Shane Dorian talks latest Jaws session

Interview by Craig Jarvis

During the recent Jaws swell, it was Shane Dorian once again who led the charge and stole the show. He went hard, and was rewarded: One wave in particular, with a jacking west bowl barrel, put him straight in contention for the 2015 XXL Ride Of The Year Award. It was a set wave, and Shane eased off the bottom into a gaping tube that looked no-go at first glance, but let him out and into the channel. But, let’s better hear it from the man himself…

Stab: That was a straight up aeroplane hanger. What vessel were you steering through it?
Shane Dorian: I was riding a board shaped by John Carper – a nice and solid 10’6 quad. That board felt really good underfoot.

How many waves did you ride during that session? Actually, I only caught three waves in five hours. It was pretty lully so we spent a lot of time out there chatting it up, shooting the breeze so to speak.

Where does that wave fit into the sesh? I ate such serious shit on my first wave and it took at least an hour for me to regain my composure and have the pain in my ears go away. My second wave was my best wave. I knew right away it was going to be a nugget. Twiggy had caught the wave before, so the lineup was super glassy and the wave was doubling up properly. I knew I was in the perfect spot to catch it. It was the only glassy wave I caught out there, and before I got to my feet I just knew it was going to be perfect. I was just hoping the west bowl would barrel, and it did.

Talk us through navigation. It let me in really easy with no air-drop and no bumps, which was a luck. I saw the west bowl looming, so I tried to draw out my bottom turn and wash off a little speed to pull in. It looked like a barrel but it also looked like it was gonna chandelier for a moment so I just pulled up hoping it would really open up. It was a really cool view, especially how there was a lot of water coming down from the almost-chandelier, and it allowed me to ride through it no worries. I was pretty sure I was coming out because there was not much bump in the barrel. I just widened my stance and tried to be as solid as I could to make it out.

There was quite a crew out there. Albee Layer was a machine as usual, picking off tons of waves on the west bowl on an 8’8”. He has such insane positioning and got some sick barrels. Kai Lenny was really impressive as well. He was charging anything that came his way, both on a SUP and a normal paddle in board. He is one of the best out there for sure. Also, Twiggy was on his game big time, with great positioning and technique. There were a bunch of guys and girls out there charging and the vibe was really good overall.

Anyone get legit slammed? I saw some gnarly wipeouts and some guys get caught inside really bad. My one wipeout beat the shit out of me. I am stoked I was able to shake it off and get back out there.