Gabs Medina and Gav Beschen, Pipeline, Hawaii

Let’s look back, real quick, at a moment from the Black Friday swell at Pipeline last, uh, Friday. This is Gavin Beschen, unintentionally sharing a wave with Gabriel Medina. Now, before jumping up and down about either side o’ the fence, y’should know that this was accidental, and with conditions the way they were on Friday, second and third reef wash-throughs cleaned out the lineup regularly, so it was kinda free-for-all. Also, below are some points Danny Fuller gave Stab in his 10 Things You Need To Know Before Surfing Pipe feature, which certainly give a better view of what it’s like out there (for those who’ve never tasted).

Pipe is just like an Indonesian intersection: “I’ll never forget the first time I ever surfed it when it was really on and happening. I was 14. It reminded me of an intersection in Indonesia. It was so fucking chaotic. On any given good day, you have 100 guys out there. I remember how fast everything was moving. You’re negotiating the wave itself, which you’re scared shitless of, then you’ve got the crowd to deal with, too. You’re putting yourself in this really high-adrenalin situation and you’re trying to get this wave, but at the same time you’re looking to see if so-and-so’s going, and then, oh my god, they pulled back, and then you’re going.”

Ain’t no rearview mirror: “If I see a wave coming in and I’m, like, this is the one, as I see it coming in there’s already so many different elements going through my head. I’m seeing who’s in front of me, who’s behind me, who’s in position, who’s not, okay, I’m in, this guy’s paddling, but I know he’s not gonna get it… so many times I’ve been paddling and then seen a guy deeper than me who I thought was gonna get it, I’ve pulled back and he’s missed it, and it’s just, like, that could’ve been the one. It’s being able to juggle all these different elements that are happening so quickly. Everyone builds up this idea of what it’s gonna be like, but you never really know until you’re out there experiencing it.”