Albee’s broken stick, bid on by the GOAT. Photo: Albee Layer//Instagram
Surfing is generally free, but if you want to surf Jaws on a big swell there are caveats. Local water safety crews strongly discourage paddling out without hiring your own team in advance, as needing a rescue could compromise the safety of other surfers who responsibly arrange their own support.
The importance of water safety at Jaws came into the spotlight recently when Albee Layer auctioned off a broken board from the big wave spot, donating the proceeds to Jaws safety personnel. Kelly Slater purchased the board, pitching in to help Layer raise $10,000 for the water safety teams.
Kurtis Chong Kee, one of the beneficiaries of Layer’s raffle who works with the likes of Billy Kemper and Nathan Florence, hopes it creates more recognition for those who do water safety at Jaws.
“I think (Layer’s raffle) brings more awareness and opens people’s eyes,” Chong Kee, a 15-year water safety veteran on Maui, told The Inertia. “At Pe’ahi people just look at the big wave that guy caught. They don’t really think about what happens when that guy doesn’t make that wave, everything he has to go through to survive. If it wasn’t for water safety, that guy might not go home.”
There have been issues over the years of surfers paddling out without having coordinated water safety in advance. It creates issues for the safety teams who have to keep track of an unaccounted-for surfer in the water whose ability they aren’t familiar with.
On one occasion, when Chong Kee was working with Shane Dorian, a surfer who had jumped off the rocks and entered the lineup without a safety team was caught by a set. Chong Kee was forced to assist the rogue surfer, which left Dorian vulnerable. So shortly thereafter, when Dorian was also caught by a set, he endured what Chong Kee described as “one of the worst beatings of his life” because he couldn’t be rescued right away.
“When you got these guys that just go off the rocks (without water safety) and they get in trouble, you want to see them get smashed to teach them a lesson,” said Chong Kee. “But at the same time, if something happens to that person, it ruins our reputation. If I let that guy take a beating and he dies, how can you live with yourself knowing that you could have saved that person?”
Chong Kee and other Maui water safety insist that surfers make their arrival known and hire water safety before paddling out at Pe’ahi. And it can work to their benefit too. Chong Kee says if you get to know the locals and they see you’re a working class surfer without deep pockets, they’ve been known to cut some slack on their fees. Chong Kee rarely takes on more than two surfers at a time and, generally, the daily fee per surfer can range anywhere from $250 to $1,000.
The price may seem steep for a surf session, but the water safety teams are by no means getting rich – Jaws only breaks a handful of times each year and the costs of running the business are high. According to Chong Kee, a fitted ski with an upgraded motor to handle the foamy conditions can easily run over $30,000. That doesn’t include a trailer hitch, gas, and a vehicle for towing. While he’s fortunate to be sponsored by Ski-Doo, many have to invest in their own equipment.
“For the majority of us here on Maui, it’s not all about the money,” he explained. “Of course, when you got guys coming from around the world and just want to come surf Jaws, we’re going to charge them what our rates are. But among the Maui surfers, we aren’t worried (which surfer is paying which ski driver), because, at the end of the day, their guys help me as my guys help them. We got to work together regardless of any differences or competition, all that gets pushed aside when it comes to a life or death situation.”
Even though they aren’t in it for the money, the Maui safety teams are grateful for Layer’s gesture. Each person got around $500, which Chong Kee described as a welcomed “Christmas bonus” for the local families.
“What (Layer) did is pretty damn cool,” he concluded. “He took a broken board that probably would have been thrown away, but now it’s a piece of art. On top of that, the best surfer in the world contributed $5,000 to buy it. Kelly has surfed Jaws, so he gets it.”
