Ballistic Missiles

On January 13 an early-morning emergency alert mistakenly warning of an incoming ballistic missile attack was dispatched to cellphones across Hawaii setting off widespread panic in a state that was already on edge because of escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea.

For almost a full 40 minutes people had no idea what their future looked like as they screened the sky for signs of the impending doom. In the end it all turned out to be a simple mistake, and thank goodness for that, but it got us wondering (and this is putting the idea of any human tragedy waaaaaaaaaay aside); what would a surfing world look like without Pipeline? You know what? We don’t wanna know. Let’s just sit back and enjoy it while it still exists, because who knows
when Trump and Kimbo will nuke the whole lot of us?

PACKHORSE

I probably should have gone left but I thought Gavin (Beschen) was going it. It peaked and looked like a pretty good Backdoor so I put my head down and just started paddling like fuck. The thing is, when those waves begin standing on the reef they just get bigger and bigger and I was trippin’ like ‘Shiiiiiiiiiit! This thing’s gnarly!’ I stopped for one paddle, had a little brain fart, but something in me was screaming ‘no, no, no keep going!’ so I just went super hard at it. I went pretty weightless and let myself fall instead of trying to tuck in real early, because you can get in some pretty shitty sitchos out there if you blow the read on it. I got to the bottom and found a bit of rail, drove really hard and tried to get up under it. The vision was pretty sick in there, it kinda gassed in the barrel but I don’t know if it fully spat or not because the whole thing bottomed out under me and I just got rolled. It wasn’t too bad. I had one the day before where I hit ithe reef really hard and that was way on the inside just trying to get off a little three foot whitewash near the beach. I tried to jump off and it went almost dry and I got so smoked. But for a few moments there this wave was pretty sick. Definitely one for the lads.” – Noa Deane

THE BAMBOOZLER

“Mason Ho is sick. Every morning before the Backdoor Shootout he would come over and I’d be there kinda panicking and he’d be so chill saying ‘Noa, you got it man. It’s fucking sick out there!’ He was so frothing, but talking it down like sweet. When I saw him get two nuggets in a row I just thought ‘Woah… Mason’s gnarly.’ He was doing those opposite grab rail stalls and stuff and it was nuts. Tapped. He was on his own program, hey. So frothing and on a mission. It’s super sick to watch. He’s all over it out there. He gets in the barrel as deep as he can and when he’s coming out he stalls it up and just milks it too. And then even sometimes milks the wave all the way to the beach and shit whereas most people just wanna make it and get out of there (laughs)!
I don’t know what it is, he just bamboozles people. – Noa Deane

DEEP BLUE

“This was my second trip to the North Shore. We only scored two proper swells, but I was super excited to get back there and see all my friends again anyway. I can honestly say one of the most inspiring things about Hawaii is how good the locals surf those reefs, it’s the best motivation to push yourself. I bagged this wave at OTW on the last day of the trip. This was taken at the mid section between Backdoor and OTW, which is a great little spot to perch up at, no vibe or anything. Everyone sits in the pack, but you can get these inside growers just off Backdoor that throw the most perfect pits. That’s just something I like to do, I like to find my own space in the lineup. Even though I had a little more experience second time round surfing OTW, I’d actually say it gets scarier each year because you try to push yourself to go bigger. And coming from Burleigh, I had nothing to prepare me for Pipe.  That wave is one of the craziest places I’ve ever surfed, hands down. The lineup is incredible. The landscape has these giant green mountains watching over you. The water is deep blue and you can see all the holes and cracks in the reef clear to the bottom. And it gets insanely shallow, but best not to think about that too much. – Toby Mossop

MEMORY WAVE

That morning the Backdoor Shootout was absolutely firing, but the conditions were tricky. I caught two waves. The first (pictured) was one of the biggest barrels I’ve ever had out there. It happened during the heat. I went all the way through and tried to doggy door out of it and the fucking lip landed right on my head… but man, I was right there. It was mid-tide and glassy when this photo was taken. I had some boards made for last winter with my brother’s airbrush on it, and the one I’m riding here was a 6’8’’. There was so much water draining off the reef that day. It went so shallow. I don’t know what was going on with that swell – if it doubled up or what – but when I got to my feet the whole thing sucked up super hard. I couldn’t really tell how big it was, because I was concentrating on the drop and not having the lip cut my head off, but as I got under it and planted my feet, I started swearing my head off in this big beautiful vortex like “FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! Then came the heaviest backdraft spit – full face peeler. The wave threw me forward into three cartwheels and I just thought “oh my God. I’m about to get smoked!” My ears underwater just went – ratatat! – like three explosions. Then I hit my shoulder on this patch of sand the size of a hubcap. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, “What?! There’s sand out here?” I’m so lucky because if I’d hit reef that thing would have messed me up. It was a memory wave for sure. Even though I didn’t make it, it has to be one of the best waves of my life. I was rattled, but also super stoked at the same time. That morning is ingrained in my head but trust me, I have not gotten my fix yet. I’m coming back for the Volcom Pipe Pro, I just want to get a bigger and better one. I’m going to go those waves regardless. – Bruce Irons