Thundering Jaws: The Swell that Pulled the Pe'ahi Plug

Event organisers pulled the brakes on the Pe'ahi Challenge on Wednesday after a downgrade in forecasted swell. This was the session that went down regardless.

"What a day at Pe'ahi today! Heavy and perfect," says photographer Tassio Silva after a long day amongst the spectating crowd on the cliffs. "Everyone was screaming and whistling every time a set came through."

No takers through the West Bowl
© 2015 - Tassio Silva

Paddle days on the larger end of the spectrum at Pe'ahi are always a spectacle and this swell was no different, even if it wasn't up to the standards of the Big Wave Tour (BWT). Challenging lefts alongside righthanders as wide as they were tall, thundering through the West Bowl were the order of the day – result of the swell's westerly direction across the Pacific refracting hard into the bowl.

"Albee Layer was on the wave of the day with an incredible barrel but all the boys were charging," recalls Tassio.

The west in the swell however was also responsible for event uncertainty felt by event organisers. Sitting partially in the shadow of its neighbouring Hawaiian islands, some of the west swell's intensity was lost in that shadow on route to Maui's north coast. The resulting uncertainty as to whether Pe'ahi would be large enough and consistent enough to meet the needs of competition, forced organisers to pull the plug on The Pe'ahi Challenge.

It may not have been quite the swell they were looking for, but considering the session that went down in its place, the pressure is on for the event to be held in even better conditions within the time window that remains.

It' s not a surprise to find Albee Layer stood tall in the barrel of the day
© 2015 - Tassio Silva

“It’s disappointing and no one is more passionate about running these events than I am," said Big Wave Commissioner Peter Mel in a WSL press release. "But the BWT has a standard to uphold and this swell is unfortunately not going to do it for us. That said, we still have five weeks left in this year’s season and a very active North Pacific swell cycle so we’ll be monitoring conditions for Pe’ahi, Todos Santos and Nelscott Reef.”

Trevor Carlson was amongst the pack, picking off West Bowl bombs and his efforts didn't go unrewarded. "Peahi had a slow start this morning but finished the day strong! I've still got adrenaline busting out of my ears from this wave," he posted on Instagram as he made it back onto dry land.