Yuri Farrant's article about "the biggest [summer swell] I had seen in four years" ran in the November 1972 issue of SURFER. After a day spent surfing and shooting maxed-out Ala Moana, Farrant, along with Reno Abellira, Jeff Hakman, and photographer Steve Wilkings, decide to catch an interisland flight the following morning to Maui, in hopes of scoring Maalaea. This article has been slightly edited from the original.

After more than our share of airport hassles, we managed to arrive on Maui and rent a Kraut Kan (Volkswagen) for the trip to Maalaea. Super-stoked after seeing the waves on the way in from the plane we quickly loaded into the car and headed to the beach. Suddenly Steve grabbed the wheel and we were sidetracked into Mcdonald's for food. Reno fainted as the smell of hit him. However, he was revived as Jeff passed a jar of Vigarola was passed under his nose. The color was back into Reno's face by the time we reached Maalaea.

Maalaea breaks just once or twice a year, as only the largest of the summer swells is able to thread its way through several offshore islands. The tubes peel off just slightly slower than a close-out as it hits the shallow coral shelf.

When we left Honolulu it was 10-12', yet Maalaea was only 3-6'. Not only does the swell have to be right, but the tide seriously affects the speed of the wave. At lower tides the wave just zippers off faster than man or beast can ride. An additional big factor is the wind. Maalaea is located at the apex of the Maui neck, thus the trade winds are tunneled across the flat lands, reaching hurricane force occasionally. These trades often blow out the surf from the extreme offshore direction.

To get everything right at Maalaea is almost an impossible dream. Jeff Hakman has lived in the islands all his life and this was the first time he had caught it good.

Few surfers can match the extreme speed and tempo of the waves. It is probably the only wave in the world that still wins 9 out of 10 attempts to ride it. A less adept surfer hardly makes it to his feet before the lip passes him by. Just three or four years ago, the only ones to consistently make waves at Maalaea were Joey Cabell and Buddy Boy Kaohi. In fact, Maalaea was once called "Buddy’s Bay" in honor of his surfing. Maybe once every four years Maalaea hit eight feet, at which size Buddy Boy calls it “a truly cosmic wave.”

At most hollow wave breaks you can hold your breath while inside the tube. If any tried that at Maalaea you would suffocate. Jeff put it this way: “Once you get in the tube you expect to get snuffed many many times, but you just keep going and going and going. It is so fantastic to just sit there and be able to look all around."

Gerry Lopez best describes riding it backside: “You can get way back in it and occasionally come out, but most of the time the lip hits you in the head and you get driven face first into the urchins.” Tom Stone remembers paddling on a 15-foot day, ten years ago, riding a 10'6" and never even making it to the bottom of the wave.

When we arrived, Sammy Hawk and Owl were already out. Of course their first statement was “Gee, you should have been here this morning to film it!” Jeff was in the water in a flash. Reno, still a little woozy, took his time.

Like bobsledders they accelerated down the track, performing intricate manuevers to maintain trim. Just one small RPM off and you were “outta there.” The kooks were interesting though—trying to take off on the shoulder and doing freestyle contortions over with the lip while narrowly missing Jeff in the tube.

After watching hours of flawless surfing by Jeff, Reno, Sammy, and others, the sun dropped behind the mountains. Steve and I packed up our gear and waited for the inevitable darkness to bring the surfers back onto the beach. After a discussion about whether or not to spend the night and hope more of the same, we headed for Lahaina with thoughts of a good dinner and dreams of tomorrow's surf.

The swell lasted, but just barely, and was fast disappearing when we arrived in the morning. The waves and the surfing were still incredible and Steve and I felt fortunate to have recorded the entire two days on film. Around noon we packed our gear and headed for the airport to return to Oahu and Ala Moana with hopes of catching the end of the swell there.

As our plane streaked down the runway, steadily picking up speed, we were pushed deeply into our seats, hands clenching our sticky Dixie cups of complimentary pineapple juice. All of a sudden Jeff began to laugh uncontrollably. He turned to me and said “Hey, this is just like taking off on one of those waves at Maalaea."

[Photos: Steve Wilkings, Leonard Brady, Bernie Baker, Robert Bartlett]

"SOUTH SWELL," MAALAEA ARTICLE BY YURI FARRANT (1973)

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