JAWS 4 Shane Dorian was in Hawaii on the North Shore of the island of Maui The waves here are well-known to surfers They are big and fast Surfers call them Jaws Shane had been surfing for hours It was getting late and the sun was going down It was almost time to call it a day Shane decided to look for a small wave and head in Then he looked out to the horizon A giant set of waves was coming in He saw them stacking up building speed They were about a minute away The jaws were opening The second wave of the set looked perfect The wall of water was smooth and it was moving fast Shane decided to go for it He started paddling out and stood up on his board His knees were bent and his arms out His surfboard was just a speck of red on the blue ocean Shane was nervous Was he in the right spot to catch the wave Or would the ocean win this time
GETTING STARTED Head to the beach on a sunny day and you will see surfers hitting the waves In many places the waves are only knee high That is perfect for some watery fun on a hot afternoon but it’s not enough for big wave surfers These athletes want bigger waves much bigger They look for waves that are 25 to 30 feet 7 6 to 9 1 meters tall Sometimes surfers catch waves that are even taller These waves mean more than a longer faster ride Ocean waves are incredibly powerful More height means more danger and requires more skill 6 Eddie Would Go Eddie Aikau 1946 1978 was a big wave surfer from Hawaii who won many surfing competitions He died in a boating accident in 1978 Afterward a surfing contest called The Eddie was named for him Modern surfers challenge each other to tackle big waves They say Eddie would go
Big wave surfers conquer waves that can be a big as buildings 7
