Tow-Surfing at Jaws

Jaws is the name given a beach near the town of Peahi on the island of Maui in the US state of Hawaii. It is located on the northern side of the island between mile markers 13 and 14 on the Hana highway. It sits at the base of rolling sugar cane field hills.

The beach is called "Jaws" due to the size and ferocity of the waves. The waves at Jaws can reach heights in excess of fifty feet on the face of the wave, moving as fast as twenty-five miles per hour.

In order for the surf at Jaws to reach these extreme levels, many specific ocean and weather conditions must occur simutaneously. Because ocean swells large enough to produce this kind of surf occur only during winter months, primarily between December and February, they typically coincide with very strong winds which have a large effect on the surf. Other swells, particularly the small but powerful trade wind swells, can make the surf choppy and difficult to ride.

There are several other surf spots around the world that boast similar wave heights, however Jaws is famous for its quality. The reef and rocks at Jaws are shaped in a way that magnify incoming swell energy and produce clean and well defined right and left waves with gigantic barreling sections.

Jaws has been significant in recent years with the development and popularization of tow surfing. While many other big wave surf breaks around the world have seen an increase in tow surfing, Jaws has been at the forefront of the tow surfing revolution. Several documentary surf films, such as Stacey Peralta's Riding Giants and Dana Brown's Step Into Liquid, have exposed the quality of the wave to the world and immense crowding has plagued the break on the biggest days of surf. This has lead to several dangerous and potentially life threatening incidents. So far nobody has drowned at Jaws, however several prominent surfers have been lobbying to regulate or even limit tow surfing at the break for safety reasons.




Mike Parsons ride a monster wave at Jaws/Peahi during the World Cup of Tow-in. Introduction of The Billabong Odyssey movie.

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