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[Can also watch on YouTube right here.]
Yep. Pipeline pumped all day long. And we were live all day long, along with the whole Da Hui Backdoor Shootout, which you can watch above. Mason Ho won. (Not shocking. See what he was riding.) Balaram Stack got 2nd, John John 3rd. Team Snapt4 won the Team division. Congrats to everyone. You all rock. You can watch the whole replay above. Highlights coming soon.
We’re just about wrapped up here at the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout. And we still can’t look away — especially Pipe is still Pipe and when Team Da Hui Japan riders Guy Sato (9) and Riaru Ito (9.5) snag rides like the above. Someone’s gonna win, yes. But as we mentioned this morning — man, there was some amazing tuberiding here today.
OK. It may have seemed a little arbitrary that the scores at the Backdoor Shootout go to 12. Up until like a half hour ago, when longtime Pipe charger Kala Grace muscled his way through this crazy Pipe cavern. Hit play above — and turn the volume up to 12.
OK. We’re not sure about you, but we’re currently glued to the screen, as Pipeline is being as Pipeline as it’s ever been and it’s impossible to look away. But if there’s a lull, here’s some more Florence brothers highlights. (JJF got an 8 and a 9, while Eli got a 8.5.) Stay tuned.
Here’s a little break in the action: Vans’ newest “Door to Door” edit, featuring Maui shredder Imaikalani Devault talking about his Triple Crown aspirations. Hit play, relax!
Joaquin Del Castillo may not be a household name in the mainstream surfing universe. But…the Peruvian charger has been charging Pipeline for years now. Knows where to sit. Knows which ones are makeable. Knows the correct line. And when it’s the Backdoor Shootout, and he’s out there sitting where he wants to sit, he does things like this above, for a solid 8.5.
Team Florence was leading the ratings heading into today, which was shocking to exactly no one. They also show no real signs of slowing down — why would they? — as evidenced by the above and below rides. (Scores: JJF: 9, 8. Ivan: 7.5, 8. Eli: 3, 3. Nate: 3, 4.)
Jack Robinson came into Final’s Day with three high scores of 8.5, 8 and 6. In his morning heat a few minutes ago, dude managed to find some serious mojo, going left and right with equal aplomb and increasing his total with scores of 7.5 and 8.5. Sessions are like that: can’t ever really force it (except maybe if you’re Kelly), but as long as you’re ready when it does go your way…
Other heat scores for Team Volcom: Kaimana: 2. Balaram: 6, 3. Makana: 3, 7.
Upstream buoys 51001 and 51101 sitting northwest of Hawaii topped out yesterday afternoon with 11-13 feet of swell and have been on a slow easing trend since. Still chiming in with around 10 feet of WNW swell (300-320°) at 13-14 seconds as of 4am HST. Meanwhile, buoy 51208 located just north of Kauai topped out late last night with 10-11 feet, and the North Shore of Oahu reached its peak in these predawn hours.
Given the period and direction — from buoys 51001/51101 — this energy is about…
Pipe Cam | Backdoor Cam | North Shore Forecast
For Pipe/Backdoor on Sunday… The morning will kick things off with the strongest surf we’ll see of the day. Sets will be running in the zone of double to near triple overhead with light offshore SE-ESE wind and clean conditions. Consistency will be pretty good too. Surf will ease very slowly throughout the day in both size and consistency, dropping just a notch into the afternoon, where the larger sets will still easily hit double overhead+. Conditions will be favorable all morning into midday with light offshore wind trending light/variable. We’re likely to see a light NE-NNE breeze for a period this afternoon, but conditions remain on the cleaner side. Then watch for the wind to shift back easterly going into the evening. NOTE: The size and direction will favor Pipe more, but watch for Backdoor to slowly see more options open up over the day.
