Maui, Hawaii 6 January 2011<br /><br />Big wave surfer Jeff Rowley 'paddles-in' to historic 50-foot plus (15m+) waves at Peahi "Jaws" and becomes the first Australian to ride the waves without Jet Ski tow-in.<br /><br />Rowley and his girlfriend/videographer Minnie Vuong, from Torquay Victoria, have based themselves in Hawaii for three months to catch and document the monster North Pacific winter storm surf.<br /><br />Rowley and Vuong flew from the island of Oahu to Maui Tuesday night, and arrived at the infamous Peahi 'Jaws' cliff top before sunrise to see the 50-60 foot waves (15-18m) for the first time.<br /><br />The surf at Peahi, aka "Jaws", is considered the worlds biggest and most dangerous and until recently has been considered impossible to catch and ride without the use of a jet ski 'tow-in' and foot straps.<br /><br />Rowley and a small group of big wave surfers including Shane Dorian and Garret McNamara pushed the boundaries of big wave surfing by refusing to 'tow-in' and choosing to 'paddle-in' to the monster waves.<br /><br />"The waves were moving about 50k's an hour and the wind was absolutely howling so every instinct is telling you it cant be done, but we did it- its unbelievable" Rowley said.<br /><br />In doing so Rowley became the first Australian surfer to paddle into the infamous waves at Jaws.<br /><br />"I'm so proud to be the first Aussie to paddle in at Jaws, it was a historic day and we pushed the limits and survived".<br /><br />During the historic session Rowley rode a special 10'2" (3m) Al Merrick quad fin surfboard designed for 30-40 foot (10-12m) waves, but it nearly wasn't enough.<br /><br />"My 10'2" is my biggest board but Jaws is so big and so powerful it felt like I was riding a toothpick- I need an 11 foot plus board!"<br /><br />Rowley and other surfers surfaced from wiping out under the waves thanks to buoyancy jackets and a new emergency inflatable airbag wetsuit.<br /><br />"Having a buoyancy jacket and the emergency inflatable wetsuit definitely gave me piece of mind that I would surface after a wipe-out, I don't want to surf big waves again without one."<br /><br />Rowley's biggest ride involved a vertical freefall take off from the top of a wave, which could have ended in disaster.<br /><br />"I was going to catch that wave no matter what happened, it was massive and I was in the right position and it was my time to go for it.<br /><br />"I stood up and the wind hit me and tried to rip my board from under my feet as I started freefalling, I couldn't see a thing but I pushed down as hard as I could and made the ride.<br /><br />"It was like trying to catch and ride a Tyrannosaurus Rex with your bare hands- the best thrill but you're so glad to be alive".<br /><br />Rowley's biggest wave fulfilled his personal 'Charge For Charity' quest to paddle-in to a 50-foot wave whilst raising money for Breast Cancer Australia.<br /><br />"I caught the biggest wave of my life and achieved my goal wave height- now I am asking people to donate."<br /><br />Rowley's rides from Jaws will be entered into the 2011-12 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave surfing awards.<br /><br />Rowley remains in Hawaii preparing for more giant surf which may hit somewhere in the North Pacific in coming weeks.<br /><br />The 2010/11 XXL awards were won by Shane Dorian and Danilo Couta with rides at Jaws last year.<br /><br />To donate to Rowley's Charge For Charity, visit jeffrowley.com for details.<br /><br />Jeff is riding a 10'2 Al Merrick Channel Islands surfboard.<br />cisurfboards.com<br />Australia: onboardindustries.com.au<br /><br />* Video by Minnie Vuong<br />* Music: "Saz" by Khan Harrison<br />Facebook.com/khan<br />www.khanharrison.com
