Pipeline, Sunset and Waimea; the surf experience

      On Hawaii's North Shore, waves are not measured in terms of linear feet, but in increments of fear.

      —A popular early '60s comment by a surf filmmaker

      Surfers come to the North Shore scared. If you "no scared", it usually means you're not pushing your surfing anymore, at least not in large surf—and that's fine . . . If you are still charging, chances are that you came to Hawaii with some healthy fear, because you know you're going to be putting yourself into some challenging situations.

      —Pete Johnson in Transworld Surf magazine, December 1999

      Every now and then, we would hear reports through the grapevine of big-wave riders on the North Shore drowning, and for the first time I began to understand why so many of the great California surfers never gave the North Shore a try, or if they did, they came back home and never tried it again.

      —Former California surfing champion and artist Mike Doyle in his memoir Morning Glass

      Yes, a lot has been said about the North Shore, a stretch of coast often referred to as "the seven-mile miracle." Surf publications rave about this coastline rich in baby sand shells, and there isn't much that hasn't already been said or written about it. I mean, people even write long and effusive poems about the place.

      Whatever its poetic or popular mystique, one thing is for certain: the North Shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu is, without reservation, the most famous and revered place in the rarefied world of surfing. It is a Mecca to surfers worldwide. This has to do with the fact that the North Shore is home to some of the best, heaviest, most monstrous and challenging surf in the world, and also with the caliber of surfing exhibited there by both Hawaiian and visiting surfers. What these mad watermen do there is of a performance level rarely seen in other parts of the world. For all True Believers, no other place on Earth captures the essence of being a surfer as well as the North Shore. If there was ever a place that surfing is immediately identified with, then the North Shore of Oahu is truly it.

      Between the winter months of October and April, Oahu's North Shore experiences an annual bombardment of waves and an invasion of pros, schmos, and bros all intent on tapping into prime North Shore surf. Many are there to simply savor the experience of watching a flawless 10- to 12-foot seething Pipeline being gutted by the world's best. Others watch in awe as towering walls of water at 20-feet plus smash into Waimea Bay.

      While some people are content to just be spectators and to study the small-wave maestros offering sneak previews of the next era of performance surfing, others are not. Out in the water are packs of seemingly deranged nutcases rushing the waves with reckless abandon. For those surfers who are being paid big bucks to give their sponsors as much name and logo-sticker exposure as possible, surfing on the North Shore also means big business. They perform for the cameras, go for the gold in contests, and try to etch their name into the annals of North Shore surfing. Then there are the local boys, a homegrown contingent of waveriders who have seen surfing fads come and go like the crowds that congest their surf spots every year. They reluctantly put up with this visiting circus, perhaps because they simply love state-of-the-art waveriding.

      Signs like this on the North Shore are to be taken seriously once winter swells begin their annual migration to these mid-Pacific beaches. Photo: Brett Uprichard

      One thing you'll definitely notice on the North Shore, particularly at the prime surf spots, is that anyone picking up set waves is usually surfing way above your average Joe. Imagine yourself on the beach at Ehukai on a sunny surf day, say around early December. The lineup immediately in front of you will probably be chock-full of all your heroes trying to outdo each other on every breaking wave and be the man. Think Tom Curren, Johnny Boy, the Irons brothers, Tommy Carroll, the Beschen brothers, and, if your timing is right, even Mr. Kelly Slater himself—live, in technicolor, and redefining what ripping is all about. Yes, they will all be here, along with droves of under-grounders, low profilers, upcoming amateurs, hotshot unknowns, visiting movie stars and even your common everyday surfer.

      Contest time can be especially thrilling, as Hawaii is the last stop on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) pro tour, and the final shot at world-ranking for world-title contenders. Hawaii is also an important "last chance" competition venue for surfers trying to qualify for the upcoming world tour. Performance levels are balls out because everyone is trying to get as mental and upside-down as possible to prove that they've got what it takes to rip the North Shore. Not to mention the pack of photogs, media hounds and videographers on the beach, all trying to get "the shot" as well as footage of today's, yesterday's and tomorrow's surfing stars. Contest time is often likened to an aquatic circus, given the documentarians, groupies, personalities and assorted freaks of the surfing world who descend upon on this small stretch of coast just between Kahuku and Kaena.