Maui North

Launching an air on the end section at Jaws.

The winter to remember, as seen by one of its standouts

A dozen years ago, Peahi was exclusively reserved for the strapped brigade -- wind and towsurfers. Laird was king, but Garrett, then 36, managed to muscle through one of the heaviest and biggest tubes ever seen up until that point.

In case you were wondering...from Jaws to Honolua to Hookipa and beyond.

Tyler Larronde took off on a giant wave, was hit in the head by the lip and had his leg driven straight through his surfboard. Tyler didn't break the board...his leg punctured the board. Tyler was quickly driven to shore on a ski and rushed to the hospital, where reports indicate he sprained ligaments in his knee. Stay tuned for full interview.

After a stellar performance at the Volcom Pipe Pro, Landon McNamara figured he'd take a shot at Jaws and paddle into a few giant waves. All was going well until the wind picked up late in the morning and he found himself in this position -- hung up at the top, with no hope of making it to the bottom in one piece.

Kelly Slater closed his 2015 El Nino campaign by unveiling the world's best artificial wave. He opened his 2016 El Nino campaign by ruling the world's best natural wave (well, at least one of 'em): Honolua Bay. Observe.

Niccolo Porcella is gnarly. He's so gnarly he regularly bags bombs at unearthly big-wave spots like Pea'hi on any kind of equipment he damn well pleases -- kitesurfing apparatus included. And he gets so many good waves and rides them with such aplomb, he's developed a cool sense of humor about the ones that go awry. Like this one.

Makua Rothman, your current Big Wave World Champ suffered an early round loss at giant Peahi -- but he's not rolling over just yet. "I have to walk with my head held high after my first loss," he said. "My first second place ranking I've ever had on tour. I've never been in second place before. It's up to me to make it up. I have to get out there and do what I do best."

Behind the scenes events leading up to Billy Kemper's first place victory at Jaws.

An insider's perspective on the world's premier big-wave surf spot

The best big wave surfers tackle two days of pristine conditions at one of the best big wave spot in the world.

Surfers: Albee Layer, Shane Dorian, Ryan Hipwood, Dean Morrison, Kai Lenny, Billy Kemper, Tyler Larronde, Makana Eleogram, Keala Kennelly, Marcio Freire, Paige Alms, Francisco Porcella, Connor Baxtor

Hawaiian filmmaker Elliot Leboe documents Jaws whenever it gets big, really big or catastrophically big, and he goes far and beyond the call of duty -- putting his RED cam in the spot to capture everything from the wave of the day to the wipeout of the day to Shane Dorian refilling an air canister to a surfer taking a moment in the channel between sets. Here's Leboe's vision of last week's super session at Peahi as Typhoon Nuri pumped in swell.

Water angle of Pacifico Paddle award finalist at Jaws.

Alex Gray, Dave Wassel and pals spend the final day of 2012 paddling into Jaws.

Another look at two historic days at Peahi with Dorian, Walsh, Healey and more.

Ian Walsh and Shane Dorian offer play-by-play of Jaws' mind-blowing 48 hours.

Following Ian and Shane from the airport to the lineup at Jaws on Maui.

Amazing wipeouts and huge barrels from January 17th at Jaws.

On Monday, December 7, at Waimea Bay, thousands of spectators jammed traffic on Kamehameha Highway as locals and tourists alike stopped to see surfers paddling in to 25-to 30-foot waves on a gray and ominous day. Meanwhile, big-wave riders on Maui were treated to a beautiful sunny day with even larger surf.

To see more video and photos of the big Hawaiian swell, visit the event website at www.BillabongXXL.com.

Despite the fact that the mid-January swell was super west and many of the bigger sets missed the reef, Shane Dorian did manage to snag the biggest wave of the day on Monday, January 17th at Peahi. Which was a heckuva lot bigger than anything that reared up in California. Click here for the whole story.

More tow-in carnage from Opening Day at Jaws. Who needs Playstation when you can watch these guys?

More tow-in carnage from Opening Day at Jaws. Who needs Playstation when you can watch these guys?

