JAWS - LAST OF THE WINTER SWELLS
Story & Photos John Carter
During the big-wave winter season on Maui, fierce storms off the eastern coast of Japan and south of Alaska’s Aleutian islands radiate pulses of energy from over 3000 miles away across the Pacific until they hit the distant shores of the Hawai’ian chain.
Usually this process is game over come April, when spring brings more reliable trade winds and smaller swells. Breaks like Peahi, (a.k.a Jaws), will normally hibernate all summer, leaving big-wave addicts to hunt elsewhere for their adrenaline fixes.
But in early April 2013, a rare late-season swell blipped onto the radar with a solid 3.6m at a 16-sec period forecast – by no means the biggest swell Hawaii can produce, but most likely enough to trigger Jaws to light up. John Carter was lucky enough to be on Maui to witness the occasion and, with the help of the riders involved, brings us the story from a memorable day.
PRELUDE
DANY BRUCH
For the last few years I’ve been super keen to try out this amazing break. I always wondered what Jaws would be like to sail. I mean, we get massive waves in the Canaries, but I really wanted to experience a huge swell in Hawaii. I didn’t expect it to break so late in the season, but once I saw the forecast I was determined not to miss it.
A few days before I’d arranged Matt Schweitzer’s boat to be there for the day, from sunrise to dawn – that should have it covered! I started to call some mates to share the costs and formed a crew. Everything was sorted, now we just needed the swell to hit! We arranged to check it out at 6 a.m.
I don’t know if I was still short on caffeine or what, but I could hardly see any sets break. I was so bummed. We delayed the boat for a bit, had breakfast with some friends and then checked again at 8, at 9, and at 10 a.m. But still no waves and it really looked like it wasn’t happening.
So we called it off and cancelled the boat. Boujmaa [Guilloul] and I then decided to go for a sail at Ho’okipa, but to our surprise it looked pretty crap – with lots of current and gusty winds.
Then we heard Kauli was going to sail up to Jaws from the lighthouse at Haiku. That helped clear it in my head. “Let’s get out at Jaws – no matter what!” The only problem was that the boat had been called off so our only choice was to jump off the rocks as well …
BOUJMAA GUILLOUL
I wasn’t so sure about the forecast, nobody was! The period was so-so and the size was not predicted to be that big. Dany Bruch eventually talked me into it. He was organizing a boat beforehand and trying to get a crew to share the costs. In the morning we checked, but the break wasn’t that consistent. We waited for the swell to pick up but it didn’t really improve. Finally Dany had enough of waiting so we went back up to Jaws and decided we were going to jump off the rocks and just give it a go.
KAI KATCHADOURIAN
I spotted that swell a week before and just hoped the call would pull something together. When I saw it would be windy with some bigger waves late on I kept my hopes up that a few solid ones would roll through.
MARCILIO BROWNE
I decided I was going the night before and booked up Keith Baxter’s boat to take us up. It looked like a solid swell. Not massive, but I was sure it was enough for Jaws to break. Sometimes when the forecast is like that it just gets too big and messy at Ho’okipa, especially when there’s a lot of west in the swell. I felt like there was nothing to lose. This was most likely the last big swell of the season and I didn’t want to let it go to waste.
GRAHAM EZZY
I couldn’t find a ride so I went to Maliko Gulch and tried to hitchhike up on somebody’s jet ski. Nobody had any room but I was determined not to miss a Jaws session. We only get one or two a year.
I knew that Robby and Kauli had launched there before. It was kind of scary just driving down the track. After that it was just a matter of scouting the right spot to launch and waiting for the right moment to jump in. It wasn’t so bad in the end!
KAULI SEADI
I saw the forecast was looking very promising. It wasn’t going to be massive, but for this time of year it was extremely lucky to get a shot at riding Jaws. I was actually feeling very sick the day before. I had a serious fever and pain all over my body but I knew I couldn’t miss this opportunity. I headed up to the lighthouse at Haiku to try and jump from the rocks but there was so much mud I turned around and rigged in Maliko Gulch. It took me over an hour and fifteen minutes to get upwind and make it to Jaws.
KATIE MCANENA
I’d been eyeing up the forecast for about a week coming up to the Friday and was hoping to get out there via a boat. I’d intended to bring my gear and check it out on the day but was never going to make a decision about going out to windsurf it until I’d checked it out first-hand and knew exactly what the conditions of the day were. Unfortunately the boat I was included in with Dany, Muzza, Boujy and Flo fell through so that was no longer an option. After sizing it up over a couple of hours and watching the guys I ultimately ended up approaching it by launching off the rocks at the base of the cliff.