Latest Buoy Readings: BUOY 51001 | BUOY 51101 | BUOY 51208
Rebuilding… Upstream buoys 51001 and 51101 sitting northwest of Hawaii reached a minimum yesterday evening between pulses, and they have been slowly inching back up since as new mid period NW swell builds in. At the North Shore, this trough between pulses is underway right now this early morning, but look for the new swell and surf to only inch up from around mid-morning through the afternoon. The peak of the new swell is projected to be late this afternoon/evening for Oahu.
Given the period and direction — from buoys 51001/51101 — this energy is about…
Watch Live: Pipe Cam | Backdoor Cam | Multi-Cam
For Pipe/Backdoor on Thursday… Clean surf prevails this morning with overhead to occasional double overhead sets and light offshore SE-ESE wind. Expect surf, and consistency, to slowly increase through the day, with the biggest waves eventually climbing to near triple overhead on occasion, most sets will hang around the double overhead mark. Wind will remain favorable all morning, but gradually veering more easterly. In the afternoon, wind is projected to shifts to a sideshore ENE-NE flow around 6-8kts, which will create a little cross-texture to the line-up, but shouldn’t get too bad. Note this northeasterly wind will also coincide with the lower tide later this afternoon.
Check the Forecast: North Shore Forecast
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The Backdoor Shootout saw no shortage of pumping barrels today. And Pipeline didn’t slow down post-event, of course, which meant that we kept the cameras rolling for the Happy Hour freesurf. Scroll down for today — and last week’s — highlights.
Pipeline was pumping, all day. Hey: the North Shore in January tends to be a pretty busy place. (Which is why the Shootout always scores.) Hit play above to watch the replay of day three of the Shootout, and scroll on down below for coverage of today and last week’s Shootout Swell.
*Note: The event needs one more day to finish.
It’s been non-stop action, and it’s not going to cease anytime soon — thanks to successive lows that continue to march across the Northwest Pacific. We have a couple more pulses that will maintain solid surf through the rest of this week, and good conditions will be on tap as well.
Next on the menu is a fresh push of mid-period NW swell (mainly from 310-330°) that will build in Thursday morning and top out over the afternoon. Pipeline/Backdoor will continue to see sets going double overhead+ to kick off the morning and with offshore ESE-SE wind. Surf will then increase some in size and consistency going into the afternoon, with the biggest waves occasionally reaching near triple overhead, but most sets continue to hang around the double overhead zone. Unfortunately, wind is looking to veer from a sideshore northeasterly direction in the afternoon, but shouldn’t get too strong (around 6-8kts), yet enough to create a little cross-surface texture.
Note — This new swell is a little more northerly than the last, so we should see a little more Backdoor opportunity open up for Thurs/Fri.
On Friday, NW swell will be on a slow easing trend, but Pipeline/Backdoor will continue to see double overhead+ sets. Expect surf to be strongest and cleanest through the morning with light offshores, then easing a notch into the afternoon and likely with a light+ onshore seabreeze.
Further out? Another sizable shot of more westerly WNW-NW swell (similar in size to Thurs/Fri) lines up for the weekend, which is also looking to be greeted with favorable conditions. After that, things are shaping up to be very promising for next week to see more solid swell, especially for mid-week and by the weekend. Stay tuned to the North Shore Forecast
The Backdoor Shootout saw some epic moments today. Here’s a few highlights from the Happy Hour freesurf.
Above: Huntington Beach, Wednesday morning. Photo: www.JasonFenmore.com
Well, California is already firing. It’s just been firing on a different swell than the one currently impacting the islands (the same one that hit Hawaii over the weekend). More waves are coming, though, as we’re around two-to-three days behind Hawaii. Here’s how things are lining up:
Nor/CenCal Forecasts: San Francisco | Pacifica-San Mateo County | Santa Cruz | Monterey | SLO County
Hopefully, everyone in California scored the last couple of days, which have easily been the biggest, cleanest and best that we’ve seen this winter. But if not, don’t stress too much as we’ve got more coming. Not as big as what we just saw, but still enough to get the heart pumping (especially if you’re north of Point Conception).
