People who surf Jaws are complete lunatics. I bet they wake up in the middle of the night a few times a week, sweating profusely from having dreamt of getting caught on the inside on a day like this. There’s perhaps nothing more daunting than frantically paddling your ass off, uncertain if you’re making it over that peak alive. But as utterly terrifying as Jaws has been made out to be, it’s also one of the most visually stimulating spectacles one could ever witness, especially given the divine conditions Maui has been blessed with this winter. Thanks, El Niño…
For years, the sheer size of the waves, along with the howling trade winds, gave the pioneers of Pe’ahi the impression that surfing there could only be possible with the assistance of a ski or kite. It wasn’t until a few years ago that the advent of inflatable vests and new board designs and materials gave surfers like Albee Layer, Shane Dorian, Greg Long, and Ian Walsh, to name a few, the ability to paddle in. Now, the bar is being raised even higher, as there’s been a major push to get barreled out there. And, as you can imagine, El Niño is providing plenty of opportunities for that this winter. Ladies and gentlemen, don’t you dare miss these two beautiful yet terrifying minutes of a recent paddle-in session at Jaws. Makes you wonder, “What’s next?”
