Features
Latest posts:
Editor’s Note – The Pipeline Issue
Posted December 7, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Fear. It’s a central part of the surfing experience, even if it’s seldom acknowledged. From pros to beginners, all who enter the water know what it’s like to encounter a situation beyond their abilities. We hope to overcome our jitters in that moment. But how? (more…)
Beyond Pipe: Where The Rest Of Us Can Surf
Posted December 4, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Surfing Pipeline is for experts only, said Hawaiian Water Patrol’s Brian Keaulana. It’s “like skiing down Mount Everest.” So where should the rest of us go? Keaulana, a surf safety expert, and Patrick Caldwell, a surf forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, offer advice on spots more appropriate for beginners or first-time visitors to Oahu. Even these spots are not without their risks. (more…)
Beneath Pipeline
Posted by Dan Fitzpatrick
Brad Scarfe, who is part of a New Zealand crew that has studied surfing breaks since the late 90s for academic and protection purposes, charted Pipeline’s underwater turmoil using information gathered by NOAA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (more…)
The Hazards Of Hawaii
Posted by Dan Fitzpatrick
If you travel to Hawaii in search of surf there is a lot to know before you go. We asked Brian Keaulana of Hawaiian Water Patrol to identify common hazards that first timers overlook. Visitors, he said, frequently underestimate Hawaii’s dangers. “People are coming here to fulfill their fantasies and dreams and escape reality of everyday life. The warm weather, blue skies and rainbows. They see the beauty but don’t see the beast within the beauty.” (more…)
The Portuguese Pipeline
Posted by Dan Fitzpatrick
John John Florence grew up surfing Pipeline, a wave on the North Shore of Oahu that breaks in his backyard. When he clinched his first world title he was more than 7,000 miles away, in southwest Europe. But it happened on a Portuguese wave that looks a lot like his home break. “Supertubos” produces Pipeline-sized tubes and breaks close to the beach, just as Pipeline does. Portuguese photographer Ricardo Santos Luis was there in the port town of Peniche to witness what happened. (more…)
A Rivalry In The Making
Posted by Dan Fitzpatrick
John John Florence and Gabriel Medina turned pro the same year. Florence now has two world titles and Medina is trying to match that same trophy count this month. Those who follow pro surfing expect the rivalry between the Hawaiian and the Brazilian to define pro surfing over the next decade. Here is how the two stack up.
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A Lucky Moment In Time
Posted by Dan Fitzpatrick
During the final months of 1991 Tom Servais captured two images that remain the best known Pipeline photos ever taken. One, of Australian Tom Carroll, came during the height of pro competition with hundreds watching. The other, of American Tom Curren, unfolded in the fading light of afternoon with few people around. Servais explains the circumstances surrounding the images and why they still resonate with surfers more than a quarter century later. Servais, now 65, is at Pipeline this winter for the 37th time, in search of more such moments.
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Gerry’s House
Posted by Dan Fitzpatrick
A short walk along the beach from Warren Harlow’s house will take you to what may be the most important address in surfing: 59-363 Ke Nui Road. (more…)
How To: The Pop Up
Posted by Dan Fitzpatrick
Getting to your feet is the most basic maneuver in surfing, yet for many beginners it can feel like an insurmountable obstacle. We asked Adam Dufner, an instructor affiliated with the Hurley Surf Club and Skudin Surf, for a tutorial. He suggested that anyone who is new to surfing follow these steps with a longer, more stable board. (more…)
Seeing Red
Posted by Dan Fitzpatrick
For more than half a century Warren Harlow has been watching Pipeline from his front porch, offering him a rare view of the wave’s potential for extreme violence. (more…)
Facing Pipeline
Posted November 28, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Eleven accomplished surfers recall their first encounters with the world’s most dangerous wave. (more…)
Breaking The Surface: The Journey of a Beginner
Posted October 14, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
What is it like to try surfing for the first time at age 52? Charlotte Slivka decided to find out. (more…)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Posted May 6, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
What happened the very first time surfers competed in a wave pool? Hint: It did not go well. Those who were there describe the scene in their own words.
The Audacious, Comical, Tragic and Potentially Redemptive Story Of A Small Town, A Pool And The World’s Best Surfers
Posted May 4, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Pennsylvania Amish country was the unlikely setting for the first-ever pro surfing contest held in a wave pool. Was it a comic low point for the sport? Or a glimpse of the future? (more…)
Welcome To The Wave Pool Capital Of The World
Posted April 28, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Kelly Slater’s wave pool is as much a curiosity to his new neighbors in this small California town as it is to the rest of the world.
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Want To Hear About The Time I Almost Died?
Posted January 7, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Will Skudin used persistence and preparation to forge his place in the world of big-wave surfing. Along the way he wrestled with the same vulnerabilities we all face in the water: fear, anxiety and self doubt. (more…)
How To: Picking The Proper Wetsuit
Posted December 4, 2016 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Knowing what wetsuit is appropriate for certain conditions can be confusing for anyone, especially beginners. So we asked Body Glove, which made its first wetsuit in 1953 using neoprene, an insulating material found in the back of refrigerators, to walk us through the basics. Wetsuit designer John Federoff was our guide. (more…)
The Physical Demands Of Surfing
Posted by Dan Fitzpatrick
Surfers have a laid back reputation. But Physiologist Olivier Farley, who has a PhD in the science of surfing, has documented the extreme physical demands of the sport by studying what surfers do when they are out in the water. Surfers need lots of arm strength and aerobic endurance to perform repeated short powerful bouts of paddling as they position themselves in the water and catch waves at a crucial take off point. (more…)
A Trek Through Trestles
Posted December 3, 2016 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Thousands travel to Trestles each year to surf its world-class waves and experience one of the last untouched sections of southern California coastline. We asked California photographer Chris Ortiz to take a visual tour of this iconic American place. (more…)
Great Moments At Trestles
Posted by Dan Fitzpatrick
Many of pro surfing’s greatest moments occurred at Trestles. Illustrator Alvar Sirlin brings four to life. (more…)