Enter a world of magic and mystery, in my own head, where surfing and snowboarding are considered real jobs! Amazing feats of daring and skill are performed every day - and that's just getting the footage onto film!
Media anarchist, film guru, surf addict and web video blogger!
Welcome to the next limit in Big Wave Surfing. Red Bull, together with team rider, Ian Walsh, present the Jaws Paddle Contest. This contest will help to significantly push the boundaries in paddling giant waves. Thus far only a few invites have been released, among them our very own, Grant "Twig" Baker. A big uproar started brewing in South Africa as Chris Bertish has not, as yet, been invited, but he was the first person to paddle into waves at Jaws and is a winner at Mavericks. We cant speculate, but perhaps his invite is in the mail.
The event will run a waiting period over the whole Hawaiian Winter and will require clean 30-50ft Faces to run. They have also confirmed they will not run on the same day as the Eddie if this clash becomes reality. 21 Surfers will be invited.
Invited so far are host Ian Walsh, Twig, Greg Long, Dave Wassel, John John Florence (Yes please), Jeff Rowley and Kala Alexander. Most of these guys being proven chargers out in the Jaws Lineup. One thing is for sure, you dont want to miss this one. Follow the event at Red Bull USA.
The 8 and 9th of October started the Northern hemisphere big wave season with a bang at Jaws on Maui. Amongst the crew of big wave surfers charging gaping tubes and 50ft faces, were Ian Walsh and Shane Dorian. Check out their video from the mammoth day and let your jaw drop to the floor when you see the tubes that were made and the wipe outs that could kill a man!
The recent paddle session at Jaws, Maui, has the whole world fascinated. The videos have been doing the rounds and the youtube views multiplying. Our very own Twig and Kate were there for the action and while Kate filmed from the safety of the cliffs - no doubt holding her breath anyway, every time Twig got hammered - Twig was out there with the boys charging.
I caught up with him online and got his feedback on this historic session...
Cpt Kai: How big was it out there?
Twig: Pretty dam big to be paddling, but what made it worse was how strong the
offshore was and this is the most difficult wind to deal with in big
waves.
Cpt Kai: It looked pretty crowded - is this common in surf this size? Twig: It's becoming more and more common and that's why it's been a mission of
mine to move out from the more popular big wave spots trying to find
something new and less crowded. Saying that only, 10 real waves where
ridden that day and only 3-5 of them where completed so the crowd wasn't the issue, the wave was!!
Cpt Kai: How bad were the beatings?
Very bad, I saw so many guys tombstoning for what seemed like an
eternity, but because it was my first time out there paddling I was
pretty conservative and didn't get beaten to badly.
Cpt Kai: How were your waves?
Twig: I had three waves in 6 hours, one I shared with another surfer, one I
wiped out on the takeoff and one I took off behind the bowl and made it
so all in all it was a good day.
Cpt Kai: Is this a sign of things to come, less tow on the really big days, as more guys start paddling?
Twig: Yes, tow surfing is a dying sport and from here on out there will be
guys paddling every big swell at the known spots. We had a day at
Dungeons this year that we should have paddled but ended up towing and I
can't see that happening again. Cpt Kai: What was the biggest wave made that day?
Twig: Dave Wassel had the biggest wave and will probably be the new world
record holder, but he just went straight and Dorian had a huge one that
he made around the corner.
Cpt Kai: Where to next Twig?
Twig: Just traveling the world surfing and trying to find new uncrowded
areas to hang out and get some waves with a few close friends...
We hope you find those waves my man and good luck on your travels (Lucky Bastard, hehe).
I was pretty amazed when this video came across my desk. I mean, I am still coming to terms with Wake Skating and now this dude, Jason Stone, is ripping up a skate with a kite in the surf. Check out the video, its pretty next level...
This is a pretty amazing video of Jason and his relationship with the behemoth known as Jaws. I really like the style of the edit as well as the classic voice over (Pretty sure that's the same guys as the Dirtbike movie Life Cycles.) Enjoy
Red Bull - Windsurfing world champion Jason Polakow has been on a search for the biggest, most gnarly waves until he found JAWS - which has shaped his life and become his sole obsession for the past 20 years.
Watch as Jason attacks the unbelievable waves on the North Shore of Hawaii.
It all started a couple of years ago with our very own local crazy man, Chris Bertish, deciding he would be the first to tackle Jaws, the notorious tow surf spot in Maui, paddling in. He got caned, made history and it has been rather quite on the paddle in front since then. But I did a little digging and it turns out there are a bunch of guys still tackling Jaws for the paddle.
For more photos check out Surfer Magazine's Slide show - Paddling into Jaws