THE SESSION
KAI KATCHADOURIAN
The swell started on the small side but there were some very solid sets by evening. Later on, I got a really good one from deep behind the pit, a familiar line for me when the swell direction is NNW like that. It’s such a good feeling to drop into those walls. It was a sick way to end to the wave season in Hawaii. There were a few scary moments aside from the people that were launching off the rocks and arguably not fully considering what happens afterwards. We had Sarah [Delaunay] in the pit one time, nice, she got a good shake down, and watching the likes of Francisco [Porcella], Albee [Layer] and the guys paddle in at sunset was on another level. Dege O’Connell airdropped from the sky and broke his board in two pieces. That was gnarly for sure.
KAULI SEADI
It was a safe session if you can say that at Jaws. Even on a medium day it’s always scary to go down the face on one of those waves. There’s so much speed that it feels like sometimes you won’t make it to the bottom. When the set came through for the ride I shared with Brawzinho we both tacked together. It was probably one of the best waves of the day so why not share it? We call it shake and bake!
There was lots of room to play with the crossovers, but it’s also tricky because you’re going so fast! You’re almost at maximum speed going down the face, so there’s not a lot of room for error.
BOUJMAA
I didn’t expect it to be that big, but we had quite a few moments where the sets were a solid size. I remember my first wave. It was so perfect. I had amazing speed, no bumps and just pulled the smoothest bottom turn right in the pit.
I carved off the bottom and went all the way up – almost to the lip - and I made my turn off the top. It felt like a kind of Polakow turn at Jaws. I was so stoked with it, seeing the other boys looking at me from the channel and cheering me, I was on top of the world.
My board, a production Kode, reacted really well, nothing weird and all smooth, all mounted on a twin fin MF C16 setup. I think that wave was my best ride at Jaws and maybe one of the best of my life! I had one last wave with Dany at the end of our session. I was on my 4.2m and it was very light.
We were very close to the inside and there was this set, the biggest wave of it, that everyone behind us had missed. We were so close to getting hammered taking off so late that my heart was beating as fast as it could, then, suddenly, I see Dany’s board next to my head in the air. I wasn’t sure if the wave or Dany was going to fall on me and pitch me over the falls.
DANY BRUCH
For sure the best wave and most adrenaline-filled ride was the last one I took with Boujmaa. We‘d already had a break on the Baxter’s boat when the wind died out and the rain came. Before we had to go in over the rocks, I remember saying to Bouj, “Come on, let’s have a last one”, so we tried to get a couple more. We were in the perfect spot when a bigger and super-clean set came in. I remember pumping to get some speed and as soon as I was moving I rushed to get in the straps.
A second after, my board started to get lifted from the speed. It felt like the wave was rolling away under my feet and I couldn’t make the drop. I remember being in the air, having Bouj about 1.5m away from me downwind. I was holding on to the boom almost with my teeth so as not to let go.
I basically air-dropped from the top of the wave down a few meters onto the face. If I’d let go I would have killed myself and Bouj too. I couldn’t believe it when I made it. The adrenaline dominated everything! When I kicked out of the wave, Bouj and I were screaming for a while! It was a sick moment I have to say, but I’m thankful and really lucky not to have had any wipeouts on my first day at Jaws. That’s something I’ll still have to figure out some time, but I’m not worried about it too much now – I know I’ll experience it sooner or later!
GRAHAM EZZY
Ever since I started sailing Jaws a few years ago I have one rule – I have to hit the lip at least once! I don’t care if I bail, I just have to go for it. A couple of years ago I had an experience where I was kind of late and the end bowl was already breaking so I had to back door that west bowl and did a back loop. That kind of opened up some things in my mind. It made me think that there was more possible at Jaws. This session wasn’t too crowded and the surf overall wasn’t that big. I felt it was perfect for pushing it. This time I hit the wave and I knew I was going to go in front of the wave.
I hit the wave pretty late and the lip was really hitting the bottom of my board. It tossed me into the air and I went into this crazy rotation. I didn’t really know what was going on. There was an insane draught from the wave. It was so powerful that I got launched way further in front of the wave that I expected. Somehow I managed to bring it around and land it in the flats more or less. It was one of the flattest, hardest landings I’ve ever had. (SEE SEQUENCE AT END OF THIS FEATURE!)
