Pipeline Journal - The Journey Preparing for Hawai'i

Even before I became a surfer, I have been in awe of Pipeline. Having been born in Hawai’i, the images of Pipe are inescapable. They hang on restaurant walls, shown in windows of malasada shops, printed on t-shirts, created by art, formed in sculpture, captured on film, reported in news weather reports, and whispered in legend. Pipeline’s mythic characteristics become a part of the culture, and for me, I remember the color of pellucid blue to clear on a backlit shot that I saw as a child, that I remember even now. The rays of light fragmented and haloed, refracted through the blue walls, and I remember thinking how peaceful and alive that looked. How pure.

But since I didn’t think of myself as a surfer, or someone who would go onto surf, I never thought that I would get to sit in that position. Sure, I loved the water, but mostly splashing on a boogie board or hanging out with my dad at Lanikai. I have no memories of being on a surfboard, though there are photos of me on my dad’s gun floating in Uncle Terry’s pool.

Even when I moved to California with my family (I didn’t have the blood for Kamehameha, the money for Punahou, or the brawn for Kailua), I still boogie boarded in the summers and on return trips to Hawaii, though I can remember images of scattering my life.

Though once I did start surfing, on shifty, literally shitty rivermouth crumblers of Seal Beach, I immediately began to dream of surfing Pipe. You could give credence to my goofy-footed orientation forming my mythical associations with Pipeline, because my dad, as a regular foot, spoke mostly about Sunset Beach, a heaving, undulating, mountain if a wave that was a central proving ground for his surfing time in Hawai’i. He got to ride waves frontside, and would drag me and my brother along to mellow, Californian imitations: Trestles, Rincon, C-Street. Pipeline was the exact opposite of all of that, opposite of what my dad wanted too. Long right hand power surfing? I wanted graceful short left tubes.

After a year or two, I had quickly improved my abilities, the way kids do. I remember asking my dad if he thought that I could ever surf Pipeline, and he would always answer similarly. “It’s a difficult wave, but with training you could do it.” Having surfed the North Shore, his words meant a lot to me.

My last trip to the Country was when I was fifteen, right when the fork hadn’t been so huge. My dad took me out to Kammieland, Ehukai on a small day, and a secret spot around the corner on a Kona day. I remembering feeling scared and excited and like I had made a huge leap forward in my surfing. I vowed to return to Hawaii, and surf bigger waves… maybe even Pipeline.

But life is funny how it twists and turns. At the same time I was rapidly improving as a surfer, I was also rapidly improving as a golfer, and by high school I had focused much more on golf than on surfing. My cometic path as a golfer included time at UCLA as an honorable mention All Pac-10 (before it became Pac-12), but fizzled just as fast, by my early twenties, I had fought with a coach I distrusted, to the point he cut me from the team, and my love of that game waned, and I had more or less quit before my senior year of college.

That senior year, I joined UCLA’s surf team and met some of my best friends. I had forgotten how much I loved surfing, and plunged back into it with zeal. We surfed all the time, forming our school schedules based on wave maximization strategies.

But my interest in new travel switched from Hawaii to the world. I surfed Hossegor’s beach break tubes, Mundaka’s roping rivermouth grinders, Jeffrey’s Bay’s perfection in the African wild (the ocean there, more than anywhere else, feels so alive… dolphins and whales and birds and the spectre of sharks… it’s incredible), G-Land’s jungle barrels (my personal favorite), Uluwatu’s cliff hewn runners, Australia’s… everything, Raglan in New Zealand, Cloudbreak and Restaurants and their parallel but different perfections. I didn’t go back to the Country to surf in all of that time.

My surfing accelerated again, and I began to develop an ability to actually surf in waves of consequence. I could get to my feet quickly, and loved getting tubed, whether I made it out of the barrel or not (obviously preferring to make it out). One of my good friends even nicknamed me Lord Shackleton. That moniker may exaggerate my abilities some, but it does get at the heart of what I love about surfing.

January 10, 2018 - Going to Hawaii

Excited about it!

January 11, 2018 - Big Wave Meeting

I had a meeting scheduled with the three executives, Brian, Derek, and Patrick. I was nervous, my throat clenching, my heart constricting. And then I started to think that this was the same feeling as having a looming set rushing towards me, a big dark monster that I was sure to be caught inside on. And suddenly, I thought, I should laugh at this, I should enjoy this thrill, especially if I want to train my mind to surf Pipe. It will be harder to surf Pipe if I’m scared shitless, and way easier if I’m looking forward to challenging myself.

I took that attitude to the meeting, and it added a level of dance and joy to my disposition. I thought of jockeying in the lineup and finding that beautiful tube that finally came my way. The ideas gave me way more patience. Operating from a place of fear, it’s so much easier to react emotionally, and not see what actually happens in front of you. But in a place of presence and appreciation, I could slow down and actually deliver on my plan, as well as handle the unplanned surprises that come with any real life situation.

After the meeting, I felt miraculous.