Swell direction over the next few days will remain pretty dang west and along with the mid swell period (12-15 seconds), lots of nooks and crannies in SoCal will be fun. Wind will be light and conditions clean from the Bay Area to Imperial Beach through the end of the week as well. Oh, more waves for the weekend, too, and looks like conditions will remain clean.
SoCal Forecasts: Santa Barbara | Ventura | North LA | South LA | North OC | South OC | North SD | South SD
We’re still going at Pipeline. And Billy Kemper never stopped. Here’s a fine example of a solid nine-point ride at the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout. Highest score for this round for the Da Hui Wax team.
The swell continues to hang tough… Upstream buoys 51001 and 51101 sitting out to the northwest of the Hawaiian Islands are still reading about 11-12 feet at 13-14 seconds as of noon HST. Buoy 51208 located just north of Kauai has eased a little since the morning and should ease a little more over the afternoon. Overall, the WNW-NW swell will continue to fade very slowly over the rest of the day, but plenty of solid energy out there.
Given the period and direction — from buoys 51001/51101 — this energy is about…
Pipe Cam | Backdoor Cam | North Shore Forecast
The surf will continue to be excellent… As expected, both size and consistency has eased a little since the morning, and should ease another notch going into the evening/night. Sets will still run in the double overhead zone with some larger waves/peaks popping up near triple overhead. Also, watch for more Backdoor waves to open up over the rest of the day, while Pipe continues to deliver the goods. Wind will remain favorable with light+ to moderate offshore ESE-SE flow through the afternoon, good chance to become rather light in the evening.
A lot of times, surfing Pipeline is simple. (Note: we said simple, not easy.) Position yourself correctly behind the peak. Paddle like mad. Make the drop. Bottom turn into the tube. Drive a straight line through it. Come out with the spit. Rinse, repeat. It’s almost a Zen thing. But over the past number of years, boards have gotten smaller and more refined. Folks are taking off later and using their entire rail line to subtly pump up and down through the tube. This is illustrated perfectly above by Jack Robinson. Oh, and below, Balaram illustrates the double-hand-drag stall, which is another timeless Pipe technique.
Last week, Bethany Hamilton hurled herself over the ledge into one of the wipeouts of the swell. Today was nearly Redemption Day, as Hamilton took off super deep and backdoored a very solid Pipeline beast before getting eaten alive. (Yeah, she paddled back out for more.) Moana Wong, meanwhile, continued to show her ongoing relationship with Pipeline by snagging this solid one below. (Scores: KK: 2, 2.5. Bethany: 3, 6. Moana: 6.5, 4. Bianca: 3, 3.)
The morning has been kind of a blur — every time we look up, someone’s either packing a Pipeline cavern or sending it over the falls. A beautiful kind of carnage, especially from the safety of a screen. (Though, man, sure would be nice to be on the sand at Pipe right now, huh?) Team Florence was sitting in number one going into today, but didn’t improve much on their scores (John: 2, 6.5. Nate: 5, 5.5. Ivan: 5.5, 2. Eli: 4.5.). Course that’s not to say they didn’t get barreled…
Yeah, it’s pumping Pipe, and yeah, Team Snapt4 sent it during their morning heat. Shocking not shocking. (PS: in case anyone thought Pipe was even remotely approachable, check Parker’s pin drop wipeout below. It’s full triple-black-diamond out there.) Keep watching above as action unfolds. Oh, scores: Mason: 7.5, 7. Barron: 6, 7.5. Parker: 3, 3.5. Benji: 8, 6.0.
Upstream buoys 51001 and 51101 sitting northwest of Hawaii have been on a slow easing trend since yesterday afternoon, but still boasted 11-12 feet at 13-15 seconds as of 7am HST today. Note that buoy 51208 located just north of Kauai is actually a touch bigger — that is because it takes time for the swell to travel from the upstream buoys to the islands. Buoy 51208 has already started this decreasing trend since last night, and given the data from the upstream buoys, that trend will continue all day.
