Huge waves continued to pour in across the reef at Jaws when the first Semifinal of the 2017 Pe'ahi Challenge hit the water early on Day 2. And Makuakai Rothman drew upon all the big wave experience he's gained over the last decade as an XXL Award winner and Big Wave Tour Champ to take the win and move into the Final. He faded the drop into a large set, pulled up tight into the pocket and rode out cleanly across a smooth shoulder to score the best wave of the heat. Both Long and Kemper attempted to pack huge tubes after deep drops, but were unable to complete their rides. Long's wipeout was especially brutal, as he tried to tuck under a huge section only to hit the eject button inside the tube and get rolled by a massive lip.
