Surfing Hawaii

Shark Attack

2005-12-26T00:52:00.000-08:00

Tiger shark attacks a tourist from San Diego in Hawaii A 29 year old man from San Diego lost his pinkie finger and the tip of his ring finger as a tiger shark attacked him bit his hand near a Hawaiian beach Wednesday. Jonathan Genant, a former triathlete, said that the incident occurred when he was swimming about 400 yards away from a South Maui beach. He said: “I heard a break, pretty much, and it was really crisp, you know, quick, very powerful.”He added: “If he had taken another strike at me, I wouldn't be here today.”
He was alone when the shark attacked him. Genant said he felt a white shadow moving below him. The creature became gray when it turned on its belly and was heading towards him.The beach has been closed after the attack. Last time a shark attacked a man in Hawaii was in October 2004. There wasn't much damage though. Recovering from the shock, he said: “It really was an incredible creature as frightening as it is. It was his domain, and he was the boss, he was going to decide my fate ... I'm lucky to get away as I did.”According to Randy Honebrink of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, it is unlikely that the attacking shark would be found.He said: “Sharks move around so much that whatever shark did that is probably long gone anyway.” http://www.whatistheword.com/story/USWorld_465.html

The end of the 2005 Season is going off!

2005-12-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

MAJOR STORM OFF HAWAII TO GENERATE HUGE SURF FOR CALIFORNIA ON WEDNESDAY A developing storm near Hawaii has intensified early Monday with 50 knot winds and 50 foot seas aimed directly toward California. This is an “El Nino” type of storm as it has dropped far to the south between Hawaii and California to pick up a tremendous amount of tropical moisture to fuel its strength. A weak ridge of high pressure over California will maintain stable weather conditions along the coast with generally light and variable winds – very favorable for surfers with the experience to surf large waves. This storm is generating near hurricane force winds and huge seas within 1,000 miles of California, much closer than normal. The swell direction will also be from a broad westerly direction, which will also allow the maximum amount of swell energy to penetrate through the offshore islands to arrive at the coast of Southern California. Most areas with southwest, westerly, and/or northwesterly exposure will experience 8-12 foot waves with sets near 15 feet. Some more west facing exposed areas will have sets approaching 20 feet and possibly more. Local high tides will be in the medium 4.5 foot range so typically we wouldn’t expect significant coastal flooding or erosion. However, this will be one of the largest swells to arrive in Southern California is years, so local authorities should definitely prepare for coastal erosion and flooding in low lying areas open to the southwest, west, and northwest. Marine harbor entrances open to a westerly direction will also have large breaking waves near the harbor entrances, especially during the low tide periods late Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. If you have further questions please feel free to contact the Surfline forecasting team below. http://www.Surfline.com Be safe, Sean Collins 714-504-9404 cell scollins@surfline.com

Tempting Pipeline

2005-12-18T12:37:00.000-08:00

After Losing a Friend, Pipeline Surfers Tempt Fate With a Deadly Passion

Karen Wilson/European Pressphoto Agency
The Tahitian-born Malik Joyeux, surfing at Teahupoo, Tahiti, was renowned for his bravado in big waves. He drowned at Pipeline on Dec. 2.

By JAKE HOWARD
Published: December 18, 2005
HALEIWA, Hawaii - With wounds on his head still fresh, the 46 staples in his scalp removed just days earlier, Tamayo Perry of Hawaii stood at the water's edge trying to find some semblance of inner tranquillity. It was the first day of the 35th annual Pipeline Masters, the final and most prestigious event on the world championship tour, and the Pacific Ocean had come alive with 15-foot surf.

No stranger to the life-and-death nature of Pipeline, Perry, who sustained a severe head injury when he was struck by another surfer's board on the first sizable northwest swell of Hawaii's winter big-wave season, ranks among the small but elite group of surfers making a name for themselves at the surf break.

For nearly 50 years, Pipeline, which began Dec. 10, has tempted the bravest and boldest surfers on the planet. In that time, it has become known as the world's deadliest wave, legitimizing its moniker on Dec. 2 with the death of the Tahitian-born Malik Joyeux. Renowned for his bravado in sizable surf, Joyeux took off on what for him was a relatively benign 10-footer. Unable to tuck under the cascading lip into the safety of the tube, the sweet spot for Pipeline surfers, he took the brunt of the wave's force on his head.

"I was paddling for the same wave," said Randall Paulson, a friend of Joyeux's and a lifelong Pipeline local. "I pulled back and let him go. I just wanted to see my friend get a good wave. That was the last time I saw him alive."

But what separates Pipeline from the other big waves of the world? Why, if it is so deadly, do surfers continue to challenge it?

"It's timeless," Perry said, "the ultimate man-versus-nature arena."

