PE'AHI, Maui — Some of the biggest names in tow-in surfing are expected to return today to the legendary "Jaws" surf spot, where wave heights could top 50 feet.

The likes of Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama and Darrick Doerner challenged the monster waves yesterday while three photography helicopters made swooping runs over the swells and several thousand spectators trampled cane grass, stood on their vehicles, climbed trees and found any space available on the Pe'ahi cliffs to observe the action in the water.

A traffic jam on two-lane Häna Highway stretched for five miles from close to Kahului Airport through Pä'ia town and past Ho'okipa as locals and tourists flocked to the coastline to ogle the big swells.

Igor Merk, 26, of Kula, camped overnight at Pe'ahi to get the best seat for surf-watching and could offer only superlatives to describe the scene below.

"It's unreal, incredible," he said. "I've never seen anything like that."

TOW-IN SURFING

Tow-in surfing, in which a surfer is pulled into large, fast waves by a personal watercraft, was pioneered at Jaws in the early 1990s by Hamilton, Kalama, Doerner, Buzzy Kerbox and other members of "Strapped Crew," named because of the foot straps on their boards.

Only the largest winter storm swells approaching from a certain direction generate extreme surf at the deep-water break. Although the sport has spread to other big-wave spots around the world, Jaws remains renowned for its clean, well-formed tubes.

David Langer and tow-in partner Harry "Bobo" Pahukoa of Ke'anae were among the 36 or so tow-in teams at Jaws yesterday morning.

"It was fun," said Langer, 39. "It was just beautiful, phenomenal. The water was pristine, clean and glassy."

Langer said Pahukoa may have caught the wave of the morning, riding inside the curl of a 40- to 50-foot wave.

"Bobo was throated," said Langer of Pahukoa's tube ride — "barreled out of his mind."

Langer produced and was featured in the documentary "January 10: The Biggest Day Ever Surfed" about the day in 2004 when Jaws saw waves of 60 to 80 feet.

Yesterday's surf wasn't nearly as big as on that historic occasion, but the promise of 30- to 50-foot swells was enough for David Rastovich and Luke Egan of Australia, Mike Parsons of California and other globe-trotting surfers to fly to Maui to join the lineup, Langer said.

TALK OF THE TOWN

Launching from the Mäliko Boat Ramp west of Pe'ahi were the tow-in team of Michel Larronde, 49, and Philippe Visintainer, 44, of Ha'iku, Maui.

"For the last five days we've been hearing about it," Larronde said. "It's the talk of the town and everyone is amplifying it and you don't want to listen any more. You just want to go with your own mind and respect the ocean."

"Everyone is amped out, for sure," Visintainer added.

Two lesser-known tow-in spots, Pier 1 outside Kahului Harbor and Outside Sprecks, also were breaking yesterday.

John Bendon, 31, of Pä'ia, and tow-in partner Zach Hansel, 30, of Spreckelsville, headed out for the surf from Kahului Harbor.

When asked what goes through his mind when he hears reports predicting big surf, Bendon said: "I get excited. I get butterflies."

"I'm thinking, 'It's going to be an incredible day to remember,' " Hansel said.

Because of the dangerous surf on Maui's north shore, the county is closing Baldwin and Ho'okipa beach parks for a second day today.