Hawaii’s outer reefs are pretty incredible. Out there, farther from shore than the plain old waves like Pipeline and Waimea, the deep ocean swells ram into the first of the Hawaiian Island barriers. Those swells turn into the perfect waves that grace the North Shore, but first, they have to trip over the outer reefs. On big swells, they turn on. Jetskis buzz out to them and big wave surfers strap on their tow boards. Koa Rothman, after a month-long break from surfing due to a neck injury, recently took a ride out to one of those outer reefs for a tow session that he’s going to remember for a long, long time.
Koa decided to head to that outer reef instead of Jaws for this giant swell because of that neck injury. Paddling, after all, is relatively important, and at the time he shot the video you see above, paddling hurt him pretty badly. So, in what might not the smartest of ideas, he decided to tow instead. He, along with brother Makua, definitely tested the limits of injury.
