Windsurfing
4 ways Jaws rocks, by Robby Naish
Windsurfing legend Robby Naish opines on the similarly legendary Hawaiian break.
1. Jaws is like no other wave
One hold-down two winters ago had me questioning if I would ever breathe again
There are waves around the world that are something of legend. Malibu, Pipeline, Waimea, Sunset Beach, Teahupoo and a few others come to mind. But for sure one has stood out in the last couple of decades as a wave like no other. That wave is Jaws, or Peahi, on Maui's North Shore. I first windsurfed Jaws in the winter of 1995/ '96. At the time it seemed fairly tame. It was not a giant day and it was very organised, with nice steady trade winds. It was big, but not as scary or as intimidating as the outer reefs of Oahu's North shore that I was used to. That perspective definitely changed for me over the years with more and more tow-in and windsurf sessions at Jaws in bigger waves and scarier conditions. I have huge respect for the spot and I am definitely a bit intimidated by the wave now. Maybe it's just my age slowly catching up to me. Or maybe it was that one hold-down two winters ago that had me questioning if I would ever breathe again. My first time stand-up paddling at Peahi was in the spring of 2008. I went up there alone one late afternoon in April by jetski with my 11ft 4in stand-up paddle gun. I caught two waves. Neither one was incredibly special, or incredibly big, but it was still very thrilling. At that point I just wanted to see if it was even possible to paddle into a wave there. Clearly it was.
2. It looks awesome in the early morning
I was joined by Kai Lenny, Jason Polakow, Robby Swift and a few other guys for a good session
The last big swell at Jaws this winter was in January. I went up to Peahi on a boat together with Kai Lenny from Kahului harbour early Wednesday morning. We arrived at the break just as the sun came up and it was already fairly windy. As we were the first people there, Kai took advantage of the empty wave and towed into a few while he could. Tow surfing is still clearly the best way to take full advantage of riding the wave at Peahi, both in terms of performance and in terms of quantity, and Kai certainly made that point on the few waves he caught. While Victor Lopez towed Kai in, I rigged my windsurfing equipment. I ended up windsurfing several hours that day and got some really good waves. I was joined by Kai, Jason Polakow, Robby Swift and a few other guys for a good session before the mass of surfers began to make their way out to the peak.
3. Good winter swells attract the world’s best surfers
On a good swell with no wind you will now see upwards of 50 surfers in the water
Today Jaws has become a proving ground for big wave surfers from around the globe. In the last couple of winters we have seen the changing of the guard at Jaws. The days of tow-in surfing are basically over and paddle surfing is now the name of the game. Even the name of the spot has evolved where today people like to refer to it by its Hawaiian name Peahi, rather than as Jaws. There are years where we only get one or two days big enough for the waves to break at Peahi and others with several big swells, like this winter has been. It is quite a scene, with jetskis, boats, helicopters and photographers, and guys flying in from all over the world to test their skills in Maui's giant surf. The Billabong XXL has also added to the hype with people wanting to get their picture taken on one of the world's largest surfable waves.
4. If you’re brave, you can avoid the crowds
The left can shut down into the rocks and can as a result be very intimidating
I have a thing with crowds, on the water or off. If I had to stand in line for food I would probably starve to death. This is certainly one of the reasons I was so drawn to windsurfing as a kid, and later to SUP… both sports free you up from the crowd and open up new horizons, new spots, new waves, and let you leave the 'pack'. In January, word was out and of course the peak was filled with boats and skis and surfers. I decided to paddle around the peak and focus on surfing the Jaws left. I am goofy foot anyway and I'm much much more comfortable going frontside on the left than I am going backside. With 50 guys on the right and only three or four of us on the left it was also much more attractive. The main Jaws right has a wide-open channel. I once got caught inside on the left tow-in surfing and thought that I was a goner. So when you surf the left you just have to make sure that you get out of it early. One cutback too many and you may find yourself closed out, and climbing the rocks. As it turned out I caught several nice waves and only had one close call with getting stuck inside… just barely squeaking over a wide one as I paddled back out. Surfing the right you can spend several hours out there in the crowd and only end up with one or two waves. So from a wave-count perspective I was stoked! Kai surfed for a while on the right but caught his best waves on his stand-up. Kody Kerbox also caught a few nice ones on his SUP, as did Chuck Patterson. For now I am pretty psyched to have been able to catch a few this year… and unlike last winter and the one before that, I did not get any on the head!
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