Given the period and direction — from buoys 51001/51101 — this energy is about…
Pipe Cam | Backdoor Cam | North Shore Forecast
For Pipe/Backdoor on Wednesday… The current WNW-NW swell (295-330°, 13-15 seconds) will slowly taper off throughout the day. Both size and consistency will ease a notch or two going into the afternoon — sets still running double overhead+ with occasional waves/peaks pushing near triple overhead. Wind will remain favorable and conditions clean/glassy all morning, then watch for an onshore seabreeze to develop in the afternoon from the NW, but staying on the lighter side (5-7 knots), remaining light into the evening as well. NOTE: Current size favors Pipe more, but watch for things to gradually trend toward a more equal share of opportunity at both Pipe and Backdoor through the day.
Mechanics of Pipeline | Live Pipe Cam Stream
With a broad angle range (295 to 330°) and mid period bands (13-15 seconds), the current swell will offer plenty of opportunities at both Pipe and Backdoor throughout today. However, the larger size still running this early morning will favor Pipe with more barrels staying open. Aside from the occasional A-frame peaks, watch for Backdoor to gradually open up more through the day as the swell slowly eases.
Vid: Larry Haynes/Fluid Vision
Mason Ho currently sits atop the leaderboard at the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout. He’s technically skilled, yeah, and he also carries himself through the tube with a style that’s completely unique. (Hit play above to see. That last wave might’ve been a 12?) He’s also riding different equipment than most — a classic, 7’6″ gun shaped by Matt Biolos, inspired by the boards his dad (Michael) and uncle (Derek) used to ride in the late ’80s and early ‘90s. We caught up with a couple days back to find out more.
“Something about those kind of boards though…it’s hard to explain,” Mason said. “It almost feels like you’re driving a Cadillac, some car like that. You’re in this safe tank and you can attack the wave in a very different way than a smaller board. You don’t have to sync yourself with the ocean as much as with a smaller board. With these big boards I feel like I can find the wave of the day a lot better than with a smaller board. These boards have a special feeling where when you’re taking off, they’re not as sensitive to the pump and stall. It’s more one, steady speed and that feels good in the barrel.”
Check out the full interview here.
Monday saw a reasonably large swell hit the North Shore. (Healey was going left at Waimea again!) It dropped enough for Pipe to be good for a while in the morning, but the wind turned onshore late morning, so the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout in Memory of Duke didn’t run. But hey! Pipe was pumping — click play above for the 30-minute morning show. (And check below for a few highlights.)
Folks consume surf content in very different ways. For those of you who’d like a narrative of the last few days at Pipeline, with some words, photos, video, forecast insight, etc, scroll on down below. For those who prefer a quick hit highlight reel from today, hit play above and you’ll be able to get on with your day in less than five minutes. (Oh, also know that there’s way more swell on the way. The North Pacific is looking spicy.)
Some say familiarity breeds contempt. But in the case of John John and Backdoor, familiarity breeds the exact opposite: respect. It’s clear in the way he approaches the wave and it’s clear in our appreciation of how he rides the wave so damn perfectly. Despite repetition — how many times have we seen JJF tubed at Backdoor over the last decade? — it never gets old. The one above was deemed a 9.0 ride by the judges.
Oh, yeah: As of mid-afternoon, shortboarding wrapped for the day. Wasn’t as dramatic as yesterday, but some fine tubes were still wrangled. Scroll on down below for highlights from the past few days of pumping Pipeline, and stay tuned for the full Swell Story wrap.
20 years ago, when he was 18 years old, Makua Rothman won the XXL Awards for a 66-footer at Jaws. Almost exactly a year ago, during Super Swell Saturday at Jaws, Rothman towed into one of the biggest waves of the swell. (We talked to him about it here.) A few minutes ago, Rothman drew a perfect line through a perfect Backdoor barrel. See? So long as you’re not obsessed with air reverses, surfing doesn’t ever get old.
After a full day of shortboard heats, conditions remain decent and the longboarders have hit the water. Scroll below for highlights from the last few days.
