Maui surfers swept the Pe’ahi Challenge on Saturday, with Haiku’s Ian Walsh and Paige Alms capturing titles in 25- to 35-foot wave faces at the surf break known as “Jaws.”
Walsh scored 21.67 points in the men’s big-wave contest final, ending Billy Kemper’s bid at a third straight title. Kemper, also from Haiku, finished second, followed by Makuakai Rothman of Oahu’s North Shore in third, Kai Lenny of Paia, Maui, in fourth, Greg Long of San Clemente, Calif., in fifth, and Ryan Hipwood of Australia in sixth.
“This is a really big honor to follow Billy and keep this thing on Maui,” Walsh said in a press release. “It was an incredible couple days of surfing, some challenging lulls but everyone here surfed really, really well and it was a pleasure to be in the water with them. It was fun to watch each heat … as the waves got bigger and better. It feels just like those big free surf days.”
The contest is part of the World Surf League’s Big Wave Tour and the second event of the season.
Lenny is the top-ranked surfer on the Big Wave Tour, and Rothman, who is No. 4 in the tour standings, is in the running for his second BWT world championship to go along with the one he earned in 2015. Kemper is No. 2 and Walsh No. 3 in the rankings with one event remaining — the Nazare Challenge in Nazare Leiria, Portugal.
In the women’s contest which took place directly following the men’s, Alms successfully defended her crown. Keala Kennelly of Hanalei, Kauai, placed second.
“I feel so grateful to be able to sit out in an empty lineup at firing, perfect Jaws,” Alms said in a press release. “It doesn’t get much better than that. Every single one of the women today sent it on a bomb. There were big waves out there and I was kind of kicking myself for not going on one set, but I just feel super stoked and honored.”
Alms finished with a combined two-wave total of 21.23 with Kennally at 17.21. Finishing third was France’s Justine Dupont, followed by the U.S.’s Bianca Valenti, Brazilian Andrea Moller and Felicity Palmateer of Australia.