Every winter, generally from the end of October through the end of March, intense low-pressure systems form in the Gulf of Alaska, sending giant waves to the northern shores of the Hawaiian Islands. Traveling unimpeded for thousands of miles, the powerful open-ocean swells arrive from deep water, detonating on Hawaii's shallow volcanic shelf. It is a demonstration of physics in action as the swells strike the reefs, doubling in size.

While northwest swells are a key ingredient, it takes more than flour to bake a cake. Pipeline's unique reef also plays a vital role. It is shallow - less than four feet below the surface - and can be lethal enough itself. The reef is an amalgamation of flat and jagged coral heads. As open-ocean swells strike the reef, they jack up, throw out and form the cylindrical tube for which Pipeline's name is derived. It is not uncommon for surfers, after sustaining particularly severe wipeouts, to get pushed down into caves and crevasses. If they cannot find their way up, they face the possibility of drowning.

"I just can't believe what I'm seeing out here," said John Davidson, a vacationer from Tucson, watching from the beach. "It really boggles the mind to see this firsthand. There's nothing like it."
The waves break in an area less than the size of a football field. A wipeout at Pipeline can result in the equivalent of the water from three or four Olympic-size swimming pools being dumped on a surfer's head.
"I pray every time I wipe out," Paulson said. "You can't take anything for granted out there."
So why do it? Why risk life and limb for a wave?
For one, a wave at Pipeline, surfing's center stage, can make or break a career.
"When I was 16, I took off on a wave that I had no business going on," Danny Fuller of Kauai said. "It's made all the difference in my life. It launched my professional surfing career."
But it goes much deeper than that. For surfers like Perry, Paulson and Fuller, there is camaraderie in being a Pipeline surfer. They spend the winter in beachfront houses, surfing and finding ways to survive not as individuals, but as a larger cohesive group. There is safety in numbers at Pipeline. When one surfer goes down, having a group of friends to keep an eye out can mean the difference between life and death.

Camaraderie aside, for those willing to pay the ultimate price for surfing's ultimate thrill, it is the tube at Pipeline that is most sacred.

"All I want to do is pull in," Paulson said. "That's why you surf here. Period."

As Perry put his leash on and buckled his helmet (a recent acquisition after the injury), a 15-foot wave steamed across the reef.

Once the Pipeline Masters concluded - Andy Irons won the event - Perry and his friends were sure to be back in the Pipeline surf, tempting fate, as they always do

Sad News

2005-12-17T00:34:00.000-08:00

Tahitian Surfer Drowns After Wiping Out By ALEXANDRE DA SILVA The Associated Press Saturday, December 3, 2005; 2:44 AM HONOLULU -- A Tahitian professional surfer drowned Friday after wiping out on a big wave off Oahu's North Shore. Malik Joyeux, 25, was underwater for about 10 minutes after falling on an 8-foot wave at Hawaii's famous Banzai Pipeline surf break, according to witness and photographer Bruno Lemos. The wave exploded on top of Joyeux, snapping his board in half, Lemos said. Surfers spotted Joyeux's body floating in a nearby break and paddled him to shore, where lifeguards and ocean safety officials unsuccessfully tried to revive him, Lemos said. Joyeux was pronounced dead at Kahuku Hospital. In 2003, Joyeux won a prestigious big wave award, the Billabong XXL Tube of the Year. Last year, he was featured on the cover of a special issue of Surfer magazine riding a giant wave in Teahupoo, Tahiti. In February, Jon Mozo, a well-known underwater photographer from Hawaii, drowned at Pipeline while taking surf pictures. © 2005 The Associated Press http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120300201.html

RIP Malik

2005-12-07T01:53:00.000-08:00

Big WavesTahitian Surfer Drowns After Wiping Out

By ALEXANDRE DA SILVA
The Associated Press
Saturday, December 3, 2005; 2:44 AM

HONOLULU -- A Tahitian professional surfer drowned Friday after wiping out on a big wave off Oahu's North Shore.

Malik Joyeux, 25, was underwater for about 10 minutes after falling on an 8-foot wave at Hawaii's famous Banzai Pipeline surf break, according to witness and photographer Bruno Lemos.

The wave exploded on top of Joyeux, snapping his board in half, Lemos said. Surfers spotted Joyeux's body floating in a nearby break and paddled him to shore, where lifeguards and ocean safety officials unsuccessfully tried to revive him, Lemos said.

Joyeux was pronounced dead at Kahuku Hospital.

In 2003, Joyeux won a prestigious big wave award, the Billabong XXL Tube of the Year. Last year, he was featured on the cover of a special issue of Surfer magazine riding a giant wave in Teahupoo, Tahiti.

In February, Jon Mozo, a well-known underwater photographer from Hawaii, drowned at Pipeline while taking surf pictures.
© 2005 The Associated Press

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120300201.html

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