Drive Time

On January 28, 1998, the day Oahu’s outer reefs played host to 35-foot-plus surf, Ken Bradshaw selected a board he’d made over a year before. At 7’10”, just over 17 inches wide and two inches thick, it seemed the kind of board some surfers would use to paddle in, not tow. “Some people have gone […]

The Knockout Punch

Twenty years of preparation pay off for Ken Bradshaw as he nails a bottom turn on a solid 35-foot-plus wave at Outer Log Cabins, Oahu, January 28, 1998. The phenomenal reef break off Rockpile has long been regarded as an Everest of North Shore surfing; jet ski tow surfing finally put it within range this […]

A Farewell to Arms

A long time ago, in a decade far, far away, guys who rode Jet Skis through the surf zone were dorks. Surfers thought so, anyway. Surfers and Jet Skiers were natural enemies, enemies in nature. Surfers mocked Jet Skiers as inland gear heads who disrespected and despoiled the ocean by blasting their personal stinkpots through […]