A cleanup set at Pipe. Photo: Youtube//Surf Kawela Hawaii
Most of the footage we see coming out of Pipeline is just the best of the best highlights. Spitting barrels punctuated with subtle claims or the always-popular no-claim claim. Back door takeoffs that epitomize the catchphrase “steep and deep.” Elevator drops that make your stomach turn over as if you’re riding a rollercoaster. The wave has its way of giving us adrenaline rushes just by watching.
But nothing spikes the adrenaline as much as a proper wipeout, or worse, a proper cleanup set. And if you’ve ever stood on the beach at Pupukea yourself, you can vouch that Pipe’s second reef cleanup sets are elite.
This raw footage from the day after Christmas shows one of those cleanup sets rolling through the lineup and causing all the chaos you can imagine. Leashes are snapped. Boards sit like floating tombstones. And just like any other cleanup set at any other wave on the planet, everyone is left scampering to get out the back.
December on the North Shore, everybody.