Opening Day at Jaws, December 15th. Laird Hamilton, Garrett McNamara, the Maui crew, Gerlach, Snips, and a host of others try their PWC-assisted hands at tackling giant Peahi. Click here for the whole story.

Ladies and gentlemen...your 2016 Billabong Ride of the Year winner: Patrick Shane Dorian.

When you get a great ride at Jaws you are going to remember it for the rest of your life. When you get a great ride at Jaws and Shane Dorian says this about it, everybody will remember it for the rest of their life: "I was out there. If there's any wave that anyone's gonna remember from El Nino, It's that wave."

Chaos and carnage at Peahi.

This is not fun. At all. Koa Rothman gets caught by the wind, wipes out and survives a heavy wipeout.

Ian Walsh advances into the semis with this huge drop.

Local wildcard commits to massive drop during heat two of round one.

Former Big Wave World Champ pulls in the 'biggest barrel of his life' after a late drop.

Local Maui surfers score a perfect day at The Bay

Matt Meola rips apart one of his local breaks at home in Maui.

Dusty Payne, Kai Barger and others surf the Legends Of The Bay in 2007 to help save Honolua Bay.

Billy Kemper and Laird Hamilton tow into medium sized Jaws in December 2008.

Paige re-lives the historic Jaws barrel that was heard around the world.

Maui Girl tears into Outer Island breaks, from Jaws to Hookipa.

Steph Gilmore defeats Sofia Mulanovich the 2009 Billabong Pro Maui at Honolua Bay.

The girls backdoor a couple heavy slabs out in perfect Honolua Bay.

Paige Alms is changing what it means to be a female big-wave surfer, and her story might even make you want to charge. Movie coming soon.

More info at: thewaveiride.com

Wave Chasers premieres Sunday, July 22nd at 6 PM Eastern on The Travel Channel. Check out www.travelchannel.com/wavechasers for more information.

Teton Gravity Research presents SHACK THERAPY, a 16mm and Hi Definition surf film documenting the surfing and lifestyles of the world's top surfers. Athetes include Andy Irons, Jamie O'Brien, Pancho Sullivan, Ian Walsh, Shane Dorian, TJ Barron, Jordy Smith, Benji Weatherly, Brian Conley, Ola Eleogram, Raoni Monteiro, Darren O' Rafferty, Kieren Perrow, Tony Ray, Clint Kimmins, Mikala Jones And more...

The film is shot in exotic worldwide locations featuring today's most progressive surfing. The film features world famous surf breaks from Jaws to J-Bay, as well as the mystique of the search for undiscovered perfection. New discoveries in Micronesia, West Oz and Norway's Lofoten Islands highlight the realization of a surfer's dream.

Shack Therapy incorporates state of the art cinematography utilizing board-cams, water-cams, land perspectives, jet ski follow-cams, and aerial cinematography. Through personalities, travel, and explosive action the film will convey a seamless portrayal of the lifestyle that is surfing.

BamMan Films captures tow-in pioneers Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama, Darrick Doerner, and others in never before seen footage as they ride some of the best big waves on a planet at Peahi, Maui during the historic winters of 2004 & 2005.

The first edit to help explain who is Coconut Willie: A man that is in much in love with the coconuts as he is with Honolua Bay.

El Nino: It ain't over until the fat lady sings, as they say. If by "fat" they mean "heavy" and by "lady" they mean "Jaws," then they may actually be on to something.

Will Skudin has been relentlessly pursuing XXL swells since he was 16 years old. And with a historic El Nino winter in place this year, Skudin finally got his chance to show the world exactly how legit he is when the waves reach quadruple overhead-plus. He got a few BWT alternate slots and a few XXL Awards entries, but he didn't receive an invite to the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Big-Wave Invitational. Being the class-act he is, Skudin didn't complain. He just went left -- way left -- all the way over to Maui.. Then he just kept going left.

This is the best of the biggest swell to hit the Hawaiian islands in years. All the toys came out for some waves that could only be towed into, and Kai Lenny, Francisco and Niccolo Porcella, Shane Dorian, Jesse Richman, Patri MacLaughlin, Albee Layer and more shredded Pe'ahi to bits.