January 14, 2018

Surfed at Salt Creek today. The beginnings of a NW swell, only about waist to chest high, and low tide, which typically isn’t great for Creek. I told myself that I wanted to focus only on one thing today, which was getting up to my feet a little wider and quicker, which gave me increased motivation that this session could help me. I paddled out 100 yards north of the shack, where Middles meets Gravels. Only 15 surfers bobbed around in the lineup, with 2-3 on garish softops, taking most the waves. I caught my first few waves and felt a nimbleness for the first time in probably a year. Even though I had been gaining weight, I worked out during that whole time, which made losing even these recent 5 pounds feel like 10.

The waves peeled off a sandbar and occassionally mushed then ran for 50 yards or so. You can see which ones will do that by the bend in the approaching wave, and on my first, I caught one, flit to my feet, quickly pumped before hitting the bottom, picked up enough speed that I had a small, section to hit. I tried to crack it, and, looking away, didn’t hit it high enough or with knees bent enough and so my legs splayed and I fell.

On another wave, a left that went against the grain of the swell, I popped to my feet and pushed off the bottom to hit a softer section, kept speed, and as the dredging closeout came to me, I ramped up and skated on the lip line and sticking the landing in the flats. What was notable on that ride was how much stronger my legs felt, and how agile I felt. I haven’t felt like that in some time.

I feel more confident that my plan to get in shape enough to surf Pipe will work, and I’m excited to keep focus. So much so that I’m thinking of adding a work-out or a yoga session today as a means to stay limber. That seems to be an aspect that I’m not quite giving enough attention.

January 15, 2018

Surfed Black’s today with Pat. We anticipated surfing sizable waves, but we only saw about shoulder to head high waves. The wind hardly whispered, the sun shone, the tide dropped and the waves spun beautifully. I surfed better today, quicker to my feet, and actually hit the lip in the right places without losing speed, and allowing for carves down the line. Also, I made a couple somewhat critical drops much more easily than normal. I would say that my backside bottom turn could improve, and I’m turning my head too quickly on my backhand top turns. But overall, I thought my surfing greatly improved. The hike back up the cliff was very easy too, which usually feels more difficult. I ate a healthy burrito for lunch, and that’s probably the worst thing I’ve eaten lately.

January 17, 2018

I ran today, in sprints, and selectively holding my breath. I got to the point where I could speedily jog while holding my breath for 30 seconds, which gave me a lot of confidence. I should have surfed today, as it looks really fun. Alas, work gets in the way. I have to plan for these things now, and getting home at 8:45 from work doesn’t help that.

January 18, 2018

I pitch the idea for myself to Grant Ellis at Surfer. I have spent time with Grant, though not much recently. His kindness has always been there, and he even let me stay with his parents in South Africa.

On my run today, I started to notice the levels of burning lungs that come. The first one comes at 6-12 seconds of held-breath running (depending on how hard I’m running), the second at 15-20 seconds of held-breath running, and after that second one, I do feel a tingling in my body. Granted, there are two ways to look at this: 1) that if I’m not exerting myself that I will be able to hold my breath longer and 2) that this is done when I choose to hold my breath. So the key will be remembering to choose to hold your breath when taking a beating.

I also thought I should make a list of all the waves I’ve surfed at size (Hawaiian) and remember how I did. This can give me insight into what I should prepare for and expect.

List of Big Days I’ve Surfed

Restaurants - 6-8 feet

It was a macking day at Cloudbreak, and Restaurants was good size too. Slater was out. I pick and chose my spots, and did get a great tube.

Uluwatu - 8 feet plus

On a 6’1” too! Granted, that wave sloped in much easier. I surfed it well, though cautiously.

G-Land 6-8 feet

It was pretty aggressive line up, and so I let most of the sets go through, instead fighting for the smaller set that swang wide. I surfed that well, though not as spectacularly as I surfed other, smaller days. Largely that was because I surfed cautiously.

Jeffrey’s Bay - 8 - 10 feet

Guys were out on 10 foot guns that day, and I was undergunned for sure, having only a 6’1’’. I caught a few waves, but nothing great. On my backhand, it was tough to make the drop.

Rincon 8-10

Biggest day I’ve ever seen at Rincon by a long shot. Similar to J-Bay, I was undergunned and caught only a few waves.

Punta de Lobos - 8-10 feet

Undergunned as well, on a 6’1’’, but like Uluwatu, I surfed it well. No one was out though, and I felt kind of spooked, so I only caught 4-5 waves and got out. I also didn’t surf around the Morros, which were MUCH bigger, and only surfed Diamante.

Gas Bay - 4-6 feet

Most Backdoor like wave I’ve surfed. It wasn’t huge, but it was thick, howling offshore, heavy with Aussies and I didn’t catch a wave. I did get pounded pretty hard, though I survived.

Margarets - 6-8 feet +

Main break was pretty big, surfed on a 7’2’’ which helped a ton. I surfed wide and inside, picking off the smaller 6 footers. I surfed incredibly well that day. I did get one bad hold down, but I also paddled back out and caught a few. I was really proud of myself, and I remember the adrenaline of that pounding.

Hossegor - 4-6 feet with 8 foot sets

I surfed this recently, and confidently on a bigger board, my 6’9’’ black beauty. Got a great backside tube on it. Didn’t get the biggest sets, but got some great ones. Heart raced but surfed great.

