This image is one of several in my collection that I captured on the North Shore of Maui at the surf break known as Jaws or Pe’ahi to Hawaiians. In late December of 2024, news began to spread of a giant swell, possibly of historic proportions, that was taking dead aim at the Hawaiian Islands.
Given the northerly swell direction and the forecast for calm winds, the big wave community converged on Maui. My big wave surfing friends confirmed that the early intel seemed to be panning out — it was on! I jumped on a plane the next day and was photographing the first waves of the swell later that afternoon.
The swell was building, but a few brave souls were still attempting to paddle into the wave of a lifetime. There comes on point during an XXL swell that the waves are simply too big and moving too fast for a person to paddle themselves into the waves. You need to brought up to speed from a jet ski, then let go of the rope as the waves reach the height of a building.
This image represents the moment that the surfers realized the swell was producing waves far too big for them to paddle into. Catching this wave wasn’t an option. They’re scrambling for their lives at this point just hoping to make it over the wave, and worrying that the wave behind it could be even bigger.