The North Shore has been on fire in recent days. On January 21, yet another big swell began to fill in and the 7 Mile Miracle lit up. When a really big swell in a certain direction hits, some waves just don’t work as well as they should, and this particular one wasn’t perfect for Pipeline.
“The swell is too big for Pipeline,” wrote Surfers of Hawaii on YouTube, “so surfers turn to Haleiwa.”
With wave heights mostly around the 6-8 foot range — the bigger sets maxed out at 12-15 – Haleiwa was positively pumping. It’s a not an easy wave to surf by any means, especially at size. It’s heavy and the current is a nightmare to deal with. When it’s maxing, it doesn’t matter how good of a surfer you are, how fit you are, or how much experience you’ve got there. It’ll still kick your ass, because, as you (hopefully) know, the ocean is a hell of a lot stronger than we are.
The real peak is around 300 yards from the beach, and it’s generally a little shifty. After battling the amount of water that moves around in the lineup during the paddle out, the wave itself has a series of thick sections that end at the Toilet Bowl. On certain days when the swell is big and from the WNW, not paddling isn’t an option, unless you like being horribly out of position.
Since it’s winter on the North Shore, the lineup was full of pros like Yago Dora, Eli Olsen, Kanoa Igarashi, Josh Moniz, Caity Simmers, Jack Robinson, Imaikalani Devault, and many more.
