Pitted

The waves have been huge for the last few days. We have had a massive swell and most of the beaches have been taped off. With the exception of the outer reefs and places like Waimea and Pipeline everywhere looks like a big soup bowl. Here are some pictures of Pipeline from tonight. Enjoy.

 A thick one.

 Double or triple over head?

 Apparently Danny Fuller surfed Right Point in Seaforth one time. 

 Stand up barrels!

In a very bad place.

GoPro

Forecast

This weekend...

The surf last Saturday was massive. So big that on Saturday pretty much every break on the North Shore was closing out. The beaches looked like a big mixing pot of whitewash. The only spots working were Waimea Bay and outer reef spots like Avalanches and Phantoms which are mainly tow-in spots. Even the conditions at Pipeline were so unruly that they post-poned the Volcom Pro until Sunday.

Avalanches - one of the many outer reef spots going off. 

Here are some highlights of my weekend:

Friday Night - Open Mic at at Universe Juice. My friend Nick and Cleo both played and both were really good. Nick got everyone up dancing and Cleo had a really cool bluesy sound. 

Saturday Morning - No surfing because the swell was too big to form rideable waves. So crazy to see the ocean so wild. 

Late Saturday Morning - Watch the opening round of the of the Volcom Pro at Pipeline until it was cancelled at mid-day. Click Here

Saturday Afternoon - Run into my shaper Jeff Bushman on the North Shore bike path and finally give him the Maple Syrop and SBC Surf Magazine I brought for him. My boards are awesome!

Late Saturday Afternoon - On the advice of Jeff I decided to check out a wave near Pu'ena Point. After watching it break for close to an hour I decide to paddle out. This wave was a massive bowling right and up close it was bigger than anything I have ever seen from in the water. After studying the wave from the line up I took off on a set wave. The drop down seemed to take forever and after rounding my bottom turn and looking up at the lip I can honestly say that this wave was the biggest wave of my life. After riding that wave I decided that it would probably be best not to push my luck so I paddled in and sat in my car for about thirty minutes literally shaking with adrenaline.

Sunday Morning - The waves were down and I surfed Ali'i's with Cleo. I tried out my GoPro but I was having trouble with it fogging up. Here are some shots before it got too foggy to shoot.

 Going Left

My morning commute. That's a banana on the dash.

One of many bails.

Haleiwa Ali'i Beach Park

The wave at Haleiwa Ali'i Beach Park is one of my favourite spots to surf on the North Shore. It's has a bit friendlier vibe than a lot of the other spots and most days it's easier to get a wave here.

This last week there has been some size and on Wednesday morning the surf was firing. The wave going right was pretty crowded so me and my friend Cleo decided to try going left. After going on a fat left I got stuck on the inside when a set of twelve footers steam rolled me. Caught on the inside, stuck in a wicked rip, and getting closer and closer to the harbour jetty I knew that fighting the ocean back to the line up would be a bad idea. Instead I let the rip swing me around the harbour and then I swam a quarter of a mile around the harbour and got in at the beach there. Not fun... but I guess a good swim on a warm Hawaiian morning is better than running.

Click HERE to see the mechanics of how this wave works.

Hawaii Mix

The sound system in the Tracker isn't exactly Bose quality. I can't pick any radio stations and there isn't really anyway of getting the iPod going. I do however have a CD player so mix discs are in full effect like it's 1999. Here's my first track list. Let me know what you think and drop me a comment with stuff that's got to get on the next mix.

Fortunate Son - CCR
Let's Dance - David Bowie
In a Big Country - Big Country
Lonely Boy - The Black Keys
C.R.E.A.M. - Wu-Tang Clan
Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
Midnight City - M83
In For The Kill (Skream Remix) - La Roux
Sail - Awolnation
Animal - Miike Snow
Write It All Down For You - Elliott Brood
Juicy - The Notorious Big
Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley
Trenchtown Rock - Sublime
Young Turks - Rod Stewart
Ready To Start - Arcade Fire
Major Record Debut (Fast) - Broken Social Scene
Welcome to Jamrock - Damian Marley
Australia - The Shins
1901 - Phoenix

Who is JOB

So we all know Pipeline is a scary wave. Whether it's head high or triple overhead anyone who surfs Pipe is in a special class.

The other day I had a chance to to see Pipemaster Jamie O'Brien try something pretty crazy. While I didn't see him land it this Surfline article captures the final creation. Check it out... here.