As seen right here on this page over the last couple days, Moana Wong is a force to be reckoned with at Pipeline. And in the vid above, which was shot earlier this season, she talks about her goals at Pipe, especially around the all-digital Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which runs through January 21st. Stay tuned.
Zeke Lau is a smart dude, capable of getting deep around all kinds of topics, especially Hawaiian history. In this case, though, here at the Shootout, there’s not a lot of time for conversation. And when a Backdoor wall stretches out in front of you like the one above, staying deep is the only option. Zeke got a perfect ten for this one, BTW.
No, there are not two Mason Hos. (Though how cool would that be???) But he did manage to just snag these two Backdoor gems — on a very old-school looking gun — during his Snapt4 heat. Oh: both waves scored 8.5. Surf continues to pump.
As you’ll see if you scroll below, Moana Wong ended yesterday’s session with a solid Pipe tube, which unfortunately closed out and snapped her board. (Not before she got a stunning view, though.) She came up smiling, went to bed smiling, woke up smiling, and then stroked into this thing in the first heat of the day at the Da Hu Backdoor Shootout and came in smiling. All before 9am local time. Beats coffee and donuts any day. (Score: 6.)
Pipe Cam | Backdoor Cam | Multi-Cam Tool | Pipe Cam Rewind | Backdoor Cam Rewind
It’s down a bit from Thursday’s craziness, but still firing. Conditions are clean with most sets loading up on First Reef and some great waves at both the Pipeline and Backdoor (seen above on the cam rewind).
Upstream buoys 51001 and 51101 sitting northwest of Hawaii, as well as buoy 51208 located just north of Kauai, are all around 8-9 feet at 12-14 seconds as of 6am HST. The swell is easing now, so how are they the same size? Well, that is because it takes time to travel from the upstream buoys to the islands, and note there is also a little more energy on the buoys further out to sea (closer to the source) — some swell decay will occur through travel. The big take-aways here is the swell is indeed on a slow fading trend and will be all day, but there is still plenty of juice to provide solid waves, especially this morning.
Pipe this morning is still producing well overhead to double overhead+ waves (8-10′ occasional 12′ faces). Surf also remains rather peaky, and conditions are clean with very light/variable wind. Expect size to dwindle just a little going into the afternoon, still overhead to occasional well overhead sets to be had. However, we are expecting a light+ becoming moderate onshore northwesterly breeze to rise up late morning through the afternoon, which will create some surface bump.
Given the period and direction — from buoys 51001/51101 — this energy is about…
As for that next large swell coming for late Saturday into Sunday — check the FORECAST HERE
Today marked the first time a women’s team competed in the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout. The WSL-backed squad were in the final heat of the day, which saw some flawless tubes as well as a few wash-through sets. They charged. After the buzzer sounded for the day, and freesurfers filtered back out, Moana Wong — no stranger to this lineup — stroked into this vicious, beautiful double-up and set a solid line across First Reef. “The tube is always the safest place to be,” a few famous Pipe surfers have said many times, and Wong knows this. She also knows a broken board is a small price to pay for a view like that. A fine way to end the day.
Oh: the swell looks like it’s hanging around a bit — check back tomorrow. And scroll down below for a replay and highlights from today.
North Shore Forecast | Pipe Cam | Backdoor Cam
Well, it sure ain’t gonna be small. Surfline Forecaster Kevin Wallis breaks down all the incoming swells over the next week.
That’s a wrap. One full day of barrel riding down at the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout in Memory of Duke. Hit play above to watch the replay — and scroll below for highlights.
Keep in mind this is not a traditional surf contest in more ways than one. First up, surf must be perfect, or they just won’t run. (Case in point: today.) Second, it’s a jersey-less team event. Each of the eight teams surfed together as a team. Which meant that rather than competing in the water, they competed on the leaderboard. (Team Volcom is probably leading the pack.) Also: it was the first year in Shootout history there was a women’s team. Click here for a cheat-sheet — there’s three days of competition left, plenty of swell on the horizon, and waiting period runs through January 16th. Check back tomorrow.
