Volcom presents “The Backyard”

The North Shore Dream

As long as I have surfed, the North Shore has been the dream destination for any surfer. At the pinnacle of that dream is the a frame reef at Pipeline and Backdoor. Straddling the sands of this two wave dream is the legendary, Volcom House.

The Volcom team spend each winter here, right on the beach in front of the proving ground. They also have some of most hardened locals at Pipe and Backdoor. So, when they decide to drop an edit from the North Shore season, you know its going to be good.

At Pipeline there is flora, fauna, ocean and stone. At this point, the Volcom house is practically part of the reef at Pipeline. Between the team, the house, the family, the legacy, the legends, the peanut gallery, the respect, the parties, the Pipe Pro and the barbecues, you’d be hard pressed not to acknowledge the presence the Volcom Stone has on the North Shore, particularly at Pipe. I mean, one of the houses was built by the one and only Gerry Lopez!

Watch the Volcom Video

So sit back, try to relax and watch the team charging some rather spectacular waves.

Boogie Man – Andre Botha slays monsters on the North Shore

When you meet Andre Botha, your first impression is a very quiet and almost distant person, then as you spend more time with him you realise he is not distant, simply focussed on the next heaving mass of water he plans on entombing himself in. The guy feeds off heavy water. On a long day at Donkey Bay, where everyone else is taking the 3km walk back as slow as possible, Andre spent the day running back up the point and charging right back down again. In this video he spends as much time on the foam ball in serious Hawaiian waves as possible, literally the only thing that knows the feeling he does must be the corn kernel caught in your drunken nights projectile vomit, he gets spit out that hard, that often. Its just terrifying madness and thats why he is called, the Boogie Man.

Boogie Man from Andre Botha on Vimeo.

Kelly & John John dominate Day 3 at the Volcom Pipe Pro

Kelly Slater and John Joh Florence put on a show at Pipeline and Backdoor to firmly stamp their intentions on winning the Volcom Pipe Pro in 2015. The defending champion, Slater was in classic form, taking off deep on backdoor bombs and making impossible tubes. JJ was not to be outdone and as the swell waned later in the day he took to finishing his tubes with massive airs. SA surfer, Dale Staples, got through his Round 3 heat behind Kelly, but could not carry that momentum through Round 4.

With a pretty variable forecast, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the Volcom Pipe Pro plays out.

Get ready for the North Shore!

All eyes turn to the North Shore of Hawaii next week as the Triple Crown of Surfing begins and the World Tour of surfing descends on Oahu. Outside of the winning the World Title, the Triple Crown is probably the most prestigious trophy in surfing and has been won by the best of the best. With 3 events spanning a month long period, it will put surfers to the test, from high performance Haleiwa, to monster outside Sunset and of course the caverns of Pipeline and Backdoor. Defending Triple Crown Champ, Sebastien Ziets will be wanting to defend his title for Hawaii, but annual stars like Joel Parkinson, Mick Fanning and Jordy Smith will be looking for that title, as well as the World Title. All the players and scenarios are in place for an epic showdown. Follow all the drama – http://www.vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com/

On the back of this, the invites for the Quiksilver in memory of Eddia Aiku Big Wave contest have gone out and Grant Twig Baker is on that prestigious list! With the waiting period stretching over the whole North Shore winter we can only hope that this year the spirit of Eddie will arrive and we can once again watch the beautiful chaos that is the Bay! Follow the mayhem – http://quiksilverlive.com/eddieaikau/2014/