Tag: north shore

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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.

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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.

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Absolutely Flawless Pipeline – 2016 Volcom Pipe Pro Day 2

Light trade off shores, groomed lines, jumping whales and perfect pits greeted surfers on Day 2 of the Volcom Pipe Pro 2016. For those of us on the opposite end of the earth, it meant another sleepless night as we watched in awe as tube after magnificent tube were ridden. It was a truly flawless day at Pipeline with a few gems at the Backdoor. Stand out surfers were Bruce Irons, Chris Ward, Jack Robinson and of course the man who has won this event more than any other, John Florence.

In a nail biter heat, Bruce Irons (HAW) jumped from third place to first with just forty seconds left on the clock. Sitting on the Backdoor side, Irons pulled into one of the biggest right-hand barrels of the day and navigated an exit as an explosion of cheers erupted from the beach crowd. With a 9.40 score, Irons secured the heat win and a slot into Round 4.
“The conditions are as good as it gets,” said the Kauai surfer. “It’s definitely probably one of the best days of winter. Lefts, rights, 8-10 feet offshore, what more do you want?”

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Who is JOB 5.0 Premier – Best surf web show is back!

Returning for a fifth season, the highly successful web series Who Is JOB kicks off with a heavy dose of epic Pipeline barrels featuring none other than North Shore Hawaii local Jamie O’Brien and his supporting cast of friends and misfits. In the season premiere, the boys take it to the next level on the “SUPsquatch”, catching XXL size bombs at Sunset Beach and Makaha on the oversized stand-up paddle board. You won’t believe your eyes once you see what they’re up to this time around.

Stay tuned for more fun with Jamie O’Brien in Ep. 2, dropping on Friday, May 29th.

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Oakley Wave of the Winter 2015 Movie

Every winter on the North Shore, Surfline run the “wave of the winter” contest. Through video submission, surfers enter their best waves surfed along the North Shore over the winter for a $25’000 first prize. This season saw some crazy entries, but it was Mason Ho and Jamie O’Brien who fought it out for first place, both with crazy waves at Pipeline. Check out what happened…

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Congrats Makua Rothman – Big Wave World Champion

The Big Wave World Tour did not have the best season with many of the “Jewel” events not running, but there were some crazy events and there must be a World Champion. With solid performances in the contests that did run and with one of the craziest drops in competition history, Hawaiian, Makua Rothman was named the Big Wave World Champion for 2014/15.

“We take our sport seriously and we want to be at that elite level,” says Makuakai Rothman about the world’s perception of surfers. We’re not beach bums. We train. We want to win.

And this year Makuakia Rothman wanted to win the WSL’s Big Wave Tour.

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6 Weeks of Aloha – Vans Triple Crown 2014

The Vans Triple Crown runs over the best period for waves during the North Shore winter. The world’s best compete against the core Hawaiian locals and the action is red hot. Vans have taken the best of the contests, the best of the free surf sessions and blended it all together into a power packed short movie for your viewing pleasure.

Every winter the North Shore of Oahu hosts 3 of professional surfing’s most prestigious events known as the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. For 6 weeks the worlds best surfers join the surf community of the North Shore. Heavy waves and Heavy wipeouts. Contest day title races and lay day dream sessions. This is the story of the 2014 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

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Who is JOB 4.0 – Towing Waimea Shorebreak, Puddle Surfing & River Surfing

It has been a while since I posted an episode of Who is JOB. This one definitely deserves it with Jamie O’Brien and the boys showing how they have fun when there are no waves o the North Shore and the rains come. First up they find massive puddles to winch while being sprayed by 4×4’s, then its off to make a standing wave at the Waimea River, followed by hot bikini girls and mental shorebreak action at Waimea. All in all not a bad way to stay occupied in the wet season…

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Billabong Pipe Masters 2013 Preview

Talk about a year flying by. Its time for the biggest event of the surfing year, the event that draws viewers from across the globe and cultures, the event that has always been considered the pinnacle of professional surfing, the Pipe Masters. You are never going to be considered one of the best until you have won this contest and thats a fact!

