Dont know if this has been posted. Pretty cool.

Love it. Those guys are highly skilled!

Very cool but those guys are nuts.

Cast. Iron. Balls.

H&K-Guy

Those guys are crazy good......and a bit crazy. I consider myself an Adrenalin junkie but no way would I ever try that. Of course, I can't surf so no trouble there.

Bit of surf history - in a prior life I was something of a big wave surfer.

Early-mid 90s on the North Shore of Oahu. Tow-in surfing was just getting 'experimented with' in Hawaii at that time - like 1993-ish.

Guys like Laird Hamilton basically 'invented' the sport:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laird_Hamilton

It was referred to as the 'unridden' realm' - waves that we KNEW existed - but could not be physically paddled into because they were so large, broke so far out to sea, and formed up over so long of an area you just couldn't humanly paddle fast / far enough to catch them.

There were numerous sites in Hawaii where these waves were known to break. North Shore off Maui for instance. Off Kaena Point...

So in Hawaii - there was an 'underground' of incredibly crazy / brave / accomplished / gifted young guys who started using jet-skis to pull riders into these waves that it would be impossible to catch as a conventional surfer no matter how good of a surfer you were.

Contributing factor : The lifeguards in Hawaii by then were extremely skilled at using PWCs in the surf for rescues - so that knowledge translated into Tow-In surfing as the technique and equipment were developed.

So fast forward 25 years or so the sport - while no way 'mainstream' - has evolved so that there is specially designed equipment and the shared knowledge has been around for a few years. It is practiced all over the globe in crazy places where the gigantic open ocean swells become closer to land.

It's still unbelievable to see. I have surfed big waves conventionally at places like outside Puaena Point, (small-ish) Waimea Bay, Sunset, etc - but nothing like those waves.

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Absolutely beautiful and amazing, all at the same time.

I've always wanted to see a big wave. It's a bucket list item for me - Nazare, Teahupoo or maybe Hawaii. The power in those waves is amazing. Can't imagine riding one.

Used to live near Peahi (Jaws) in Maui but never got to see them live, only on video in the fish cafe.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
So in Hawaii - there was an 'underground' of incredibly crazy / brave / accomplished / gifted young guys who started using jet-skis to pull riders into these waves that it would be impossible to catch as a conventional surfer no matter how good of a surfer you were.

Contributing factor : The lifeguards in Hawaii by then were extremely skilled at using PWCs in the surf for rescues - so that knowledge translated into Tow-In surfing as the technique and equipment were developed.

I recall during that period there was a faction that was defiantly anti-PWC, hated tow-in's, they had a variety of reasons, many seemed to be very dogmatic surfers who viewed their 'sport' as a 'religious/spiritual' activity, rather than a sport, some tried to tie-it in with 'violating Hawaiian customs and such. Is that still the case or, is there a lingering clique of naysayers?

yes there is probably some friction but by and large Tow-In surfing is recognized as an established variation of the sport... when done properly and in the right locations under the right conditions- ie outside breaks beyond the capacity for regular surfers

main point being - nobody is Tow-In surfing on waves regular surfers are enjoying .

the initial fear was the Tow-In practitioners would start zooming into the mainstream big-wave breaks like Waimea, outside Sunset, etc and start snaking all the waves from the legit conventional surfers...

but the friction can be there for example-

who is 'skilled enough' to practice it and where do you learn? i have been out when surfers were trying to learn Tow-In surfing techniques in smaller than 'Tow-In Conditions' and there was a 'get out of here' vibe from to 20-30 regular surfers... the PWCs are obviously loud and potentially dangerous zooming in and out of the line-up if there are a lot of regular surfers present -- so yes there can be friction

it also can be viewed by 'purists' as the technique of lazy guys who just want to catch a few huge waves on video without 'working' to catch them-- that opinion is probably less now - but there are some who feel that way and having surfed big waves as a conventional surfer I can say that physically 'catching' the big wave is the hardest part - choosing the right spot - the right wave at the right point - having to paddle to match its velocity sufficiently to them leap to your feet at the right angle maintaining balance and proper plane through the whole process as you start the drop down the face -- most of that is obviated by Tow-In as you are already 'at velocity' and standing as you commence the run...

still - the waves have a quality and demand a a precision on another scale - so there's that...

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Cortes Bank looks crazy!