“Maxed out” doesn’t even really cut it. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Pipeline, as you may have heard, certainly has been good lately. Sure, it’s “good lately” a lot of the time, especially this time of year, but one particular day stands out. Koa Smith, a guy who lives and breathes Pipeline, was there. The day held an 18-foot swell with a 19-second period, so as you’d imagine, things got hairy.
“When there’s a big swell with a big period like that at Pipeline,” Smith said, “it starts creating this new dimension of Pipeline. It get so gnarly. But if you get the right wave, you can get a chip shot… and get the wave of eternity. Or just get blown into a ceramic explosion.”
When the swell picks up on the North Shore, it happens quickly. One minute you’re enjoying yourself, bobbing around surfing waves of a manageable size, thinking to yourself, “hey, I can surf Hawaiian waves no problem!” and the next you’re paddling as hard as you possibly can with your heart falling out your ass as a set wave bigger than anything you’ve ever seen darkens the horizon. It’s fun.
Anyway, the video you see here shows just how fast the conditions can change on the North Shore. It’s a good thing to keep in mind, because there are countless surfers who’ve found themselves in way, way over their heads.
