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Tow-in surfing is a surfing
Surfing

Surfing refers to a person or boat riding down a wave and thereby gathering speed from the downward movement. Most commonly, the term is used for a surface water sports in which the person surfing is carried along the face of a breaking ocean surface wave standing on a surfboard....
 technique pioneered by Laird Hamilton
Laird Hamilton

Laird Hamilton is an United States big wave surfing and co-inventor of tow-in surfing and an occasional fashion and action-sports model. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a professional volleyball player, television personality and model....
, Buzzy Kerbox, Dave Kalama
Dave Kalama

Dave Kalama is a big wave surfer, windsurfer, and watersports celebrity-enthusiast. Kalama and his family live in Hawaii.Kalama is credited with the co-development of tow-in surfing, along with Laird Hamilton, Darrick Doerner, and Buzzy Kerbox....
, Michael Willis and others in the mid 1990s where a surfer is towed into a breaking wave by a partner driving a personal watercraft or a helicopter
Helicopter

A helicopter is an aircraft that is Lift and propelled by one or more horizontal plane Helicopter rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades....
 with an attached tow-line. This method has a demonstrated advantage in situations where the wave is too large and moving too quickly for the surfer to catch it by paddling with his hands (such as Peahi off the north side of Maui
Maui

The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles and is the List of islands of the United States by area....
), or where position on the wave is extremely critical (Teahupoo
Teahupoo

Teahupo?o is a world-renowned List_of_surfing_areas off the south-west of the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia, southern Pacific Ocean. It is known for its heavy, glassy Ocean surface wave, often reaching 2 to 3 m and higher....
 off southeast Tahiti
Tahiti

O Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Islands group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
).

The use of a helicopter for tow-in surfing started to appear in the mid 2000s, and has several advantages over the use of a personal watercraft.






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Tow-in surfing is a surfing
Surfing

Surfing refers to a person or boat riding down a wave and thereby gathering speed from the downward movement. Most commonly, the term is used for a surface water sports in which the person surfing is carried along the face of a breaking ocean surface wave standing on a surfboard....
 technique pioneered by Laird Hamilton
Laird Hamilton

Laird Hamilton is an United States big wave surfing and co-inventor of tow-in surfing and an occasional fashion and action-sports model. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a professional volleyball player, television personality and model....
, Buzzy Kerbox, Dave Kalama
Dave Kalama

Dave Kalama is a big wave surfer, windsurfer, and watersports celebrity-enthusiast. Kalama and his family live in Hawaii.Kalama is credited with the co-development of tow-in surfing, along with Laird Hamilton, Darrick Doerner, and Buzzy Kerbox....
, Michael Willis and others in the mid 1990s where a surfer is towed into a breaking wave by a partner driving a personal watercraft or a helicopter
Helicopter

A helicopter is an aircraft that is Lift and propelled by one or more horizontal plane Helicopter rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades....
 with an attached tow-line. This method has a demonstrated advantage in situations where the wave is too large and moving too quickly for the surfer to catch it by paddling with his hands (such as Peahi off the north side of Maui
Maui

The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles and is the List of islands of the United States by area....
), or where position on the wave is extremely critical (Teahupoo
Teahupoo

Teahupo?o is a world-renowned List_of_surfing_areas off the south-west of the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia, southern Pacific Ocean. It is known for its heavy, glassy Ocean surface wave, often reaching 2 to 3 m and higher....
 off southeast Tahiti
Tahiti

O Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Islands group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean....
).

The use of a helicopter for tow-in surfing started to appear in the mid 2000s, and has several advantages over the use of a personal watercraft. The pilot, positioned high above the surfer, is able to spot large waves from further away and position the surfer accordingly. Additionally, a helicopter can go faster, and is not affected by the ocean surface like a watercraft.

Controversy

Critics of tow-in surfing decry the noise and exhaust fumes made by PWC engines, as well as the likelihood that new participants can get into predicaments that they have not been trained or conditioned to survive. On the other hand, a skilled team of driver and surfer, who often swap roles in the water during a session, develop a rapport and an understanding of ocean conditions that allows them to proactively watch out for each other.

