DISSECTING PIPE
DATE FILED
05/05/06
ON OAHU, HAWAII
05/05/06
ON OAHU, HAWAII
THREE PREVIOUS WINNERS: SLICE IT EIGHT DIFFERENT WAYS
The Pipe Masters, the last event of the year, it’s crash or crash through. Where single waves can turn a man into either a serve of jelly or a statue of Jesus.
It’s more than a contest site, its brutal beauty has obsessed not just those who’ve affixed their legropes on the beach, but also every couch potato, surfer or non surfer on the planet.
But what’s it feel like to surf the place? Can anyone impart any knowledge to the pros?
To that end, the WPS have assembled “The Pipe Panel”:
previous winners and gurus from outside the present tour. Derek Ho, Barton Lynch and Jamie O’Brien give us the scoop on the world’s most famous wave and the destination of this year’s Rip Curl Pipe Masters - the view from inside the pit and the advice needed to take home the Master’s helmet.
THE PIPE PANEL
- Derek Ho
- During the 80s and 90s, Derek Ho and Tom Carroll carried on the lineage from Gerry Lopez, surfing the Pipe with other-worldly grace and flair. Derek rewrote the book on deep left tubes, and the triple Pipe Master still surfs the wave regularly.
- BARTON LYNCH
- Won the 1988 World Title in a toenail-biting Billabong Pro Pipe finale in giant metal cylinders. “Pipe’s changed, the amount of surfers on tour who can surf it is incredible. In our day, you’d surf, Bondi, Manly, Rio, then fucking Pipe!
- JAMIE O’BRIEN
- With Backdoor in his backyard, JOB won the Pipe Masters as a wildcard. “My dream is to win the final, take off normal stance on a stupid wave, then get spit out switchfoot.”
