Atop a towering cliff ’s edge, bracketed by rolling fields of cane and pineapple, is the viewing platform to one of the world’s most awe-inspiring breaks, Peahi, better known by its ferocious moniker: Jaws. For decades, this mythical beast drew the imagination of big-wave surfers from across the globe, dreaming of the day it could be ridden when maxing out. It just wasn’t immediately apparent how it could be ridden.
Until the early ’90s, thirty-foot-plus monsters were considered un-paddleable. A surfer needed enough speed to get on the wave face, and then safely outrun the wall of water bearing down upon them like the breath of an undertaker. It was akin to outracing an avalanche on foot. Hawaiian legend and serial boundary-breaker Laird Hamilton had been watching too. After several years of research, design and testing, he found a solution.
“IT CAN BE FRUSTRATING SEEING SO MANY WAVES GO UNRIDDEN.”
Combining ideas from windsurfing and snowboarding, he created heavier, shorter boards with foot straps and stronger fins and then added a jet-ski, tow-ropes and flotation vests to the equation. In 1991, Laird, Buzzy Kerbox and Darrick Doerner unleashed their groundbreaking innovation on a heaving day at Jaws, thus popularising the concept of tow-in surfing.¹ Though not every surfer craves the life-and-death rush of XXL goliaths, the tow-in revolution spawned more accessible off-shoots in the form of step-offs and whip-ins. It fostered a jet-ski boom embraced by big-wave gurus, pro surfers, photographers and local punters alike, looking for the ideal ride, the perfect shot, or to avoid the arm-burning churn of a raging sweep.
However, with jet-skis commonplace amongst the lineup, certain consequences are inevitable. These lightning-fast hunks of machinery might
