A Historic Day on Maui鈥檚 North Shore

Two weeks ago, surf photographer Ryan Moss was at his home in San Jose, California, when he got a text about a swell headed towards Maui鈥檚 North Shore鈥攁n area that, due to the size and potential lethality of its waves, most surfers simply refer to as Jaws. At first, he was skeptical. The swell was three days out, and they can easily change in that time. Plus, many of Jaws鈥 swells peak in the middle of the night, when even the best big-wave riders won鈥檛 surf it. Moss wasn鈥檛 sure he鈥檇 bother.
Then about 48 hours before the swell was expected to arrive, Moss got an email from his forecaster: 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to see some of the biggest waves we鈥檝e ever seen. It鈥檚 going to be a historic day.鈥 He scrambled to get everything lined up鈥攆lights, transportation, equipment, jet skis, and ski pilots鈥攁nd two days later, on the back of a jet ski under bright afternoon Hawaiian sun, he was in the water with dozens of surfers and photographers capturing what many are calling the biggest day of paddle-in surfing in Jaws鈥 history.
Here, alongside photos from award-winning, Los Angeles-based surf photographer Fred Pompermayer, you鈥檒l find some of Moss鈥 best images.
Photo: It鈥檚 tough to give an exact height of the waves but Moss guesses the biggest ones were 60-to-70 feet tall. Aaron Gold (center) caught what most likely was the largest wave of that day, seen here. Moss was attending to renowned surfer Ian Walsh鈥檚 brother, D.K., who suffered whiplash after a bad spill, when Gold dropped in. 鈥淚 saw him out of the corner of my eye and shot really quick,鈥 says Moss. Unfortunately, Gold almost got hurt as well on this wave. 鈥淗e got destroyed,鈥 says Moss. 鈥淗e made it to the bottom of the wave, had nowhere to go, and the wave landed on top of his head.鈥

For his part, photographer Pompermayer says he鈥檚 certain the biggest wave ridden that day wasn鈥檛 by Gold, but instead by 19-year-old Brazilian Pedro Calado, whose wipeout last May at Jaws was deemed the by Surfer Magazine.
![Kai Lenny, a 23-year-old 鈥渨aterman prodigy,鈥 as Moss called him, rides a monster on his stand-up paddleboard. Moss says that in moments like this鈥攚hen he鈥檚 on the back of a jet ski, precariously close to a crashing wave鈥攂oth he and the driver must have the reaction time of a surfer. 鈥淚鈥檝e never caught a wave that big, and I wouldn鈥檛 compare myself to [the surfers], but [the pilot and I] have been out there in critical situations and know how to read waves.鈥](https://cdn.outsideonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/27/jaws_01-15-16-55.jpg?width=500&enable=upscale)
Kai Lenny, a 23-year-old 鈥渨aterman prodigy,鈥 as Moss called him, rides a monster on his stand-up paddleboard. Moss says that in moments like this鈥攚hen he鈥檚 on the back of a jet ski, precariously close to a crashing wave鈥攂oth he and the driver must have the reaction time of a surfer. 鈥淚鈥檝e never caught a wave that big, and I wouldn鈥檛 compare myself to [the surfers], but [the pilot and I] have been out there in critical situations and know how to read waves.鈥

Lenny charges out of a barrel. Echoing Moss, Pompermayer calls young Lenny 鈥渢he most outstanding surfer out there right now. His ability surfing, stand up paddling, kite surfing, wind surfing…He is the ultimate waterman.鈥
![South African Josh Redman, captured by Pompermayer, finds himself on the wrong end of Jaws. 鈥淎 lot of the guys were really, really scared,鈥 says Moss, who鈥檚 spent the last ten years shooting the best surfers on the biggest waves in the world. 鈥淸Surfers were saying] 鈥楾oday might be the day when we find the ceiling, the day when we find out how far we can actually push it. Today someone might die.鈥欌](https://cdn.outsideonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/27/joshredmanjawspompermayer5074.jpg?width=500&enable=upscale)
South African Josh Redman, captured by Pompermayer, finds himself on the wrong end of Jaws. 鈥淎 lot of the guys were really, really scared,鈥 says Moss, who鈥檚 spent the last ten years shooting the best surfers on the biggest waves in the world. 鈥淸Surfers were saying] 鈥楾oday might be the day when we find the ceiling, the day when we find out how far we can actually push it. Today someone might die.鈥欌

Less than a decade ago, surfers wouldn鈥檛 even entertain the thought of paddling into Jaws. It was assumed the only way to catch waves that big was via a jet ski. Today, Jaw is regularly paddled into. 鈥淏ig-wave surfers鈥 testosterone has gone through the roof,鈥 says Moss. Jet skis, however, are still employed for safety and to shuttle photographers. Here, Danilo Couto, an accomplished big-wave rider, narrowly escapes the impact zone.

Eli Olson, a promising 23-year-old Hawaiian, has become a regular at Jaws in recent years. Here, he catches a modest wave that, during any other swell, would have most likely been the biggest of the day, says Moss. The streak of light blue water in the foreground is the trail of a passing photographer jockeying for position鈥攅vidence of the day鈥檚 chaos.

The day was so chaotic, in fact, that Moss isn鈥檛 able to identify the unlucky surfer here. There were a few surfers that Jaws regulars didn鈥檛 recognize鈥擬oss calls them 鈥渢he unknown superheros.鈥 鈥淭hey were just going for it,鈥 says Moss. 鈥淭hey were trying to catch the wave of their life. Those couple of guys鈥攖hey kept going for it and I believe they had this same outcome every time. But you have to respect that they were trying.鈥
![Another contributing factor to the weekend鈥檚 historic conditions was the lack of wind. Winds on the North Shore are usually heavy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 called 鈥榯he windsurfing capital of the world鈥 for a reason,鈥 says Moss. And paddling into a wave with 35 mph winds makes for a turbulent experience. But water that day was clean and glassy. 鈥淭o have [all of the conditions] come together like that鈥as basically 15 years in the making.鈥](https://cdn.outsideonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/27/jaws_01-15-16-37.jpg?width=500&enable=upscale)
Another contributing factor to the weekend鈥檚 historic conditions was the lack of wind. Winds on the North Shore are usually heavy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 called 鈥榯he windsurfing capital of the world鈥 for a reason,鈥 says Moss. And paddling into a wave with 35 mph winds makes for a turbulent experience. But water that day was clean and glassy. 鈥淭o have [all of the conditions] come together like that鈥as basically 15 years in the making.鈥

Paddling into Jaws is the surest way to make a name for yourself in the world of big-wave surfing, Moss says. Here, Albee Layer carves a monster. 鈥淭here were so many guys and I was impressed by them all,鈥 Moss says.