Mike Akima, Ala Moana Bowls this morning, Hawaii

This ain’t Rio. Nor is it even the North Shore. It is, in fact, the South Shore of Oahu, being proud owner of both the largest open-air shopping centre in the world, and more pertinently, Ala Moana Bowls. And like a smaller, less famous cousin, Ala Moana Bowls is known as the Pipeline of the South Shore. Today a new swell hit, and while it ain’t big in comparison to some of the pulses that unload on its northern cuz, this is a kinda big swell for the South Shore. Plus, it’s totally summer in Hawaii right now! That means mainly south swells! And this one rolled in just a little earlier than usual. And, y’know where it came from? It’s the sam swell that hit Chopes recently, of which you saw much documentation, and it’s the same one that will hit Mex soon, of which you will see much documentation.

So, how’d we find our shooter, Nick Hoermann, in the moment? “I woke up this morning around 4am knowing there was a solid swell in town,” Nick says. “I got in the water and shot Big Rights, on the other side of Ala Moana Bowls. When I came in, I saw a bunch of guys going out so I thought, what the heck, I’ll wait a few more minutes and take a few shots. Most photographers usually sit right on the edge of the island and shoot from the same place for a few hours. So I changed it up a bit and moved back and sat low and waited for one set to come through. This is what came out of it.”

The team this morning included men like Mike Akima (pictured here), Kekoa Bacalso, Joel Centeio, Sean Moody, Aamion Goodwin, Jesse Merle-Jones, Randall Paulson, Kekoa Cazimero, Cheeseburger and more. Probs not an easy session to scoop waves if you ain’t local, but visually pleasing, regardless.