Mini Gallery: Yesterday At Waimea Bay With Kelly Slater, Emily Erickson And More

Yesterday, the North Shore was for spectators, mostly. The beaches were closed. Lifeguards diligently pushed the viewers back up the sand. Caution tape lined the entrances off the bike path. And, Waimea held the only surfers on the miraculous seven-mile stretch.

Pipe was breaking off the second reef and rolling into the inside in a mess of foam and death.

The beach park was doubling up, spitting its guts out, lips the size of mini-vans crashed with ground moving force.

People stood, stared and documented. 

And a few, including Kelly Slater, Emily Erickson, Kelta O’Rourke, Kahea Hart and Ted Ballen (as pictured here) battled the 50 plus bobbing heads at the Bay.

Watching from the cliff, yesterday, there was a terrible power.

It was beautiful.

Question, if you drop in on Kelly Slater, does that result in seven years of bad luck?

Emily Erickson charges way harder than you.

Kelta O’Roarke, another name you may not know, who gets her kicks from steep drops and hard beatings.

Ted Ballen slips into an emerald boot.