When Pipeline's Firing, Who Paddles Out First?
Gossip Girl wakes with the chickens.
Yesterday at Pipe, Mark Healey caught the wave of the evening on his red-rocket of a surfboard.
Chipping in from somewhere near Laniakea, Healey pumped across the entire stretch of Pipeline’s reef before backdooring the end bowl. All nine feet of his fluorescent stick were cloaked by Pipe’s eternal blue, disappearing the big wave maverick for several seconds before ejecting him with the spit.
The beach went wild and, shortly after, a dozen-plus pros paddled out to acquire an epic wave of their own.
Few did.
With the swell dropping overnight, it was expected that a number of Pipeline-hopefuls would rise at dawn to catch a career-defining wave before the daily crowd. We sent Gossip Girl to document today’s early birds, which included a host of notable names and faces.
Brazilian all-waver Lucas Silveira was discovered waxing up in the dark.
WSL Commissioner Kieren Perrow arrived before the sun, preparing for a surf with his camera-wielding son, Tosh, in tow. It could be assumed Kieren was "testing the conditions" before the Pipe Masters' start this Saturday. He broke his board on wave number one.
Past WOTW champion Mikey Redd was on the path before 7 AM, preparing for what would be a day of magnificent Pipeline.
Pat and Dane Gudauskas were some of the first to hit the water this morning, making sure to get a few tubes before rushing back to Sunset for brother Tanner's heat.
Billy Kemper and Hippie Hank Gaskell, two Pipe Masters trialists, were seen checking it early but opted to wait for the morning sickness to clear.
Yago Dora needs a solid result at Pipe to maintain his 2019 Tour card. The avid competitor that he is, Yago was on the scene early to get in some practice.
Kolohe Andino surfed Pipe when it was massive last night. He was also one of the first guys out this morning. What does that tell you about the once-small-wave specialist?
A knowledgable North Shore local, Nathan Fletcher decided to take his time on this warbly morning. He'd return later when the waves turned on.
In Gouveia saved his CT career with a semifinal finish at last year's Pipe Masters. He'll need a similar result to revive himself in 2018.
For good measure, here's Healy's committed approach from yesterday (shot by Jake Paterson):
And the ride that halted scroll this morning by Cam Richards (shot by Matt Heirakuji):
