Nate Florence opened his face up on the Pipeline reef on March 25th. Photo: Nate Florence//YouTube
You might’ve heard by now, but Pipeline went off on March 25th. It’s pretty late in the season for a swell of that size to hit that fabled slab of reef, but the swell wasn’t the only thing to hit it. Nate Florence’s face did, too.
“Pipeline taking no prisoners yesterday!” he wrote on YouTube. “Face to reef, nine stitches but the schnoz and eyes are all good.”
Florence is well aware of the consequences that come with chasing the kinds of waves that he does, and he’s willing to pay the price. Remember that Jaws wave that ended up breaking his back? He took that one on the head and bounced right back no worse for wear, despite the fact that it could have been far worse.
One would assume that after a few wipeouts that could very well end in death, a surfer might become a bit timid. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, because Nate is still hauling himself all over the planet in search of the biggest, scariest, heaviest waves he can find. But when Pipeline in on, he’s very likely going to make sure he’s back at home with his feet squeaking in the North Shore sand.
A closer image of the wound. Coulda been an eye. Photo: Nate Florence//YouTube
Nate wasn’t the only one out that day. It was a good day, especially for so late in the North Shore season. Mark Healey made an appearance, as did Koa Rothman, but as far as we know, Nate was the only one who had to pay a steep fee to play.
Although he did end up with a session-ending face injury (that’s going to leave a pretty great scar), he did manage to sneak under the hood of a couple of good ones. In typical Nate fashion, that’s what he’s focused on.
“Got some nice waves before so was a good day overall,” he said. “I’ll be healing up, team!”
