Banzai Pipeline

301, 2015

It’s Been an Amazing Ride Living on the North Shore of Oahu!

By |January 3rd, 2015|Surf Happenings, Uncategorized|2 Comments

Paddling out today on my way to work, I thought, wow who would have thunk 40 plus years later I’d still be living the dream on the North Shore of Oahu?  I tried to remember the first time I swam in her beautiful waters. I remember the first time I looked under the water at Waimea Bay with a mask, I freaked out and ran out of the water, blown away because it was so vast under the sea. I must have been 5 or 6 years old at the time and never would have dreamed of paddle out to the point to challenge myself in the waves. I remember Steve Albert, who still runs Rainbow school taking us students on field trips to bodysurf the shore break at Waimea and to swim through the secret tunnels of Sharks Cove. I remember riding The Bus from Kahaluu to Waialua to ride horses as a teenager and staring at the huge waves of Waimea memorized if only for a few seconds as we rode around the Bay in pre-traffic North Shore…..I remember my first time bottom turning at Pipeline….wow that was a cool day! So now so many, many years later […]

103, 2012

North Shore Surf's up for the Girls at the SeaHawaii Womens Pro at Pipeline Starts March 1, 2012

By |March 1st, 2012|Surf Happenings|0 Comments

March 1, 2012, marks the beginning of the 9 day holding period for the the Sea Hawaii Women’s Pro at Pipeline.  The event is the only women’s surfing event held at the famous Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu.  Held on the best 3-days of surf over the course of it’s 9 day window, the best way to find out if the event is off or on is to check in with the Surf News Network after 8:00 am daily.

The event features the following divisions and prize purses:

USBA Women’s Bodyboarding Pro  $2,000.00 Purse
ASP One Star Shortboard Women’s Pro $10,000.00 Purse
ASP Two Star Jr. Womens Pro  $3,000.00 Purse
ASP Two Star Men’s  Jr. Pro  $10,000.00 Purse

Honolulu City and County Mayor, Peter Carlisle w/ athletes from the SeaHawaii Womens Pro. Please note learning to surf at Pipeline is not recommended. We keep our surfing lessons fun and safe by teaching in a protected cove when the the surf is big on the North Shore of Oahu.

1801, 2011

Surfing Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu – Why Does Anyone Ever Stop?

By |January 18th, 2011|Surfing Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu - Why Does Anyone Ever Stop?|0 Comments

I first paddled out at Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu in the Winter of 1984 and surfed it almost every day it broke for years and years.  I love the place..it’s a super powerful wave, and beautiful beyond comparison.  Surfing Pipe  is  like playing in the very heart of the ocean.  Fast forward to 2011 and a great surf I had there just three days ago, my first for this Winter and one of only 10 times I’ve paddled out to Pipe in the past 3-years.  What happened, why did I stop riding my favorite wave?  Why does anyone stop riding her?  The thrill is still there, though the people have changed – most of them anyway.  We all get older, our lungs won’t let us paddle as fast or hold our breath as long as we get nailed by huge waves…But, that’s not why we stop or slow down our Pipeline addiction.  It’s more of a changing of the guard kind of like – I had my time and now it’s time to make room for the next generation.  Just imagine if no one ever stopped surfing Pipeline, we would have about 5,000 people in the water. […]

2205, 2010

North Shore Surfer Marvin Foster is Surfing Perfect Pipeline in Heaven

By |May 22nd, 2010|North Shore Surfer Marvin Foster is Surfing Perfect Pipeline in Heaven, RIP|0 Comments

Marvin Foster, 1962-2010

North Shore surfing legend, father, brother and super cool person Marvin Foster passed away May 18th, 2010 in Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu,  finding peace at last.   He was a fearless surfer with a true North Shore style.  Earning the nick names Carving Marvin and Marvelous Marvin he was a master at surfing the Pipeline and set the standard for carving in the early 80’s.  In 1980,  he was named Rookie of the Year by ASP World Tour.  Always a daredevil, he was the  first person to go left at big Waimea Bay, and  was one of the original invitees to the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational surfing contest.

A straight “A” graduate of Waialua High School,  Hawaiian to the core and intelligent,  Marvelous Marvin looked you straight in the eye and told you like it was.  Loved and respected by his family and friends he will be truly missed.

Marvin is survived by his daughters  Vai Tiare Marr-Foster and Zjayna Foster, brothers Daniel, Cyrus, and Kalani Foster, and sister Pua McCormick.

2304, 2010

North Shore Surfer and Muscian Jack Johnson's Kokua Festival

By |April 23rd, 2010|North Shore Surfer and Muscian Jack Johnson's New Album To The Sea, Surf Happenings|0 Comments

Like most girls who grew up learning to surf at Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu, I surfed with Jack when he was just a kid.  He was one of the top chargers at Pipeline back in his day. I became a fan of  Jack’s  music when I read a story in Surfer Magazine about it. I promptly surfed on over to Napstar and down loaded some of his songs and was amazed with the soulfulness of it.  Below is a music video from his new album To the Sea which should be a big hit.

