Chris Bertish was the first Saffa to paddle into a monster there, followed by Twiggy a few years ago. This past weekend, Frank Solomon made it a trio of SA chargers who have given Pe’ahi a crack.
More commonly known as ‘Jaws’, the giant peak on Maui has become one of the world’s most revered big wave spots. We chatted to Frank to get his take on charging it for the first time.
Frank turns his back on Jaws during their first meeting.
Hey Frank, how’s things bru?
All good this side. Super happy to be in Hawaii. I started my trip in Puerto in October, then was in California for almost two months surfing Mavericks and Ocean Beach. I arrived on Oahu on Tuesday and spent a night there before hopping over to Maui to surf Jaws. What an amazing trip so far!
What were you expectations of Jaws?
I was expecting the biggest, scariest waves I have ever seen in my life (laughs).
What’s the wave like? Can you compare it to anything you’ve surfed before?
I can’t really compare it to any wave I have surfed before. It’s a massive peak with two take-off spots. One is kinda out the back called the north peak – if you want to go left that’s where you’d sit. Some big ones on the north peak will run all the way through to the west bowl, but some just close out. The other spot where Albee and a couple other guys sit is called the west bowl, which is a bit further inside and where you see him getting those epic barrels. When it’s really big I think they would both connect.
Video frame grab of Frank going face-to-face with Pe’ahi.
We mostly check the okes charging the right, but what’s the left like?
I had a couple lefts. My biggest one was a left. It runs so long and walls up bigger than the right, but if you don’t pull off the back in time you end up in a very bad spot (laughs).
You were invited over by Albee Layer. What was his advice as you paddled out for the first time?
Yeah, Albee came and stayed with me in Cape Town this past winter and we had an epic time. He had been telling me for ages to come over and when these swells lined up I couldn’t say no. It has been pretty amazing – the guys here have a tight crew and they are all so good. The first day I was here I went surfing with Matt Meola and Albee. They are so good at surfing it’s crazy surfing with them. Albee didn’t come out the first time because it was so crowded in the morning. He waited till the afternoon and then got the wave of the day.
The paddle out looks pretty gnarly. Was it as hard as it looks?
Paddling in and out at Jaws is the scariest thing in the whole world. It’s by far the sketchiest paddle in and out I have ever done. First you have to walk down this near vertical cliff carrying a giant board just to get down to the water. Then to paddle out you have to walk out on these big slippery boulders and jump into a 6ft shorebreak with a 10’6”. First time I tried I knocked my fins out. Guys break their boards coming in and out there all the time. Coming in is actually even worse, because you have this giant board and a 6ft shorey onto rocks. It’s almost scarier than surfing the wave (laughs).
Matt Meola, Frank Solomon, Albee Layer, Dege O’Connell and Ricky Whitlock, stoked on Maui.
How was the crowd?
It was apparently the most crowded it has ever been. The who’s who of surfing were out each day, so it was pretty hard getting waves. Our crew was myself, Albee, Matt, Dege o’Connel and Ricky Whitlock. Some of the guys out – Shaun, DK and Ian Walsh, Greg Long, Twiggy, Makua Rothman, Koa Smith, Zeke Lau, Billy Kemper, Mark Healy, Jamie O, Kalani Chapman, Garret Mcnamara, Mark Mathews, Ryan Hipwood, Nathan Florence, Ben Wilkinson, Danielo Couto. The list goes on, but you get my point.
There’s more swell on the way, apparently. Are you hanging out on Maui waiting for it, or have you made your way back to the North Shore?
I’m still on Maui, but leave tomorrow for the North Shore for the day and then will probably go back to California to surf Mavericks this next swell. The Mavs contest is on yellow alert for Friday and I don’t want to miss a good day out there.
Nicely done, Frank, keep charging boet.
Thanks, yeah it has been a dream trip to Maui. The guys here have been so hospitable to me. Thanks to Albee and his family for having me and to Lyle Carlson for letting me ride one of his epic boards.
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Check out the clip below for some action from this past weekend’s swell. Albee and crew are making Jaws look like the new Backdoor:
