2024 Vans Pipe Masters Day One — Live Updates, Commentary, And Conjectures
Play-by-play insights and video highlights from down on the sand.
Click here to read our Vans Pipe Masters preview, and follow along below for updates from everything happening on the beach today. This post will be updated with new insights and play-by-play every few minutes.
While there’s currently no livestream, you can follow along on social media via @vanssurf, @surfline, and @stab. You can also click here for the heat updates, and here for the full leaderboard
Individual waves in a Hawaiian swell can be estimated to travel at around 3x the swell period, according to Sean Collins. So, a 17-second swell like the one which arrived yesterday evening should be moving at about 51 Nautical miles per hour — or 94 kmh.
These semi-truck speeds would explain why the swell size and angle seems to alter so rapidly here on the North Shore — from flat yesterday morning, to 20-foot last night, to still scary but manageable today.
This mornings’ trade wind wobble looks quite similar to one sunrise last year, before some second reef sets arrived emphatically and Harry Bryant stuffed a 7’2 Gravelle into the belly of a 30-point dragon.
We’ll see how things evolve today. Event starts at 8am Hawaii time, women start first — refresh this page for updates.
For reference:
- The draw features 40 men and 20 women, with Hawaiians making up about half the roster.Heats of four, each heat surfs three times. The four surfers with the highest-scoring waves across those heats will make it to the final.
- Each heat will rotate between morning, midday, and afternoon to surf in all conditions and maximise their chances.
- Heats are 30 minutes, and each wave is scored out of 30 (10 points each from three judges).
- No priority, and only your top three waves from your first three heats counts.
- 40-minute, four-person final, where only the top two waves are considered. Vans will announce any priority restrictions for the final, based on conditions.
- The total prize purse is $300,000, with the distribution on the mens and womens side as follows:
- 1st Place: $75k
- 2nd Place: $35k
- 3rd Place: $25k
- 4th Place: $15k
Women’s Heat One, Round One — Caity Simmers (USA), Moana Jones-Wong (HAW), Zoe McDougall (HAW), Chesney Guinotte (HAW)
“I feel like I’m the compiest one here,” laughed Caity Simmers a couple days ago, as we bobbed in the water at small (and less than crowded) Backdoor. “Usually, everyone from the comp would be out here surfing before the event, but it’s been so mellow. It’s kinda backwards from a CT comp. Usually I’m the least tryhard… now I feel like the most.”
Along with Moana Jones-Wong and local grom Chesney Guinotte, Caity will be paddling out this morning with one of her best friends — Zoe McDougall.
“If a good Backdoor wave comes to you and Caity, who’s going?” I asked Zoe, last night.
“Well,” Zoe chuckled. “I’m going. She’s staying at my house, so she better let me go.”
As the four women drift through the longshore sweep into a trade-ruffled lineup, the sun continues it’s ascent over the Waianae mountains, not quite illuminating the stiff bones of the Pipeline reef.
Moana packs the first left, a head high-wobbler, to no avail. After a long wait, Caity follows with a backhand snap, and Moana packs another clamshell. Zoe and Chesney both manage half-turns.
Finally, nearly 20 minutes into the heat, the first rideable tube wraps onto the Backdoor reef, with Caity fending off Moana and slinging herself behind the foaming curtain for a 16/30.
Despite an airdrop and a backup from Caity, at heat’s end, the 16 is the only consequential score.
During the heat draw the other night, there was a clear sentiment that being in the first heats of the day was a curse. Looks like that perspective is holding true so far.
Women’s Heat Two, Round One — Vaihitimahana Inso (HAW), Erin Brooks (CAN), Sophie Bell (ZAF), Eweleiʻula Wong (HAW)
Following her Fiji event triumph, Erin Brooks’ CT heat win percentage is currently 100%. Not bad for a 17-year old.
“I dunno what to expect next year,” she smiled yesterday. “I just hope the waves are good and I get to surf a lot. I hope I make the cut so I can surf Trestles. I’ve never surfed there with nobody out.”
In fact, the first 25 minutes of her heat today looks a bit like Trestles, with a multitude of turn worthy lefts slipping through the lineup. Erin and Ewe both tee off on a few, before a solid peak swing through from the north.
The left warps and clamps on Vahitimahana, as South African Sophie Bell steams off the bottom with purpose into the right — conjuring a collective breath from the audience, and releasing it in a cacophony of cheers as she doggy-doors out the bottom. 22.5 points, second on the leaderboard (but only because Caity had a marginal backup score).
Sophie was one of the few women in the draw looking for rights out at Pipe last night, as the swell peaked. She’s also been getting coaching from Nathan Fletcher. Reap what you sow, etc…
Women’s Heat Three, Round One — Luana Silva (BRA), Coco Ho (HAW), Sierra Kerr (AUS), Milla Coco-Brown (AUS)
So far, the only real scores have come from Backdoor waves. Given the 350-degree North angle of the swell, makes sense.
10 minutes into a slow affair, with the sun still rising into a sky pockmarked with stretching clouds, Coco Ho picks a breathing Backdoor funnel, lifts herself high over the flailing lipline, and drops her knee to slide into daylight. Unfortunately, the backwash combined with the Aints bowl clamp section has other plans, and mashes her to the deck of her board. She gets a 6/30 for her trouble (traditionally a 2/10).
15 minutes into Heat Three, no waves of significant leaderboard impact.
Luana Silva forces a duo of sketchy hacks on shallow Backdoor sections, and Sierra Kerr collects an 8/30 for a chandeliering head dip, also going right.
3/3 tubes made so far going right.
“No, I don’t post on TikTok,” laughed Milla Coco-Brown for her Stab Interview. “I can’t deal with the dancing chicks and guys thinking they’re really hot, doing all the selfie stuff.”
Her Stab Edit Of The Year entry was a powerful announcement, suggesting that the 17-year old is very much a part of the arriving entourage of fearless young women. The force with which she blasted her fins into a Backdoor end section just now continued the theme. 15-points for one turn.
Women’s Heat Four, Round One — Kirra Pinkerton (USA), Anne Dos Santos (BRA), Keala Tomoda-Bannert (HAW), Maluhia Kinimaka (HAW)
Oahu gets anywhere from 19 to 236 inches a year, depending on storm tracks and climate pressure. A few minutes into Heat Four, a flurry of rain flashes begins adding to that tally, with the ensuing wind-front worsening already mediocre conditions. Faceplants follow.
Kirra Pinkerton confidently packs a solid closeout right, no questions asked. Respect. 9/30.
Currently, seven of the Top 10 women are 20 or younger.
Women’s Heat Five, Round One — Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW), Vahine Fierro (PYF), Nora Liotta (HAW), Kiara Goold (PYF)
After coaching Kauli Vaast to his Olympic Gold Medal, Jeremy Flores is currently down on the beach coaching both of the Tahitian women in this heat. The sun returns, but the lineup is dismal and quiet.
“That’s my role now, as a manager and coach on the French team, to get into the head of Vahine (Fierro) and Kauli (Vaast) and let them know that it’s us against the world, that we’re not scared of anyone, we got this,” Jeremy Flores told us a few weeks ago. “That’s been the attitude the last few years, and it’s paying off.”
Nora Liotta, a last minute replacement for Pua DeSoto, startst the scoring with a mini-turn for a 3. Bettylou and Vahine follow with turns, but nothing happens in the heat that alters the leaderboard.
30-minute standby before deciding on the mens round.
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