Winter has arrived in the Hawaiian Islands. The last few days there have been chock-full of waves, from Rocky Point to Pipe, but it wasn’t just Oahu that was slammed by the first real swell of the season. Jaws went pretty nuts, too.
“Opening day at Pe’ahi was filled with epic big wave surfing moments and excellent clean conditions,” wrote Marcus Rodrigues on YouTube. “The waves were pumping all day long!”
According to Rodrigues, the first surfers began paddling out at sunrise. The surf was already in the XL range, and it was still building. “Albee Layer got a really heavy barrel on his first wave and then backed it up with another clean barrel,” Rodrigues said. “Kai Lenny and his brother Ridge also showed up early with their team and they did some excellent paddle in and tow in surfing through out the day.”
Billy Kemper was able to make it, too, despite a bit of an issue with Hawaiian Airlines, and as is generally the case with Kemper, he sent it. “He waited patiently and got a big north one,” Rodrigues continued. “But he pulled in and was a little too deep to make it out. Everyone was charging hard and really going for it this swell. All in all it was a very successful opening day at Pe’ahi with excellent conditions for everyone to enjoy.”
