Odds are you didn’t get much holiday shopping done on Black Friday (or any day since) if you’re within sniffing distance of the Pacific. Jaws and Waimea turned in XL sessions with guys like Mark Healey, Kai Lenny, and a certain Maui prodigy we’ve all been eyeing for a couple seasons now, producing some viral moments. Maverick’s had its own party on the West Coast while plenty of places up and down the Golden State produced waves for surfers who’ve been waiting for it to start feeling like an actual El Niñ0 winter.
Nothing says winter waves in the Pacific like a packed lineup at Pipe though. Lines stacking out the back. Wind blowing offshore. Watching somebody literally scrape and claw onto the ledge of a 12-foot peak before tucking into a completely vertical takeoff. Holding your breath for every moment a person disappears into a tube and forgetting to breathe until you see them fly out enveloped in spray (or not). The North Shore’s main attraction delivered a bunch of those familiar moments over the holiday weekend with a handful of Pipe standouts in attendance: Koa Smith, Benji Brand, Ivan and Nathan Florence, and more.
