Wildcard Albee Layer on a free surf bomb. Photo: DoomaPhotos
A massive swell storming towards Maui’s best big wave spot has the WSL green lighting the Big Wave Tour’s Pe’ahi Challenge.
On January 22nd, waves are projected to be in the 30-40 foot range at Jaws. The event will be the first paddle-in event ever held at the big wave break. Holding up to 60 feet, the wave at Jaws initially caught the world’s eye as a tow-in spot, but with the tow scene slowly diminishing, a group of the best big wave surfers in the world have been pushing the limits of what’s possible under their own steam.
The BWT is broken up into two halves, the southern hemisphere and the northern. While the southern hemisphere events include stops in Chile, Peru and South Africa, the northern hemisphere events are comprised of Mexico (Todos Santos), Basque Country (Punta Galea), and Maui (Jaws). Of the three events in the first half of the season, only the Punta Galea Challenge ran. Hawaiian Makua Rothman claimed his first BWT victory, and sits on top of the rankings. “Pe’ahi is a very special place,” said BWT Commissioner Peter Mel. “Conditions are lining up for Thursday, so we’re pulling the trigger.”
Surfline’s expert team of forecasters are calling for a peak direction of around 305 degrees, which isn’t ideal for Jaws, but there’s a directional spread of 290-320 degrees. “The good thing about this swell direction is that for the waves that do get in, we should see some really square barrels on the west bowl,” they said. Peter Mel will monitor the conditions on Thursday morning and make the final call.
Top 12 WSL BWT Surfers:
1 – Grant Baker (ZAF)
2 – Ken Collins (USA)
3 – Nic Lamb (USA)
4 – Shawn Dollar (USA)
5 – Kohl Christensen (HAW)
6 – Alex Gray (USA)*
7 – Greg Long (USA)
8 – Ryan Augenstein (USA)
9 – Anthony Tashnick (USA)
10 – Ramon Navarro (CHL)
11 – Jamie Mitchell (AUS)
12 – Tyler Fox (USA)
*Adur Letamendia (EUK) will be filling in for Alex Gray who has withdrawn due to injury.
WSL BWT Wildcards: 1 – Kelly Slater (USA)
2 – Mark Healey (HAW)
3 – Shane Dorian (HAW)
4 – Dave Wassel (HAW)
5 – Makuakai Rothman (HAW)
5 – Gabriel Villaran (PER)
Pe’ahi Local Wildcards: 1 – Ian Walsh (HAW)
2 – Billy Kemper (HAW)
3 – Albee Layer (HAW)
4 – Shawn Walsh (HAW)
5 – Kai Lenny (HAW)
6 – Tyler Larronde (HAW)
The Pe’ahi Challenge will be webcast LIVE via World Surf League homepage.
