The Banzai Pipeline, or simply Pipeline or Pipe, is a surf reef break located in Hawaii, off Ehukai Beach Park in Pupukea on O'ahu's North Shore. A reef break is an area in the ocean where waves start to break once they reach the shallows of a reef. Pipeline is known for huge waves that break in shallow water just above a sharp and cavernous reef, forming large, hollow, thick curls of water that surfers can tube ride. There are three reefs at Pipeline in progressively deeper water farther out to sea that activate according to the increasing size of approaching ocean swells. [1]
The location's compound name combines the name of the surf break (Pipeline) with the name of the beach fronting it (Banzai Beach). It got its name in December 1961, when surfing movie producer Bruce Brown was driving up north with Californians Phil Edwards and Mike Diffenderfer. Brown stopped at the site to film Edwards catching several waves. At the time, there was a construction project on an underground pipeline by the adjacent Kamehameha Highway, and Diffenderfer made the suggestion to name the break Pipeline. The name was first used in Bruce Brown's movie Surfing Hollow Days. It also lent its name to the 1963 hit song "Pipeline" by surf music rockers The Chantays. [2]
The reef at Pipe is a flat tabletop reef, with several caverns on the inside, creating a giant air bubble that pops on the front of the wave when the wave lurches upwards just before breaking. [3] There are also several jagged, underwater lava spires that can injure fallen surfers. When sand accumulates on the reef at Pipeline, the waves can become unpredictable and violently "close out," (break all at once instead of peeling in a way that allows a surfer to ride the wave). A strong swell (a formation of long-wavelength surface waves) from the west clears out the sand in the reef, and after that, a strong north swell can give rise to the best waves. [4]
There are four waves associated with Pipeline. The left (which means the wave breaks from left to right from the perspective of a watcher on shore) known as Pipeline (a.k.a. First Reef) is the most commonly surfed and photographed. When the reef is hit by a north swell, the peak (the highest tipping-point of the wave where it begins to curl) becomes an A-frame shaped wave, with Pipe closing out a bit and peeling off left, and the equally famous Backdoor Pipeline peeling away to the right at the same time. As the size at Pipe increases, over 12 feet usually, Second Reef on the outside (further out into the deeper ocean waters) starts breaking, with longer walls (the unbroken face of the wave that the surfer slides across), and more size. At an extreme size, an area called Third Reef even further outside starts to break with giant waves. [5]
Numerous surfers and photographers have been killed at Pipeline, including Jon Mozo and Tahitian Malik Joyeux, who was famous for his heavy charging (gutsy surfing) at Teahupo'o. [6] Many people have died or been seriously injured at Pipeline. Pipeline has been called one of the world's deadliest waves. [7] Its average wave is 9 feet (3 m), but it can be as tall as 20 feet. [8] Especially perilous are sections of shallow reef known as "Off the Wall" and "Backdoor". [9]
A few of the notable surfers at Pipeline are Phil Edwards (who is credited as the first person to surf it), [10] Greg Noll (first to surf Second/Third Reef in 1964), Butch Van Artsdalen, Gerry Lopez, Mike Stewart, Shaun Tomson, Mark Richards, Wayne 'Rabbit' Bartholomew, Peter Townend, Michael Ho, Simon Anderson, Tom Carroll, Sunny Garcia, Kelly Slater, Danny Fuller, Jamie O'Brien, Rob Machado, Andy Irons, Mick Fanning, Gabriel Medina, John John Florence and Italo Ferreira. [11] [12] [13] Moana Jones Wong has earned the nickname "Queen of Pipeline." [14] In 1964, John Peck [15] and Dick Catri [16] were some of the first surfers to appear while inside the Pipeline tube in a published film. [17]
The top surfing competitions at this spot include the Pipe Masters (board surfing), the Volcom Pipe Pro, the IBA Pipeline Pro (bodyboarding), and the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic. [18] Surfers can also submit videos to Surfline's Wave of the Winter competition. The competition focuses on beaches on Oahu's north shore, including Pipeline. [19]
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer, uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores, but can also be found as standing waves in the open ocean, in lakes, in rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or wave pools.
Waimea Bay is located in Haleiwa on the North Shore of O'ahu in the Hawaiian Islands at the mouth of the Waimea River. Waimea Valley extends to the east of Waimea Bay. Waimea means "reddish water" in Hawaiian.
Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time, and holds 56 Championship Tour victories. He won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year four-times. Slater is also the oldest surfer still active on the World Surf League, winning his 8th Billabong Pipeline Masters title at age 49.
Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully surf these waves vary by the size of the wave as well as the technique the surfer uses to reach the wave. A larger, longer board allows a rider to paddle fast enough to catch the wave and has the advantage of being more stable, but it also limits maneuverability and surfing speed.
Mister Pipeline is a title given to masters of the waves at the North Shore's Pipeline. It was first given to Butch Van Artsdalen, and is passed on from generation to generation, by consensus. During this year, the Pipeline was at the forefront of surfing competitions. This first initial competition was sponsored by Continental Airlines, giving the winner a share of $500. Hakman rode six- to eight-foot waves for hours despite the conditions, being a leader in the big-wave riders at Pipeline. While Hakman dominated the first year of the competition, newcomer Michael Armstrong stunned the event by clinging to second place and a $250 prize. Corky Carroll took third place with a $150 prize. Other holders of the title have included sometime actor Gerry Lopez and bodyboarding legend Mike Stewart.
Greg Noll was an American pioneer of big wave surfing and a prominent longboard shaper. Nicknamed "Da Bull" by Phil Edwards in reference to his physique and way of charging down the face of a wave, he was on the U.S. lifeguard team that introduced Malibu boards to Australia around the time of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He produced a "legendary" series of five Search for Surf films.
Gerry Lopez, aka Mr. Pipeline, is an American surfer, shaper, journalist and film actor.
Cabo Blanco is a fishing village in northwestern Peru, 3 km northwest from El Alto, Talara, Piura. It was famous in the past among big-game fishermen and today is a noted surf break. The village takes its name from the light coloured nearby mountains.
Sunset Beach is on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii and known for big wave surfing during the winter season. The original Hawaiian name for this place is Paumalū. It is a two-mile stretch of mostly beige sand located at 59-104 Kamehameha Highway in Pupukea, 39 miles driving distance from Waikiki. Lifeguards are usually present.
Philip Edwards is an American surfer from Oceanside, California. He is credited with being the first to surf the Banzai pipeline in Hawaii, being the first professional surfer, and creating the first signature surf board. He was the subject of a cover story, and his photo appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1966. Edwards was also featured prominently in the Bruce Brown films The Endless Summer and before that Surfing Hollow Days which featured the first film footage of Pipeline. He is also credited to have said: "The best surfer is that one, who is having more fun in the water!"
A surf break is a permanent obstruction such as a coral reef, rock, shoal, or headland that causes a wave to break, forming a barreling wave or other wave that can be surfed, before it eventually collapses. The topography of the seabed determines the shape of the wave and type of break. Since shoals can change size and location, affecting the break, it takes commitment and skill to find good breaks. Some surf breaks are quite dangerous, since the surfer can collide with a reef or rocks below the water.
James Duncan O'Brien is a professional surfer from the North Shore, Hawaii.
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Surfline is a company and website based in Huntington Beach, California that specializes in surf forecasting and surf reports, live webcasting, photography, videography, as well as editorial coverage of the sport of surfing. Surfline.com is now ranked 1,180 in the US and 5,784 in the world in terms of popularity compared to other websites and is now the largest provider of streaming HD coastal cams. Since 2003 it has taken on buoyweather.com and fishtrack.com (2012), on average the family of websites receives 175,000 visitors per day. The site includes streaming video, surf reports and forecasts. Surfline.com offers over 500 streaming cameras at 150 surf breaks, and is one of the larger surf cam websites. Surfline currently has approximately 50 employees.
Jeff Rowley is a professional big wave surfer from Torquay, Victoria, Australia. He grew up at Bells Beach, a popular surf location in regional Victoria.
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Jack Robinson is an Australian professional surfer who competes on the World Surf League Men's Championship Tour. He was crowned surfer of the year twice at the Australian Surfing Awards in 2020 and 2021. Robinson is often considered to one of the best barrel riders of the current days. Robinson did his best WSL performance in 2022 where he finished 3rd on the final rankings. He qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games, where he won silver.
Moanalani Jones Wong is an American surfer who has been called the "Queen of Pipeline".
Tamayo Perry was an American professional surfer, lifeguard and actor. He was a regular fixture on Oahu's Banzai Pipeline, one of the world's most notable reef surf breaks, and was considered as one of the most prominent pipeline specialists of all time. His death was the first fatal shark attack on Oahu in over 20 years.