Gallery: It's Not All 50-Foot Surf On Maui's North Shore
Jaws deservedly gets a lion's share of the attention during the winter months on Maui, but that's hardly the whole story. Thanks to the sharp-shooting work of lensman Matt Cibulka we get another, considerably more playful look at Valley Isle surfing.
There are a lot of good surfers on Maui, and most of them you've never heard of. For every Kai Lenny or Eli Hanneman in the water there are another dozen underground guys and girls ripping just as hard. Getting through the daily grind to get a few waves at their local reef, big ups to Cibulka for taking the time to train his long lens on them and give them some much deserved shine.
Just as good in the small stuff as he is the big stuff, Lenny's an all around great surfer.
A little trade-kissed coverup for Rafi Neri.
Because one good turn deserves another, Iwalani Alepo’i Loki with a little backhand wrap on the inside.
Rookie of the year Ian Gentile feeling loose in home waters.
That moment of weightlessness when anything is possible, Lucas Kaimana with eyes down the line.
Ellie Brown swooping off the top.
Taping into a little of that Hawaiian power, Logan Bediamol engages the rail and sets the body up for maximum torque.
Wrapping it right into the light, João Marcelo well poised on rail.
The local crew is going to have much to be hyped on next year. As you can see by the photos, Maui's a hive for high-performance surfing and in 2024 there will be three surfers from the island on the WSL Championship Tour, including 2023 rookie of the year Ian Gentile, Lahiana's Eli Hanneman and battle-hardened Imai DeVault. And with the first two events of the year taking place in Hawaiian waters, Pipeline and Sunset on Oahu, don't be surprised if you see a trio of Maui boys lurking around the top of the leaderboard.
For decades Oahu has been the focal point of Hawaiian surfing with the outer islands being stuck in the shadows a bit, but that does nothing to diminish how good the waves are and how dedicated the surfers are. The north shore of Maui may have the wind and the waves, but it also has moments, and this little run of playful surf in early December was one of them.
Video: 15-Year-Old's Monster Wave At Jaws Leads Big Wave Challenge
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.