The sand at Pipe isn't looking so good right now. Pipe is best on a strong swell that is pushed from the west, to clear out the sand in the reef that normally closes it out (meaning the hollow tube collapses all at once) on strong north swells. It is a flat tabletop reef, with several caverns on the inside, creating a giant air bubble that pops on the front of the wave when the wave lurches upwards just before breaking....



Depending on the swell direction, the peak can peel off into a perfect hollow left (west swell), a fast barreling right (north swell), or both (northwest swell). The right, of course, is known as Backdoor. There are also several jagged, underwater lava spires that can cut up fallen surfers fairly badly. Early in the season we had a decent WNW swell that knocked out some of the sand from backdoor, but on this last north swell we just had, it moved it all back out into the lineup. Last year we had about 10 good pipe swells during this time giving us a good Pipe season, and with a little luck maybe we'll get some more just in time for the Billabong Pipeline Masters.

Labels: 2009 Billabong Pipeline Masters, Vans Surf

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