Jaws to Mavericks: Tyler Larronde Red-Eyed 2,500 Miles to Surf the Same Swell

The big-wave world roared to life last week, with a typhoon spinning off Japan, which subsequently sent waves to Hawaii, then 48 hours later, to California.

Jaws saw its season opener swell, followed by Mavericks.

And Maui’s Tyler Larronde decided once wasn’t enough. After surfing Pe’ahi one day, he hopped on a red-eye for California to surf it again…the same swell…2,500 miles away.

So, we caught up with Larronde to hear about his swell bender to kick off the season.

Did you plan this, or was it a spur of the moment kind of thing?

I was definitely excited and ready for Jaws. I didn’t really have any plans of going to Mavericks after, but I did hear it could be good. My friend Othman came and stayed with me for the Jaws swell and he was planning of going to Mavs after. He kept pushing me to go, but I wasn’t feeling it. We had a fun session at Jaws; came in around 2pm. Then I just got a feeling to get the ticket and go. So, I got my ticket, got my wetsuits together, and just sent it.

How was the jetlag? Did it impact your surfing?

The flight left at 10:45 that night and got to San Francisco at 5:45 am. I somehow fell asleep before the plane even took off, and I woke up with the plane landing in San Fran. But even with a solid sleep on a plane, it’s still not a solid sleep. You still don’t feel 100 percent. By the time we made it to Mavericks, and were checking it, it was about 10:00 am and it looked super crowded, so we decided to take our time. Then, we paddled out around 12 o’clock.

Any standout moments?

I was scared, and I trying to catch a smaller, warm-up wave to feel out my booties and board. I caught some smaller ones and it was time to try and catch a bomb. I ended up catching a solid one; definitely the biggest Mavs wave of my life.

More big plans for the rest of the season?

I’m super pumped for this winter season. I’ve been healthy, and my equipment is feeling good. I’m definitely going to be doing a few Jaws/Mavericks strike missions this year.

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