Starting on Sunday and with the swell charts showing some decent swell, the contest that will decide who our 2013 World champion is will get off to an explosive start. Mick Fanning is in front and will be looking to take his 3rd World Title along with the Pipe Masters crown and in so doing emulating one of his best friends and legend, Andy Irons. His competition in the form of 12x Champ, Kelly Slater, will make for an epic battle. In my eyes Kelly has started to show weakness towards the back end of the tour with some serious chinks in his infallible armor. Mick on the other hand is looking super fit, super psyched and the man for the job. Kelly will also have to win the event to take the Title.

Who else should you be keeping an eye on? John John Florence pretty much dominates the Pipe lineup when he is out there and no one would bet against him being able to win this competition. With Jamie O”Brien not given a wildcard, which seems insane considering how good he is out there, the door is open for other young Hawaiians such as triple crown contender, Ezekiel Lau. With a commanding win at Sunset and considered one of the strongest surfers on the North Shore, this kid is looking to make name like Sebastien Ziets did in 2012. (Just check the photo above!) His major competition for the title is the Spartan! Michele Bourez has had a great year, is looking focused and strong and will be wanting that Triple Crown title to take back home to Tahiti. What better way to win the Crown than winning Pipeline along the way.

My 2 dark horse picks are Kai Otton and Kieran Perrow. Kai has had his best year on tour ever – in a year where I called him falling off the tour at the beginning of the year. He has had an incredible year and is super strong in waves like Pipe. Kieren is the defending Pipe Masters Champ and always makes the rounds at this event.

This looks to be an epic Pipe Masters with loads of guys needing results to qualify and the battle for the Triple Crown and World Title thrown in the mix. I cannot wait!

The Billabong Pipe Masters will be webcast LIVE via vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com

BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) vs. Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
Heat 2: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Joel Centeio (HAW)
Heat 3: Alejo Muniz (BRA) vs. Marcus Hickman (HAW)
Heat 4: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Kaimana Jaquias (HAW)
Heat 5: Yadin Nicol (AUS) vs. Kahea Hart (HAW)
Heat 6: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) vs. Bruce Irons (HAW)
Heat 7: Dusty Payne (HAW) vs. Reef McIntosh (HAW)
Heat 8: Jadson Andre (BRA) vs. Olamana Eleogram (HAW)
Heat 9: Mitch Crews (AUS) vs. Shane Dorian (HAW)
Heat 10: Granger Larsen (HAW) vs. Kalani Chapman (HAW)
Heat 11: Tanner Gudauskas (USA) vs. Ricardo dos Santos (BRA)
Heat 12: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Ryan Callinan (AUS)

BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. TBD
Heat 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. TBD
Heat 3: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) vs. TBD
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. TBD
Heat 5: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. TBD
Heat 6: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) vs. TBD
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. TBD
Heat 8: Brett Simpson (USA) vs. TBD
Heat 9: Travis Logie (ZAF) vs. TBD
Heat 10: Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. TBD
Heat 11: Adam Melling (AUS) vs. TBD
Heat 12: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. TBD

BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. TBD
Heat 2: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. TBD
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. TBD
Heat 4: Nat Young (USA) vs. TBD
Heat 5: John John Florence (HAW) vs. TBD
Heat 6: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. TBD
Heat 7: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. TBD
Heat 8: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. TBD
Heat 9: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. TBD
Heat 10: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. TBD
Heat 11: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. TBD
Heat 12: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. TBD

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Pipeline Thunders

Welcome to the North Shore! Last Friday while the Qualifying Tour boys were throwing themselves into monsters at Sunset, the rest of the North SHore were either charging, getting hammered or watching Pipeline put on a proper show. 3rd Reef closeouts, people getting run over and of course John John Florence taming the beast. Some really nervous looking chaps waiting to paddle out on the beach too, haha. Just hope the Pipe Competition gets waves like this.

‘Black Friday’ Banzai Pipeline from Owen Milne on Vimeo.