Banzai Pipeline
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The Banzai Pipeline, or simply "Pipeline" or "Pipe", is a surf reef break located off Ehukai Beach Park in Pupukea of O`ahu's North Shore. There are at least three reefs here in progressively deeper water further out to sea that activate at various power levels applied by the swell.
The name Banzai Pipeline is actually a compound name, combining the name of the surf break (Pipeline) with the name of the beach fronting it (Banzai Beach). The break got its name in December 1961 when surfing movie producer Bruce Brown was driving the North Shore with California surfers Phil Edwards and Mike Diffenderfer. Brown stopped at the then-unnamed site to film Edwards catching several waves. At the time, there was a construction project on a underground pipeline on adjacent Kamehameha Highway, and Diffenderfer made the suggestion to name the break Pipeline. The name was first used in Brown's movie Surfing Hollow Days.[1]
Pipeline is best on a strong west swell, to clear out the sand that closes it out on strong north swells. It is a flat tabletop reef, with several caverns on the inside, creating an unmistakable boil on the face when it jacks up. There are also several jagged lava spires that can cut up fallen surfers fairly badly.
There are actually four waves associated with Pipe. There's the left, or First Reef, known as Pipeline, that is the most commonly surfed and photographed. When hit by a north swell, the peak becomes a true A-frame, with Pipe closing out a bit and peeling off left, and the just-as-famous Backdoor going right. As the size at Pipe increases, over 12 feet usually, Second Reef starts cracking, with longer walls, and more size. At an extreme size Third Reef starts to bomb out.
The extreme challenge posed by Pipeline at size to even the best watermen cannot be overstated. Numerous surfers and photographers have been killed at Pipe, including Jon Mozo and Tahitian superstar Malik Joyeux, who was famous for his heavy charging at Teahupo'o. Pipeline is often called the world's deadliest wave, since more people have died there, or have been seriously injured, than at any other surf spot.
Among the many famous surfers to earn a reputation surfing the Pipeline are Butch Van Artsdalen, Gerry Lopez, Rory Russell, Shaun Tomson, Kane Quinn, Mark Richards, Michael Ho, Simon Anderson, Dane Kealoha, Tom Carroll, Gary Elkerton, Sunny Garcia, Kelly Slater, and bodyboarder Mike Stewart.
The top surfing competitions at this spot are the Pipe Masters (Board Surfing), the IBA Pipeline Pro (Bodyboarding), and the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic.
[edit] References
- ^ http://oceansafety.soest.hawaii.edu/oahubeach.asp?bch=ehukai&shid=1, quoting John R.K. Clark, Beaches of Oahu, Revised Edition (University of Hawaii Press, 2005).
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