Environmentalists
Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and social movement centered on a concern for the Conservation movement and improvement of the environment ....
 and surfing purists have passed a proposal to shut down tow-in surfing at Mavericks
Mavericks (location)

Maverick's or Mavericks is a world-famous, but for some a notorious and deadly, surfing location in Northern California. It is located approximately one-half mile from shore in Pillar Point Harbor just north of Half Moon Bay, California at the village of Princeton-by-the-Sea, California....
 in Northern California
Northern California

Northern California or Nor Cal is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento, California; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the Sequoia forests, the North Coast, California, the Big Sur coastline area, the Sierra Nevada including Yosem...
, saying that is hazardous to local wildlife and a nuisance to residents.

Famous tow-in spots

  • Todos Santos, Mexico
    Mexico

    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
  • Mavericks
    Mavericks (location)

    Maverick's or Mavericks is a world-famous, but for some a notorious and deadly, surfing location in Northern California. It is located approximately one-half mile from shore in Pillar Point Harbor just north of Half Moon Bay, California at the village of Princeton-by-the-Sea, California....
    , Northern California
    Northern California

    Northern California or Nor Cal is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento, California; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the Sequoia forests, the North Coast, California, the Big Sur coastline area, the Sierra Nevada including Yosem...
    .
  • Dungeons, Cape Town
    Cape Town

    Cape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the City of Cape Town. It is the provincial Capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislature capital of South Africa, where the Parliament of South Africa and many government offices are located....
    .
  • Jaws
    Jaws (beach)

    "Jaws" is the name given to a big wave surfing reef break on the island of Maui in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is located on the northern side of the island between mile markers 13 and 14 on the Hana highway and sits at the base of rolling Sugar plantations in Hawaii field hills....
    , Maui
    Maui

    The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles and is the List of islands of the United States by area....
    .
  • Aill Na Searrach, Cliffs of Moher
    Cliffs of Moher

    The Cliffs of Moher are located in the parish of Liscannor at the south-western edge of The Burren area near Doolin, which is located in County Clare, Republic of Ireland....
    , Ireland
    Ireland

    Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
  • Ilha dos Lobos
    Ilha dos Lobos

    Ilha dos Lobos is a small island on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Torres, Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil....
    , Southern Brazil
    Brazil

    Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
  • Cortes Bank
    Cortes Bank

    Cortes Bank is a chain of underwater mountains in the Pacific Ocean, about 100 miles west of San Diego, USA, and about 40 miles south-west of San Clemente Island....
  • Teahupoo, Tahiti
  • Bundoran
    Bundoran

    Bundoran is a town on the coast of County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Republic of Ireland. Attractions include a beach/seafront, golf course and swimming pool with flumes....
    , Ireland
    Ireland

    Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
    .


Noted big wave surfers

  • Ken Bradshaw
    Ken Bradshaw

    Ken Bradshaw is a professional surfer and winner of the 1982 Duke Kahanamoku Surfing Classic.On January 28, 1998, Ken Bradshaw successfully towed into, and rode, a wave with a face estimated as over 80 feet....
  • Laird Hamilton
    Laird Hamilton

    Laird Hamilton is an United States big wave surfing and co-inventor of tow-in surfing and an occasional fashion and action-sports model. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a professional volleyball player, television personality and model....
  • Koby Abberton
  • Milton Willis*Garrett McNamara
  • Mike Parsons
    Mike Parsons

    Mike Parsons is a surfer sponsored by the Billabong company who famously successfully surfed a 66-foot wave at Cortes Bank, CA in 2001, for which he was awarded USD66,000, the highest prize ever awarded in the history of professional surfing....
  • Ross Clarke-Jones
    Ross Clarke-Jones

    Ross Clarke-Jones is a well-known and respected big wave surfer. He originally came from Terrigal in the Central Coast, New South Wales, of New South Wales, Australia where he enjoyed surfing Terrigal Haven, a point break that produces rare waves lasting for up to 300 metres on a big swell ....
  • Cheyne Horan*Rodrigo Resende
  • Romeu Bruno
  • Brad Gerlach
  • Keala Kennelly
    Keala Kennelly

    Keala Kennelly is a professional surfer. She was featured, playing herself, in the movie Blue Crush. She was also in the movie Step Into Liquid....
  • Carlos Burle
  • Maya Gabeira