Somehow, Eli Olson snuck onto Team Florence at the Backdoor Shootout today, along with John John, Nathan, Ivan and their mom Alex. He did not sneak through this tube, however — just stood right up and said hello. Judges deemed it a 9.5, too, meaning he more than earned his keep with the fam.
The outside-hand-grab-pigdog may or may not be a functional technique, but man it looks cool sometimes. Especially when done by Mason Ho at pumping Pipeline. And especially when followed by a hand-switch through a throwing section and a high-line pump to exit. Man, we wish we could surf like Mason Ho. (PS: He got a 9.5 for this one.)
Mason was joined by Barron Mamiya in the Snapt4 Team. Here, Mamiya draws a solid line through the first wave of the set, followed by Mason, who somehow manages to throw his step-up into an air reverse on the end section. (Barron: 7; Mason: 8.5.)
OK, we know Jack Robinson can thread heavy tubes. Something about growing up in West Australia helps with stuff like that. Oh, and spending weeks every year staying at the Volcom House, front and center at Pipe, being able to stay on top of conditions and dart out when warranted, helps too. Also, as mentioned, being able to sit where one wants to sit and draw the line one wants to draw without having to worry about battling the crowd has always been the benchmark for this rootsy North Shore event. (This wave ended up being an 8.5.)
OK, above you’ll see the two best waves ridden at the Backdoor Shootout so far. John John (Team Florence) got a ten for his. And because this is the Backdoor Shootout, Balaram (Team Volcom) ended up nailing an 11 for his. Oh, and the surf continues to pump. Stay tuned.
North Shore Forecast | Pipe Cam | Backdoor Cam
SWELL/SURF: Holding. Upstream buoys confirm we’ll see pumping surf through the rest of the day. Compared to the morning, things will “settle” a bit — size will continue to hang strong with sets around double overhead, occasionally pushing up to triple overhead on the bigger waves (8-12′ occasional 14-15′ faces), but consistency eases a little. We’ll also see a little less of the crossed-up A-Frames, as the old N swell continues to fade — which means less Backdoor opportunities popping up.
WIND/CONDITIONS: As anticipated, a gentle northeasterly breeze prevails right now, which will continue throughout the afternoon. This wind is sideshore for the Pipeline arena, but with it staying rather light, conditions will remain on the cleaner side. Going into the evening, the wind is looking to remain light and veer a touch more easterly, a little more offshore.
TIDE: We have a 0′ low tide bottoming out at 12:22pm, then slowly inching back up to just a 0.7′ high tide by 7:04pm
Big Changes, More Swell — North Pacific in 2022
Pipeline dawned a bit unruly this morning. This, of course, doesn’t prevent everyone from giving it a go. And there’s no finer of example of “giving it a go” than Noah Beschen’s full send above. ‘Course before posting stuff like this, we wanted to make sure Noah was OK, and he simply replied, “All good haha. Heavy one.” We’re not sure about anyone else, but being obliterated by Pipeline before breakfast is not our ideal idea of “all good.” But hey — shortly after this, the Shootout was called on.
Anthony Walsh is no stranger to Pipe’s many moods, unruly or not. Vid: Brent Bielmann
Mason Barnes. Vid: Brent Bielmann
Buoys 51001 and 51101, which sit right next to each other just over 300 miles to the NW of Oahu, have topped out with about 13 feet of deepwater swell at 14-16 seconds. These buoys peaked Wednesday afternoon and have been holding steady since, which translates to solid surf from start to finish for Thursday across the better exposures of the Hawaiian Islands.
Given the period and direction — from buoys 51001/51101 — this energy is about…
A couple of things to note. First, the Waimea buoy is still down, so we’re unfortunately unable to get a specific reading off the North Shore (although the Hanalei buoy is a great proxy). Second, there is some blending going on between the N and W swells for the above wave heights. There is obviously lots of swell running, but more like 8-9′ out of the NW and about 5′ from the N. This will behave differently at Pipe than a pure 11-13′ swell from the NW – the difference between pumping but manageable surf and maxed out/washing through.
