When it’s winter on the North Shore, it’s an exciting time. It’s the time of year that nearly everyone who surfs on the North Shore waits for. The long summer flat spells are replaced by months of pumping surf tripping over some of the most famous chunks of reef on Earth. Some of the best surfers in the world litter the lineups, from Haleiwa to Turtle Bay. Jamie O’Brien, of course, is one of those people who spends the whole summer waiting for winter, and when it comes, he’s ready. It’s his bread and butter, after all.
It’s still early in the season for Pipe — there’s a bit of sand still kicking around on the reef — but as more and more swells develop, that sand will disappear and the waves will get better and better. Jamie has spent his life surfing Pipeline, and he’s got it about as dialed in as anyone could. He knows the wave like the back of his hand, and he knows from experience just how dangerous it can be. But the broken bones and countless other injuries he’s had won’t deter him from getting as barreled as humanly possible every time Pipe is firing, and on the day in the video above, it was certainly firing.
