Last month, rad man Chuck Patterson dropped into Maui’s famed Jaws big wave break on a pair of wave skis. It was a coming-out moment for the relatively new devices, which were invented or perhaps dramatically improved by Jason Starr a few years ago (short history here). Most of the wave skiing has been conducted in smaller surf, and the devices have not always held up, but with new sticks and more time on them, Patterson did Jaws right.

The response to wave skiing has been mixed. A little over a year ago, skiers Mike Douglas and Cody Townsend put together some sessions in Hawaii that garnered both ridicule and respect. It’s as if people don’t know what to make of it…they want to be open minded, they’re eager for the next cool thing, but they’re not convinced this is it.

Wave skiing is still a novelty practiced by a tiny handful of folks, but Chuck’s Jaws session shows that the gear and technique can hang. The question is, will it?

VIDEO

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Tagged as: skiing, surfing