Opening Ceremonies, January 5th. Photo: Pedro Gomes
We’re generally more focused on waves and swells than surf contests over here at Surfline, ’cause, well, we find ’em infinitely more engaging than bullhorns and heat scores. But there are a few core events each year focused purely on waves and swells that we can’t turn away from. One is the Eddie Aikau Invitational, which we’re forecasting for, praying for, and will broadcast when the Bay calls the Day. The other is the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout, which has arguably the highest score rate – in terms of epic surf — than any event anywhere. This is partly ’cause they won’t run at all unless it’s perfect Pipe. And it’s partly because perfect Pipe happens quite often in early January.
Tyler Newton won in 2019 — the last time the event ran. (Yes. In perfect Pipe.) Photo: gOnzo
Case in point: Thursday, January 6th. A solid northwest swell is set to hit this hallowed stretch of reef. Day of the season so far. The best Pipe surfers are assembled into teams and will have the lineup to themselves for the day — which allows ’em to sit where they wanna sit and take off where they wanna take off and draw the lines they wanna draw without the distraction of a 100-person-strong gladiator pit fighting for every morsel. All of which means we get to enjoy an entire day of the best tuberiders in the world tackling the world’s best tube — live.
North Shore Forecast | Pipe Cam | Backdoor Cam
THURSDAY 5th: New/solid WNW (295-320°) tops out and holds steady through the day as the primary source, while secondary N-NNE swell (355-15°) slowly fades. Look for WNW sets to range in the double to triple overhead zone all day for the Pipeline/Backdoor arena (10-12′ occasional 14-15′ faces). Consistency is expected to be pretty good all day as well, but most consistent in the morning. Also note that we’ll see some crossed-up peaks due to the swell-combo, especially in the morning, creating some big A-frames at times. Wind will be light/variable to light easterly in the morning, then veering NE to N going into the afternoon for a little texture, but staying on the lighter side (getting up around 5-7kts). Keep an eye on the evening session for the wind to slack off again and conditions to clean back up.
Big Changes, More Swell — North Pacific in 2022
FRIDAY 6th: Primary WNW swell will be on the easing trend, while smaller/fading N swell leftovers still mix in. Biggest early with WNW sets still pushing up to the double overhead mark (8-10′ faces, occasionally a touch bigger). Consistency down a notch compared to Thursday, but still OK. Size eases a notch or two going into the afternoon. The early to mid morning is looking to start out clean with calm to light/variable wind, then a moderate northwesterly breeze rises up for the afternoon and makes things a little bumpy.
Today was the first day the sun showed itself on the North Shore in nearly a week. Today also saw a solid north swell hit its storied coastline, and while Pipeline itself isn’t a big fan of north swells, some very nearby spots — including Rockpiles, Off-the-Wall and Backdoor — saw no shortage of action, as seen in these five fine rides below. (Tomorrow’s gonna be a different deal as the swell is more west, which’ll turn the Pipe/Backdoor reef into the Outer Banks on steroids over shallow reef. Stay tuned for live coverage.)
John John Florence will be on Team Florence in the Backdoor Shootout. (Surprise!) Vid: Mike Latronic/FreeSurf
Same wave, different angle. Vid: Stephen Humphreys/FreeSurf
Carissa Moore, seen here today, is on the WSL-backed Women’s Team — the first time a women’s team has ever entered the Backdoor Shootout. Vid: Stephen Humphreys/FreeSurf
Luke Tema is 15 years old, from Oahu. Which means he has a lot to look forward to. Vid: Mike Latronic/FreeSurf
Eimeo Czermak is an 18-year-old surfer from Teahupoo. Which also means he has a lot to look forward to. Vid: Mike Latronic/FreeSurf
Pipeline proper was not epic today, due mostly to the northerly swell direction. But other places like Sunset Beach and especially Laniakea saw some fine surf, as evidenced by the cam rewinds above.
