PHLOGGING: HAWAIIAN PUNCH Photo Blogging The 2011
Billabong Pipe Masters With Tom Dugan By Tom Dugan
Having not been to Hawaii in quite a few years, and showing up for the
biggest swell of the year (that just happened to arrive on the first day of the
waiting period for the Billabong Pipe Masters), we could not have timed it
better. Day Two of our trip proved to be the best Pipe in about ten years, or
so some of the locals said. All I know after standing on the beach watching the
waves come in with huge sets breaking out on Second Reef is that this is something
that needs to be experienced in person at least once in your surfing lifetime.
Pipeline is like no other break in the world… but you already know that.
Seeing the ASP World Tour and a few of the best Pipe locals battle it out in 10-
to 15-foot barrels was mind-bending. Not for just us measly surfers but also
for the average Joe on the beach, because every time someone would get tubed or
wipe out, the crowd would erupt into screams and cheers. What an experience
hearing the people in awe and jubilation as surfer after surfer got the tubes
of their careers just off the beach. Seeing John John Florence at his homebreak
surfing with such casual, relaxed, and no-wasted-motions style was really cool.
The showdown of the event for me came when Kelly Slater and John John faced off
and went tube for tube, with John John leading all through the heat. When they
announced that Kelly would need a 7.1 to win, and with about 45 seconds left he
grabbed his last wave and rode it to the beach and got a 7.3, was even more killer.
Once again Kelly was on top, but not for long.
Next heat, an on-fire Joel Parkinson took the champ down and proceeded to
hit the final with fellow countryman Kieren Perrow. Seeing anyone rip at Pipe in
big waves is not something you witness often. To see East Coast twins
Damien and CJ Hobgood during their heats getting huge sets and going for it so
hard made me and all East Coasters proud. It also put CJ back on tour, bringing
the grand total of Rightside World Tour surfers back up to three.
Pipe is such an awesome wave that when it's on, the beach stands still.
What I mean by this is you just cannot take your eyes off it when you see a set
approach and hit Second Reef then slowly move onto the inside reef and peel
left throwing out further than it is high and creating enormous tubes that you
could fit a semi truck into. Seeing the world’s best battle it out for the most
prestigious trophy in the surfing world was something we will never forget.
Etched into my mind are CJ 's bottom turns into huge barrels, and his
brother Damien's late takeoffs, just dropping from the sky and sliding down the
face never to recover. But watching 11-time world champ Kelly Slater
mathematically work his way through each heat one by one on his way to the semifinals
with late barrel after elevator drop into each wave, well, that was awe-inspiring — something
I will never forget.
To see it all go down right in front of you is just something you can’t
get watching on your computer screen. Was I stoked to get here at the same time
as the best swell in ten years for Pipe? You bet. Will I be back? You bet.
Will Kelly and the Hobgoods continue to be a threat at huge Pipe? You bet. But
not being a gambling man, all I can say is you better get here if you really
want to see the best show in surfing. Yes my friends — that is why it is
called the Pipeline Masters.
17th Annual Quiksilver King Of The Peak Set
To Go Down In Solid Northeast Swell Conditions On November 6th-7th By
Nick McGregor; Captions by Dick “Mez” Meseroll READ MORE…
TENS ACROSS THE BOARD Blue Skies, Thousands Of Surf Fans, Pumping Head-High Peaks, And Red-Hot Performances All Combine For Spectacular Final Day Of Quiksilver Pro New York
STORMY WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY Cory Robbed, Gabe Bounced, Bobby Suspended, Damien And CJ Out, Kelly Swept Straight Into Round Four… What A Couple Of Days In New York
