tow surfing
Motorized form of big-wave riding popularized in the early 1990s, in which the surfer, towed from behind a personal watercraft (PWC), is whipped into the wave. For decades surfers had been unable to overcome the rushing trough-to-crest flow of water on waves bigger than 25 or 30 feet. Tow surfers, by giving themselves a running start, broke the 30-foot barrier easily and continued riding ever-larg...
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Tow Surfing Begins; from "Riding Giants" (2004)Subscribe to view
Tow surfing, 2010-12Subscribe to view
Aaron Lambert, right, and Noah Johnson, Outside Log Cabins, 1998. Photo: HankSubscribe to view
Tow surfing record-chaser Garrett McNamaraSubscribe to view
Tow surfing ace Kai Lenny with quiver of boards, 2019Subscribe to view
Tow surfing pioneer Herbie Fletcher, Maalaea, mid 1980sSubscribe to view
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/29568edb7930888f4e320024a13302bbf0f62f82-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Tow Surfing Begins; from "Riding Giants" (2004)
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/2eb90fa02d25499e491da24ed2291717974d05ca-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Tow surfing, 2010-12
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/78223505e5f39046bfca7e3ba81865d2b47468bb-900x658.jpg?rect=0,145,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Aaron Lambert, right, and Noah Johnson, Outside Log Cabins, 1998. Photo: Hank
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/1f9865840d257aea445373beea88f25e741ba8da-700x442.jpg?rect=0,13,700,394&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Tow surfing record-chaser Garrett McNamara
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/46e112db2ab0d90ad77a88e144aa790270ac31f6-900x775.jpg?rect=0,269,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Tow surfing ace Kai Lenny with quiver of boards, 2019
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/1a8989d9d88cd2a0c3bc3f35ac298b5a1f85f743-700x394.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Tow surfing pioneer Herbie Fletcher, Maalaea, mid 1980s