“Best wave I’ve had in two winters.” Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Mark Healey is no stranger to Second Reef Pipeline bombs. Seriously, anytime I read the name Healey and “second reef pipe” I have to Google the date on whichever video I’m about to watch to make sure it’s not some viral clip I already watched five winters ago. But nope, typically when the guy makes headlines for nabbing one that roles over that shelf and unloads on the reef it’s a fresh, new video.
Well, Healey just did it again on another monster left-hander that he’s calling the “best wave I’ve had in two winters.”
This wave and session came on Sunday, February 23. Pipe, of course, has been running hot since the Championship Tour packed its bags and left town. There’s been no shortage of heavy days throughout the month of February and a handful of revered watermen have been rescued by surfers and North Shore lifeguards alike in recent weeks.
“This is a swell we’ve been waiting for, even though Pipeline has been firing for almost two weeks straight,” Healey said Sunday morning. Healey then went out and nabbed that best wave of the past two winters in session number one of the day (seen at the 5:39 mark, below).
“Pipeline is off its face right now,” he says while taking a break. “Honestly, it’s almost been three years since I’ve had a big, Second Reef, proper day. These are the days I live for. Got some lickings, made some really sketchy waves, had a good time.”
One of those sketchy ones was the previously mentioned wave, which Healey admits he almost passed on.
“It just looked kinda wonky and backwashy,” he says. “I could just see it was gonna double up on the reef. I was paddling and still saying, ‘Maybe I won’t go.’ But then I just snapped and went.”