Lucky for us North Shore people,  Jack or rather “Majic Jack” as my mom calls him, cares a lot about our community and especially children.  He and his beautiful wife Kim started the Kokua Foundation to teach all of us to recycle, reduce and reuse.  While the foundation focuses on children the Johnson’s hold a concert most years at the Waikiki Shell to raise money and stoke everybody out.  This year’s concert was awesome, there was an insane line up of local talent and some legends including Taj Mahal and Ziggy Marly along with Jack.  Lots of good energy at the concert, […]

2004, 2010

North Shore Soap Factory Pipeline Women's Pro Surfing Contest Winners

By |April 20th, 2010|North Shore Soap Factory Pipeline Women's Pro Surfing Contest Winners, Surf Happenings|0 Comments

Congratulations to North Shore Surf girl Anastasia Ashley for winning the women’s surfing and to Brazilian Karla Costa-Taylor for winning the women’s bodyboarding divisions of the 21st Annual North Shore Soap Factory Pipeline Women’s Pro in Memory of Josie Over. A big mahalo to event director, Betty Depolito for organizing it too!

Photo Bernie Baker

It’s great to see the women surfers from around the world given the opportunity to compete at the world’s most prestigious surfing competition venue. What’s not so great is seeing the only women’s contest held at Pipeline awarded dates at the end of the winter, when the waves are small and marginal. Most people don’t understand or even want to know about the “politics” of surfing contest on the North Shore, but it would be helpful to the cause of gender equality if some sun was shined on it. Each Spring the City and County sends permit applications to all the event directors from the previous season inviting them to fill our an application for a contest. The application includes questions like does this event provide opportunities for females and what kind of community services does the event preform. Although there is […]

2303, 2010

The Only Women's Surfing and Bodyboarding Contest held at the Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu

By |March 23rd, 2010|Surf Happenings, The Only Women's Surfing and Bodyboarding Contest held at the Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu|0 Comments

A very special surfing event happens every year on the North Shore of Oahu. The surfer girls get a day and sometimes two days to themselves at for an all girls surfing contest at the famous Banzai Pipeline.  It’s a perfect way to wrap up a day of surfing lessons with the North Shore Surf Girls Surf School. 

All of the details are below.  Durning the holding period you can check in with the Surf News Network for daily on or off status updates.

What: Pipeline Women’s Pro. The only Women’s  surf  and bodyboarding event held at the Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu.

The 21st annual  which started as a  bodyboarding event for the first 19 years, shortboarding, stand up surfing and a longboarding expression session was added when North Shore surfing legend and women’s advocate Betty Depolito to over the event.

When:  April 5 to April 19, 2010 (14-day waiting period)

Where:  North Shore, Hawaii, Ehukai Beach Park, Pipeline surf break.
The North Shore is famous for its waves and surf culture.

Who: The best extreme Women surfers and bodyboarders in the World including surfers from Chili, Puerto Rico, Japan, Venezuela, Australia, England, Ireland, USA, Hawaii, Brazil, France and more!

1010, 2009

Will Women Surfers Ever Achieve Equality?

By |October 10th, 2009|Musings, Surf Happenings, Will Women Surfers Ever Acheive Equality?|0 Comments

Normally, I try to refrain from commenting on “political” issues relating to surfing, but upon learning that officials in the State of Hawaii have denied the permit for the only and 21st annual women’s contest at Pipeline and upon reading a recent press release detailing the reorganization of the official World Surfing Tour from the Association of Surfing Professionals, ASP I had to comment.

What particularly caught my attention in the ASP press release was the increase in prize money for the men from $3.4 million to $4 million and for the women from US$630,000 to a “generous” $800,000 and the addition of a women’s representative to the governing board. The irony is that the men’s prize money increase is almost as much as the prize purse for women’s entire tour and yet we all know in our hearts that the women’s surfing clothing industry is huge, huge, huge, and that companies like Roxy sells more clothing then Quicksilver.  Why is there such a huge disparity in surfing prize purses?  That goes back to the lack of even a single women on the ASP board of directors until now. However, with one vote on a board of 7 people […]

107, 2009

Surfer Magazine names Haleiwa Town on North Shore, Oahu as Number-Two Surfing Town in Nation

By |July 1st, 2009|Surf Happenings, Surfer Magazine names Haleiwa Town on North Shore as Number 2 Surfing Town in Nation|0 Comments

2503, 2009

North Shore Lifeguard Annual Bodysurfing Contest at Pipeline

By |March 25th, 2009|North Shore Lifeguards, Surf Happenings|0 Comments

The North Shore Lifeguards are the best watermen in the world saving the lives of thousands of visitors to the North Shore each year. They also organize a bodysurfing contest at the Pipeline on an annual basis. Below is a short summary of the contest written by contest director Rick Williams as well as photos.

Group Photo
North Shore Lifeguards
Bodysurfing Action!

2009 ke kaha nalu hanana ‘o ehukai….when translated literally means bodysurfing experience at pipeline. this seasons event was recently held in very contestable 1-3 foot peaks in front of the lifeguard tower. a record 60 men and women put on a display of waveriding grace, despite the difficult wave size. once again the two man rescue race proved to be the highlight of the afternoon. congratulations to watermen Mike Stewart, Jeff Hubbard, and Ikaika Kalama for schooling all the rest of us…aloha

Bodysurfers getting ready to compete at
the Pipeline on the North Shore of oahu
A beautiful day on the beaches of the North Shore