Tik Root | Marie Claire | Video: Newsy
Over millennia, the waters off the northwest coast of Maui have sculpted Honolua Bay into a surfer’s dream. The jungle sweeps down to rocky cliffs, where the water crashes across a jetty of boulders—a point break. If the swell arrives off kilter, it gets blocked by looming Molokai, another of Hawaii’s 137 islands. But when conditions align, the waves of paradise pump. And here to tame them are the best female surfers on earth.
Cars start arriving around 6 a.m., well before the late-November sunrise. Brazilians, the ever-strong Australians, and athletes from sundry other countries bounce down the dirt access road, parking by the cliff. But it is the Americans who garner the most attention. Holding the top three spots in the World Surf League Championship Tour (“CT” for short) standings, starting at the top, are Carissa Moore, Lakey Peterson, and Caroline Marks. They are the only surfers left in contention for the world title, clustered so close that a three-way tie is possible. Any small slip could mean elimination. And as if that weren’t enough pressure, the last stop on this year’s CT comes with a novel twist.
CONTINUE READING…