Things were running smoothly the first day of the Pipeline Masters, until about 10am. Heat 8 was approaching: Sunny Garcia & Nic Muscroft, But Sunny was nowhere to be seen, they kept calling and calling for him, but still nothing. Torrey Meister was the first alternate, he was stoked. He grabbed a jersey and hit the water joining Nic Muscroft. Minutes later, who shows up? thats right, Sunny Garcia. Late on the scene, Sunny ran down to get his jersey, but Randy Rarick wasn't gonna allow this, he was late for his heat, he knew the rules. A small tug-o-war started up on the sand. End result: Sunny was not able to surf. Kauai’s Evan Valiere offered to give up his next alternate spot, so Sunny would still have a chance to get in, but no other surfers withdrew from Round 1. It's too bad, Sunny was in position to win the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, and everyone would have loved to watch him surf Pipe.

Labels: Sunny Garcia, Vans Surf, Vans Triple Crown of Surfing

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San Clemente's Greg Long, who has made a name for himself in the big wave department added another huge accomplishment by winning the 2009 Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Contest. Massive waves poured into Waimea Bay today exceeding 40 feet, it was at its prime, and all the competitors were frothing.





Kelly Slater jumped ahead early with a 98 point scoring wave, and continued grabbing high scoring rides. It wasn’t till the last two heats, when the only contender left in the game was Bruce Irons. He was in position to take the lead in his last heat. But in the very last heat, Greg Long shocked everyone by winning the event with each of the waves he caught, including a perfect 100 point wave. Long is a regular standout in the yearlong Billabong XXL Big-Wave Awards, so its no surprise that he would take the Eddie at the last minute. Ramon Navarro was another contender picking up a 100 point wave, winning the Monster Energy Drop Award, he was happy to return home to Chile with a check for $10,000. It couldn’t have been a better day to run the contest, with the recent success of the Gudauskas brothers and now this, I’m sure San Clemente will raging tonight.

Labels: Eddie Aikau, Vans Surf

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This is a big week for the surf on the North Shore of Oahu. We’ve started to see the first part of a massive two-day swell generated by Typhoon Nida in the Western Pacific followed by more swell, and then more. It’s been forecasted that the waves this week will be the largest surf to hit the seven mile miracle in 40 years. When the waves get this giant, its both good and bad for the people of Hawaii, bringing epic surf for all those who desire to ride the waves, and at the same time causing destruction on homes and closing main highways, inconveniencing all Hawaiian residents as well as visitors. Wave heights were already well above warning levels of 20 feet in recent days as surfers rode 25-to-30 foot face swells at the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing. It was some of the largest surf to be seen since the start of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. These swells coming in are so large they practically wrap around the island creating massive surf everywhere. Hundreds of people line up on Kam Highway and on the sand to watch the big wave riders at Waimea Bay, and everyone is excited for the Eddie Aikau competition to get underway.



The contest is named after the legendary North Shore lifeguard and surfer who lost his life in 1978 trying to paddle a surfboard from the disabled traditional Hawaiian double-hulled canoe Hokule'a in the Molokai Channel to distant Lanai to get help, the crew was rescued by the Coast Guard, but Aikau was never found. The motto "Eddie would go" has become synonymous with taking chances, especially in aid of others. The event has to have surf over 25 feet to be held and has only gone off seven times in 25 years. Crowds coming up from Honolulu are expected to gridlock the North Shore roads, as they did during the last contest in December 2004. Wave heights are expected to be at or above the legendary 1998 contest, which featured sets above 30 feet.




And lets not for get about the Billabong Pipeline Masters, with the current swells prepping the sand, Pipe should be in good shape by the time the contests kicks off. It’s gonna be an Aussie showdown, with Mick and Parko battling it out for the 2009 ASP World Title. Parko showed he has recovered since his ankle injury by taking home the gold at the O’Neill World Cup, but Fanning has won three of the last four events. Without a doubt this is gonna be an exciting year at the Billabong Pipeline Masters, be sure to tune in live online, or on TV – as this years Pipe Masters will be broadcasted live by the good people at FUEL TV.

Labels: 2009 Billabong Pipeline Masters, Vans Surf

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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, Pipeline, Vans Surf

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