I Put Down the Surfboard and Took Out the Sailboat

February 20th, 2011
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More Pipeline Action Saturday Evening

Pipeline session in the afternoon. So much to learn still. I was in the right mindset to surf Pipe and it sure was goiiiing off. Perfect conditions and rising 4-7 foot swell, packed out there though. Sat on Pipe side of reef for first 30 minutes and just watched the hustle go down almost getting in the way a couple times. I finally adjusted to Pipe mode and decided to paddle to the other side of the peak and just sit deep similar to my Waimea approach. I got my 3 waves over there near the 3rd and 4th house Waimea side of Jamie O'Brien's.

My first wave was sick. It was a left that lined up ruler edge style into the Pipe bowl. I dropped in and knew that if I slowed down enough, I could get a tube somewhere. I did a drawn out bottom turn and came back into the pocket and the end section threw over me for a solid quick high line fast tube. I came into it high and shot through ending low and a little off balance, almost thought I was going down, but I made it...yewwww!

Stoked! I paddled around the lineup and got back into position. Another chunky wave lined up across and I wanted it, but as I was dropping in I saw a body boarder last second already riding. I turned off and barely made it back out before the set unloaded! Close one.

My second wave was a freight train left going top to bottom. I committed and somebody was hooting. I barely made the drop and tucked under the lip without much speed. It was like slow-motion trying to get my balance and pull into the barrel. Luckily I made it under the lip and then got exploded in the barrel. I went back over the falls but it was cushiony and the reef was full of water when I came back over. I was a little shaken and went back out for one more.

I was shadowing Tamayo Perry to his inside and realized a strategy to sit deep and wait for the bombs to come through and then be deep enough that others won't drop in. This was working for me on the inside on the smaller ones. The last one that came was similar to the previous. A 6 footer that let me in nice and easy. I pumped once and setup for the barrel. From that moment on I knew it was going to be a massive closeout pit. So I got in there and was going mach speed, got some travel time and then jumped off. I was going so fast and the force of the crashing lip helped me penetrate right through the back of the wave. Yeah! I caught the white wash in and paraded up to the showers gleaming on the inside. After a session at Pipe, I am happy to walk away with a healthy body and an intact surf board, and the few barrels to marinate on in my memory bank is an awesome bonus.

Breaking Down Barriers at Pipeline

Today was a first for me. My first time paddling out to Pipeline in the 5-9 foot range. Second reefers were coming through and occasionally cleaning up first reef sitters. I looked at the surf around 12:00 and wasn't motivated. Pipe had a few incredible waves spitting out their guts, but the short period swell mixing in with the light Kona winds made for some stormy looking conditions.

Kurt was determined to get out there and I opted for a nap. I awoke with a firing desire to get out there. The time was right, I had a feeling the conditions were improving. Intimidating! Kind of like surfing Waimea Bay for the first time. You just have to go! So I went! Just as I was about to paddle out a big set unloaded through second reef. I waited for the waves to settle and made the dash.

The lineup was spread out, with surfers sitting all over first reef out onto second reef. It was a wide playing field with waves breaking really hard on the first reef and bigger on the second reef. I sat inbetween the two and tried to setup a map of the reef and how the waves were breaking. I observed the surfers, John John and Mark Healey sat deep on the inside at first reef. Probably having flashbacks to the Backdoor Shootout because the crowd was so light and not many where sitting as deep as they were. No one as committed.... Derek Ho and Kohl Christensen sat at second reef, and caught some nice cruisey bombs without any barrels though. On my 7'0 Rawson, I opted to stay on the first reef and I moved into position.

I had to duck under a few capping through second reef and swinging wide. They weren't so bad, but it's kind of sketchy when you think about getting caught and tossed into the impact zone. Anyways, you have to put that out of your mind. I noticed how close to the inside John John stayed. Even when the sets were capping way outside, he held his ground and usually caught a wave before the set detonated or the set would back off and double up right where he was providing the stage for a standup backside tube riding demo by the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout Champion.

You could tell a good barrel from the amount of spit it threw at the end section. I saw one inside bowl that spit at both ends backdoor and pipe. One of the coolest waves off the day was a guy that dropped in from almost second reef, he was hauling but, and must have pulled into a huge barrel because the shoreline erupted and people cheered as he exited the wave on the inside.

30 minutes had passed and my wave count was still zero. One wide swinging in-betweener came my way, I swung and made the drop, but no barrel in sight. At least the ice was broken, now I wanted a real one. The sun slithered down, first behind the clouds and then the horizon. The winds went to sleep as the sun set. The crowd was thinning and by now I kind of had it figured out, who really wanted it and who didn't. I thought I did until I went for one and then backed out, with my stomach fluttering with adrenaline. "Not this one."

I went back to the zone and lined up, one wall of water angled towards the inside bowl and I knew this was mine to wrangle with. One guy was deeper and I saw hesitation in his eyes so I went and he backed off. As I dropped in I remember thinking, "No nosediving here!" I made it, recovered a
little and time slowed down as a I saw a perfect cylindrical tube start to form 25 feet in front of me. The glassy tube was an emerald green color. What a sight! I had so much speed as I flew through the barrel section and came out dry. What an experience!