MARCILIO BROWNE
I scored two or three waves that felt very clean with a solid size. The biggest and cleanest one I rode was the wave I shared with Kauli. It felt like a carpet all the way from start to end, it was also a pretty long ride for Jaws – we both had two amazing turns. That wave made it all worth it.
Antoine Martin had a real gnarly wipe out. I saw it from the boat and for a second I thought he could have been hurt bad. He was very deep, on a set wave and had the lip to break behind him, which was not a good place to be at all. I also got scared another time when I went for a bottom turn but hit a piece of chop and my fins popped out, I did a half-grubby, but luckily the board came back into place.
KATIE MCANENA
It’s all a blur really. I was being cautious and staying on the shoulder and watching how the guys were approaching it. It took me about an hour before I finally managed to drop down the face of a decent sized one, it was by no means the biggest of the day, but for sure the biggest I’ve ever ridden. The main things I remember are the speed required to make the drop, that the wave is phenomenally fast and also the views of the cliff face in front and the boat in the channel. And mostly I remember just smiling and being super happy and super focused on not wiping out.
Thankfully and luckily I didn’t encounter any wipeouts personally. But I will never forget being just about to launch off the rocks and watching Antoine Martin take the gnarliest beat down I’ve ever seen in person, right in front of me by a steamroller of white water. That kid took a serious thrashing.
ANTOINE MARTIN
On my first rides I was completely overwhelmed. I’d never gone so fast. When you kick out your board is barely touching the water because of the speed. The sensations you have while riding Jaws are unique. It’s a mix of stress, concentration and adrenaline, along with the happiness of sharing the experience with some close friends. After an hour of riding waves we started to go deeper. We even took a ride with three people, which was a bit sketchy.
After kicking out I told my friend Vincent, “We’re getting too excited, we need to turn things down a notch” At this point I see one of the biggest sets of the day start to pick up on the Horizon. I turn without stopping to think and find myself alone on this monster, it’s my wave and I’m going. I cross Boujmaa who’s yelling, “Go, go, go, go!” I start to accelerate and I see the wave bending more than any of the other waves I’d been on.
At this point I realize that I have about a 50 percent chance of making it, but I’m already committed so I keep going, conscious that my production board can slide out at any moment. I’m forced to do a real bottom turn as the speed going down the line at Jaws is crazy and I was afraid of catapulting. I arrive at the bottom and I realize that my timing was bad and I’m not going fast enough. I’m stuck at the bottom of a collapsing building. I hear the sound of the lip crashing down getting closer. I take one last look and seen an avalanche about to engulf me. At this point I decide to try and go straight as far as possible to try and avoid the fatal impact for as long as possible.
The only thing left for me to do was to try and think of nothing and concentrate on my oxygen consumption, as I have no clue how long I’ll be under. The force with which the wave hit me was unimaginable. I was getting rag-dolled in all directions to the point where I had no clue which way was up or down, or how deep I was. It felt like a long time. I needed to wait until it calmed down before I could feel the lifejacket start to pull me up. I opened my eyes, and it really was like what all the locals had told me, completely black. I couldn’t see anything.
I started to swim towards the surface, at least four to five meters to reach it. My head pops out and I only just manage to catch my breath before the next wave is already upon me. I get shaken around with the same amount of force as the first wave. I resurface once again, I feel pretty good for the moment and I see a jet ski coming towards me and the driver extends his arm towards me. Unfortunately I can’t grab it as the third wave is already here. Even though this third wave was so much smaller it was by far the hardest because of the fatigue accumulated by the first two.
I pop up and this time I don’t miss the driver’s hand and I grab on hard and I get ripped out of the white water. My friend Francisco Porcella, who was the driver, concentrates on getting out of the impact zone before asking me if I’m alright. I’m so happy to have made it out, I’m completely ecstatic. I see my gear destroyed in the rocks so I’m forced to jump off the ski and swim in to re-join my friends waiting for me on the cliff. I now know what a wipe out at Jaws is and realise that you need to be seriously organised out there. We were completely unprepared and lucky that nothing worse happened. A big thank you to the crew on Keith Baxter’s boat, Francisco Porcella for saving me, the whole Brazilian contingent, Vincent for having motivated me, Boujmaa for all of the tips and to the photographers for having captured the moment.