‘I looked at my leg and saw muscles flapping around’
Right about the same time southern California was getting rocked by the biggest swell of the year, waves of far more consequence were lashing the boulder-strewn shore of Jaws (aka Pe’ahi) on the North Shore of Maui. Charging headfirst into the 25-foot-plus (Hawaiian-style measurement) surf was a dedicated crew of surfers hell-bent on getting the biggest waves of their lives. Among them was 24-year-old Hana resident Dege O’Connell. Dege, who’s been surfing Jaws for several years now, was on a borrowed 10-foot, 6-inch board and caught exactly one wave that session—and it ended up being the worst wipeout of his life. Here, he dishes on what happened … Pictures and more