Stab Magazine | This Is What It's Like Getting In And Out At Jaws:

Live Now: Chapter 11 Mini-Documentary With Dane Reynolds

492 Views

This Is What It’s Like Getting In And Out At Jaws:

No fun at all.

cinema // Apr 27, 2016
Words by stab
Reading Time: < 1 minute

It’s a rather well-known fact that while surfing Jaws is terrifying, just getting into the lineup can be scary enough. Evidence? Kyle Thiermann’s POV clip above which, despite the fact a GoPro’s fisheye substantially belittles wave size, does a good job of capturing the entry point’s intensity.

And let’s also remember what Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker once told Stab about the ordeal of entering, and exiting, Jaws (more from Twiggy’s guide to Peahi, here):

“Geez. The rock jump is probably the worst part about surfing Jaws. It’s even more scary than the waves themselves. Jumping out is not as bad as coming in – but I mean, it’s still seriously nerve-wracking ‘cause if you mistime it, you can get into a very bad situation. But coming in its worse, because you can’t see the sets coming, you can’t time it on the lulls ‘cause it’s just constant waves bashing on the boulders. Fuck, every time I’ve done it I’ve lost a fin or dinged up a board or scraped myself. It’s an absolute nightmare. It’s Waimea shorebreak onto boulders, and you’ve gotta time going in and out, holding a big board and balancing on rocks. We don’t put our fins in, we put them in our wetsuits and then only once you’re though the shorebreak do you put your fins in. Nine times out of 10 you’re knocking a fin out otherwise. And then before you come in you try and take them out, then come in. You don’t want to knock a fin box out mostly, ‘cause then you’ve got nothing to surf on that afternoon or the next day.”

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Watch: What Happens When A Brand Takes Its Youth Team To A CT Event?

A: Good things, typically.

Mar 29, 2024

Full Frame: Scandinavia Is Surfing’s Next Frontier

A 30-hour drive, bathymetric maps, and 10 years of searching yield surfing's newest discovery.

Mar 29, 2024

Watch: João Chianca Had A Remarkable Hawaii Season Before His Injury

Plus an update on his condition.

Mar 28, 2024

Pittar’d And Feathered

Do the WSL judges deserve the internet's wrath? We asked the man of the hour.

Mar 28, 2024

Robbo, Pickles, And Tyler Wright Become The Underdogs Breakfast At Uninspiring Winkipop

The foreboding blade sharpens and inconsistent judging prevails on Day Two in Torquay.

Mar 27, 2024

“I Don’t Always Win Heats, But When I Do, I Try To Beat John John”

Slater shines and the axe begins its descent on Day 01 at Bells.

Mar 26, 2024

Back Against The Wall: The Ramzi Boukhiam Redemption

Morocco's first CT surfer on speaking six languages, having no coach, and snatching Fil Toledo's…

Mar 25, 2024

Will Kirra, Babies or JJF Stop a GOAT Winning at Bells?

Bluesky BOAG advice from a Superman specialist and former Trials winner.

Mar 25, 2024

Bells Preview: The WSL’s Victorian Sword Dancing Equinox Ritual

Will a Brazilian crack the Top 10 at Bells?

Mar 25, 2024

69 Shin Bones Later + the Anticlimactic State of Big Wave Record-Breaking

Lucas Chumbo might have surfed the biggest wave ever this year. But how will we…

Mar 23, 2024

Watch: ‘Fresh and Fried’ Ft the Quik Kids

How taxing is it to tackle the Gold Coast’s Triple Crown in a single day,…

Mar 23, 2024

The Popular Vote: The People’s Stab In The Dark With Kolohe Andino Champion

Which board looked best — to you —under Kolohe's talons?

Mar 22, 2024

Six Key Learnings From Portugal

Three CT events in, what do we know? 

Mar 21, 2024

‘Zipper’ Is Going On Tour, Here’s Where You Can Watch It  

Dates, times + locations for the Venice, Encinitas, Sydney + Byron premieres.  

Mar 20, 2024

Dane Reynolds On His Future, His Past, And Chapter 11’s Raison D’être

Our 9-minute plunge into the collective psyche of Ventura's pillar(s).

Mar 20, 2024

From ‘Blue Ribbon Cross Country Runner’ to Vogue – How Steph Again Is Back With A Rip Curl Remix

Everything we know about the she-GOATs sponsorship boomerang.

Mar 18, 2024

Stab Interview: Darren Handley Explains Why You Can’t Buy The Winning Stab In The Dark Model

And his decades-long standoff with Slater.

Mar 17, 2024

Griff Embraces Portugal’s Eternal Time Loop To Vanquish Medina + Ewing, Defay Delays The Inevitable

A redeeming closing act at Supertubos.

Mar 16, 2024
Advertisement