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Kainehe Hunt almost didn’t paddle out the day he got what might very well be one of the best Backdoor waves ever ridden. He was considering washing his truck instead, but filmer and friend Kuio Yong convinced him.
“Twenty-eight minutes before he caught this wave I called him up to see what he was doing,” Yong wrote on Instagram. “He answers and goes ‘Hooo I’m resting, I might wash my truck. I go, ‘u faka, I’m filming and it’s getting good, you better paddle out.’ Sure enough, he paddles out at the Gums sand pile.”
It didn’t take long for Hunt to find a wave, but the wave he found was something special. Taking off in a spot that generally lends itself better for Pipeline, Hunt opted for Backdoor.
“Two minutes later this wave comes straight to him,” Yong continued. “Deepest guy out and HO-ing guys off the wave. Faka wrangled that thing from deep in the Pipe channel, all the way to the end of OTW. They say Pipeline chooses you and that wahine must love him because she gave him one mean blessing today.”
Hunt, who is just 21 years old and from Kauai, bagged the wave in front of a who’s who of surfing legends. The comment section under the clip is full of praise. “Wave of the winter,” wrote Mike Coots. “Going to be hard to beat!” Dustin Barca chimed in, too: “The golden ticket . Yeah you !!! All that time you put in just payed off! Proud of you @kainehe_hunt.”
Hunt is still pretty young, but yeah, he’s put in his time, and it’s clearly paying off.
