Every winter, northern Pacific winds generate ocean swells which arrive on the northern coasts of the Hawaiian Islands. Surfers hope the swell will produce ridable waves along the reefs which rim the islands' shores.

And like clockwork, it does, which affords many people, residents and visitors, ample opportunity to enjoy the sport of surfing. People can be observed in the water all along the coast. And on some, particularly well-favored days the swell can produce really big waves in most places, forcing the novice out of the water.

There is a well-known "secret spot" along the North Shore of Maui which ONLY breaks when the swell is very big. It is called "Jaws" and for a long time was the exclusive reserve of a small cadre of professional extreme sportsman. The break at "Jaws" is so big, in fact, that paddling into the wave is not even considered. These professional risk-takers use jet-skis to tow them into the breaking wave.

January 28, 1998 was just such a day. A swell arrived that was thought to be the biggest in thirty years, and the tow-surfing crew was out at Jaws It was hard to guess the size of the waves, but it's likely that some of them were at least 35 feet with occasional bigger ones That's measuring Hawaiian style, which translates to 80 foot high faces!!!