Kalani Chapman Nearly Drowns At Pipeline During Backdoor Shootout

It’s a stretch of reef he’s dealt with a thousand times in his life. But during the 2017 Da Hui Backdoor Shootout, goofyfooter Kalani Chapman went down on a Pipe bomb, and was almost lost forever. After rolling in, he rode it through to the end section, took his line, and lost control – it didn’t look particularly bad, but Pipe’s never to be underestimated. After Kalani didn’t surface, Seth Moniz and Nathan Florence paddled over to his board, where safety patrol was already circling. It became apparent that he was still attached to the board, but underwater and not moving. He was pulled to the surface, unconscious, before being driven to the beach on a jetski.

“I’m so glad this warrior is still with us today,” wrote Seth Moniz on Instagram with the above image. “A minute before the incident Kalani and I were sitting out at second reef Pipe chatting about how good the waves were. Two sets came through, Kalani took the first wave and I took the next one. At the end of my wave I saw his board in the whitewash, but didn’t see Kalani. My first thought was he broke his leash, but after the wave passed his board got pulled out the back like there was an anchor at the end of it. That’s when I knew something bad happened. It was such a scary moment for me, I was looking at one of my heroes and there was no life in him. I’m so glad @nathan_florence, Larry Haynes, Uncle Kawika Foster, Uncle Terry Ahue @hawaiianwaterpatrol and @northshorelifeguardassociation were all there to save his life. I hope for a speedy recovery and I can’t wait to see you getting more bombs at Pipe.”

@northshorelifeguardassociation

Kalani was revived on the beach by lifeguards, and was reportedly coherent before the ambulance left the beach for the hospital. It’s reported that Kalani is doing much better, and Stab wishes him a speedy recovery.