Check ’em out live: Laniakea Cam | Sunset Beach Cam
Opening ceremonies. Photo: Pedro Gomes
The Da Hui Backdoor Shootout is not a traditional surf contest in more ways than one. . First up, as mentioned, surf must be perfect, or they just won’t run. Second, it’s a jersey-less team event. Each of the eight teams will surf together as a team. Which means that rather than competing in the water, they’ll compete on the leaderboard. Also: it’s the first year in Shootout history there’s a women’s team. See below for what’s what.
(Oh, yeah: Waiting period runs through January 16th.)
DA HUI WAX Billy Kemper Jamie Obrien Kai Lenny Makua Rothman
WSL Carissa Moore Coco Ho Malia Manuel Moana Wong
QUIKSILVER Cody Young Koa Rothman Reef McIntosh Zeke Lau
SNAPT4 Barron Mamiya Benji Brand Mason Ho Parker Coffin Eithan Osbourne
VOLCOM Balaram Stack Jack Robinson Kaimana Henry Kainehe Hunt Makana Pang Mikey OShaughnessy
DA HUI JAPAN Daiki Matsunaga Guy Sato Riaru Ito Shinpei Horiguchi Taichi Wakita
TEAM FLORENCE Alex Florence Eli Olson Ivan Florence John John Florence Nate Florence
TEAM PERUVIAN TUBOS Alonso Correa Alvaro Malpartida Cristobal de Col Gabriel Villaran Joaquin Del Castillo
LONGBOARD Bonga Perkins Dino Miranda Duane Desoto Kai Sallas Kaniela Stewart Kanoa Dahlin Keegan Edwards Lance Ho’okano Makamae Desoto Micah Desoto Ned Snow Nelson Ahina Rusty Keaulana Scotty Fong
SUP Zane Schweitzer Pomai Hoapili Tehotu Wong Bullet Obra Kainoa McGee SUP (cont) Zane Saenz Koliah Campbell Rusty Keaulana Tamaroa Kalama Ikaika Kalama Riggs Napoleon Mo Freitas Clay Everline Dave Calvan
North Shore Forecast: Winds | Swell
Due to all the storm activity going on in the Northwest Pacific right now, Hawaii will be affected by the sweeping fronts associated with it. However, for at least the next couple days, only the weaker tail end of these successive fronts will impact the Islands, as the greater dynamics of the fronts will stay well to the north. Therefore, instead of receiving strong winds rotating clockwise with each passing front, we’ll generally see a diurnal wind pattern each day. Meaning: look for mornings to generally offer the best conditions with light/variable to light offshore wind (swirling around a bit), then followed by a seabreeze in the afternoons, although, the seabreeze for Thursday afternoon is expected to be on the lighter side.
Aside from wind, sand is another variable of concern for Pipeline. Yes, Pipe has a very pronounced reef, but that reef can also be buried rather quickly by the ever shifting, large-grain sand of the North Shore. The longshore current is responsible for this moving sand, and the swell direction (as well as wind) are the drivers of the current.
Well, there’s not much wind to speak of right now, so the swell angle will be suspect in this case. Recently, we had a fairly solid but steep angled N-NNE swell sweep the North Shore, which will direct a current from Rocky Point to Pipeline. This flow of water will pile up the sand at Pipe. Too much sand is not good, in regards to shape, as well as safety. When a lot of sand builds up, not only will it create a backwash and wonky line-up, but the channel fills up too, resulting in more dangerous close-outs for the Pipeline Left in very shallow water. With that said, Backdoor can still perform under this scenario.
The question is: was the north swell significant enough or prolonged enough to pile up too much sand at Pipe? In short, we don’t think so. Watching Pipeline until dark on Wednesday evening, the sand situation appears to be OK. And now the building WNW swell will go to work. As the new WNW increases and becomes dominant, and the N swell decreases, we’ll see the current switch back the other way — from Pipe toward Rocky Point. This switch in the current (which will occur this Wednesday night and continue through Thursday) will clear out the sand from the Pipeline reef/channel — what we want.