Little Drakes 4 feet

Like Gas Bay but without the bomb sets, though howling offshore and tubing. Really hard to get over the edge, and so I surfed my 6’9’’. That bigger board seems to make the difference.

Newport Point 6-8 feet

A fucking zoo, but perfect. I rode my 6’9’’ and surfed cautiously, but well. No tubes.

January 18, 2018 - Pipe Report

4 foot at daybreak, and a little choppy. I notice that it breaks all over the reef, and there are lots of sidewaves. North-Northwest Swell 330-350 direction. Mid tide. Only 2 bodyboarders out. I could definitely surf this. Doesn’t look tubey though.

January 21, 2018

Pipeline looks surfable. A little overhead and fun. The tube doesn’t show as much at this size, but it still looks fun. Swell is at 4 feet from 326 angle. Looks like it marches past the spot and then hits the reefs/canyons and funnels back to pipe.

January 22, 2018 - Surfline 1 hour replay with commentary

Pipe looks perfect. More direct offshores, 295, 18 second period and 9 feet on the buoy. Wave after wave comes in, beautifully tapered, and then catapults onto the reef. One of the nice things is that I can watch the people paddle out at Pipe, and it looks like they paddle out and drift fast to the right/Ehukai, before guiding themselves into the channel.

The video has some great information on what swells that Pipe likes, basically 295-330, though it looks like a 270 swell could sneak under Kauai (and Gerry Lopez mentions that in his book). Apparently, it loves long period swell, and it doesn’t need to be that big, but 9 feet at 18 seconds made for epic pipe.

As I watched, I imagined what kind of person I would be, and I looked for people taking off on the smaller ones. But what I saw from those are that they tend to be harder to pull in and make. If I want a real Pipe tube, I need to be able to take off a little deeper and pull in. I get excited and nervous at the same time thinking of that.  

http://www.surfline.com/video/featured-clips/replay-multi-cam-swell-analysis-at-pipeline_151566

January 23, 2018

I want to bring back that perspective of enjoying the terror of moments. I’m going to have to give a presentation on Friday that I won’t be completely prepared for. To be honest, that’s similar to what will happen when I go to the North Shore. I won’t have gotten in the shape that those guys live in. I’ll be in better shape, but I have to use that determination to get there in both instances, to make the best of what I have. And honestly, I think I can be a success in both ways. But by dreading it, and procrastinating and losing hope, I make those things less likely. I need to focus.

January 24, 2018

Watching pipe, I notice how much harder pulling into the tube looks when it’s more normal size. At size, getting tubed seems like the only way to actually surf the wave, but at under double overhead, it looks like the tube is so slow compared to the speediness of the drop.

January 28, 2018

Pipe is small today, barely breaking and not even looking like a decent wave. Only shoulder high, but no form that you’d recognize from a regular pipe day. It’s wonky only a few guys surf it.

January 30, 2018

Watched the two minute cam rewind from last week (Jan 22) and it was amazing to see how deep the guys take off and still make it. I was so impressed to see them.

February 5, 2018

I watched the Volcom Pipe Pro over the weekend and it was amazing to watch Jamie O’Brien and Josh Moniz surf those waves. They take such good lines when they go over the edge. It’s so impressive. What was interesting was the switch from surfing Backdoor most the event to going over to Pipe at the end. I don’t think I saw anyone go right.

February 9, 2018

The forecast has switched a lot. The winds look a little breezy. The swell looks fun though. I’ll see how it works out.

What I have become grateful for is the benefits that this journey has given me. Though I still have a ways, I’m getting back in great shape. And as I keep going, I think I could get into the shape of my life. Granted, that’s hard work in the future, which is quicksand.

Maybe even more importantly, I’ve seen a more resolute mentality develop in me, as well as added joy. This is funny to see, especially in light of the fact that from a work perspective, this same period I have been training, has probably been the toughest one I have had from a work perspective. 5 Market Outlooks, 1 acquisition, an all company event, Advisor Tuesday, navigating Ryan’s and my compensation issues. Considering a new job.

And yet, I’ve been more resilient.

I also believe that a big part of this is Al and little Reynnie. I think what Al did is that she changed my life in a way where there was some external validation and love, from such an amazing source. And I believe her love to be deep. Combine that with little Reynnie, who has added a level of meaning and joy that I was entirely unsuspecting would arrive so soon.

February 12, 2018

I wonder if trying to do too many things in life is what hampers my ability to feel confident? This exercise has really helped me focus on what matters. I’m working hard on making a breakthrough.

People to know in the lineup:

Jamie Obrien

Kaimana Henry

Kala Alexander

Tai Van Dyke

Bruce Irons

Anthony Walsh

Landon McNamara

Derek Ho

Mason Ho

Makuakai Rothman

Koa Rothman

Ola Eleogram
Kalani Chapman

Wakita

Kala Grace

Makana Pang

Most of the pros should be gone, which include: John John Florence, Seth Moniz, Josh Moniz, Barron Mamiya, Imaikalani Devault.