come and get them. They went through at least 4 more wave before a couple of jet skis finally got them. And their jet ski? Bashed up on the rocks like a tiny plastic toy.

It was an amazing feeling to watch someone crash and burn. Seeing these guys wipe out and a 50 foot wave pound on top of them you're sure you're about to see someone die. You hold your breath. You scan the foaming water for a little black dot. You breath a sigh of relief, then you cringe as you see another wave coming to pound the poor guy again. You're sure the guy is going to die as you watch 4 or 5 waves pound this guy. Imagine the force of a 50 foot wave pummeling you, tumbling you and trying to rip you to shreds as it sends you closer and closer to the rocks. We heard rumors of someone getting airlifted out at some point during the day to the hospital.

All in all though, it’s an absolutely incredible site to watch these guys. This is the ultimate in extreme surfing. I feel intimidated by mast-high waves at Kanaha, but these guys are towing into waves 3-, 4-, and even 5-times bigger. Are they nuts? Probably. Are they living life to it’s fullest? Most definitely!

Stay tuned for photos and maybe some video coming soon.