Drone footage from yesterday at Jaws.

Had enough yet? Here's Jaws, in full effect: Alvaro Malpartida, Miguel Tudela, Lucas Silveira, Landon McNamara, Luke Shepardson, Mikey Redd, Dege O' Connell, Tyler Larronde, Albee Layer, Trevor Sven Carlson, Seth Moniz, Danilo Couto, and Shane Dorian.

You probably saw it unfold in near realtime on the site last week, but here's an edited version of what went down last Thursday.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...another solid NW swell steamrolled into Peahi yesterday. Here's highlights.

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-Biggest waves paddled...ever? This vid makes a compelling argument.

Here's the story behind the now-infamous Jaws judo kick from Jan 4th, 2016.

Dusty Payne, Tanner Hendrickson + heavy local lineup share some Maui perfection.

Brad Domke breaks new ground yet again as he takes his finless, strapless skimboard attack to to the legendary, windy wilds of Jaws, Maui, Hawaii on January 4, 2016.

Jaws has been filmed from nearly every angle possible: land, sky, boat, ski--but footage from below the surface is rare. These were the best clips from an exploratory mission at Jaws in January, 2015.

Maui's standout goofyfoot tackling some enormous Peahi bombs shot on RED.

More highlights from last week's big swell at Jaws.

More charging and more carnage from the XXL swell that lit up Jaws last week

On January 21st and 22nd Jaws roared to life and delivered some of the biggest waves of the winter. Albee Layer and a host of Maui chargers were on hand to throw themselves over the ledge and into the pit.

Stephanie Gilmore prevails after a vary heated battle for the 2014 ASP World Title at the Target Maui Pro at Honolua Bay. That's number six for the Aussie phenom!

Sometimes you just have to put your head down, paddle hard, hold on, and hope for the best. You could end up with the ride of your life, or the wipeout of your life. Such is the nature of the beast that is big wave surfing.

A large part of big waves surfing is fear management: mind over matter. Big-wave surfers Isaac Stant and Nakoa Decoite know this, as seen in this latest clip.

Francisco Porcella, Niccolo Porcella, Kai Lenny more tackle Jaws on 12/14/2013.

The first episode of season 2 follows Matt Meola, Albee Layer, John John Florence and the rest of their crew as they prepare for the end of the year swell at Jaws. Watch as Matt Meola gets buried by the wave that nearly takes his life.

Matt Meola and Albee Layer discuss aerial progression. Albee Layer completes first ever Double Rotation Alley-oop at the 08:35 mark.

Meola, Layer and Barger recount their experiences at Jaws during the early October swell.

Follow World Junior Champ Kai Barger to his comfort zone in Maui.

The paddle-in revival was in full swing this winter, with Jaws the focus of a series of groundbreaking big wave sessions. The latest episode of the Deep Water series looks at two perfect days in January, with light winds, blue skies and a dedicated crew packing barrels over the Pe'ahi reef. Featuring Kohl Christensen, Nick Christensen, Nathan Florence, Big Ben Wilkinson, Aaron Gold, Danilo Cuoto, Mark Healey, Kai Lenny, Kala Alexander, Mike Pietsch, Albee Layer, Billy Kemper, Ian and Shaun Walsh and more.

Dragon's H2O Floatable sunglasses are the answer to never losing your shades in the water again.

Deep Water Ocean Adventures with Kohl Christensen, Episode 4. This episode follows Kohl Christensen, Dan Ross, Aaron Gold, and Ben Wilkinson as they surf Peahi (Jaws) on Oct 12, 2012. Oct 11th and 12th offered conditions for a historic paddle-in surf session at Jaws, with the best big wave paddle in surfers in the world. Other surfers include, Matt Meola, Nakoa Decoite, Greg Long, Shane Dorian, Mark Healy, Danilo Couto and more.

Maui in the morning and the North Shore in the afternoon. In the second part of the Deep Water series, Patagonia ambassadors Kohl Christensen and Ramon Navarro double-session one of the first swells of 2011 at Peahi and an Oahu outer reef.

Barca, Whitaker, Seabass, Rico + more hop over to Maui for Honolua Bay perfection.