The pure act of waveriding (btw, this is *not* me!)
Rains of near biblical proportion (more than 40 days and 40 nights), dam bursts, sewage spills, and even shark sightings and attacks. It has been a crazy few weeks.
I don't want to trivialize these terrible things, but we've been slammed with so much lousy news, I thought I'd look back at an amusing anecdote of mine. Sometimes you just need to get back to the source - the pure act of waveriding. So please let me indulge in expressing some of my fun and folly during the 2006 Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic.
Ripped Strategy
The author, trying; Greg Rice photo
Surfing Pipeline with only five other guys. Sounds good, eh? No board; no problem!
I've actually been eyeing to enter the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic for many years. It was one of those things on my "To do before I die" checklist. Well, the planets never really aligned for me to enter until this winter.
Admittedly, I am not a regular bodysurfer (more an irregular bodysurfer). Of course I've dabbled here and there, and have even entered a few bodysurfing contests. But only play-kine. This was the real deal.
Truly the real deal (shot during the contest)
Although I had every intention of practicing, I honestly didn't do too much bodysurfing in prep for the contest. The surf at Pipeline was phenomenal this winter, and if I wasn't bodyboarding, then I was shooting from the water. I did go out on some pretty hairy days, and at the very least gained a greater familiarity with the spot.
Sometimes while shooting a contest from the water, I would launch into a few and bodysurf waves between heats. Even if I didn't take off, I found myself gauging the waves for bodysurfing, projecting which ones were makeable and which ones weren't. Practicing in my mind (which doesn't work too well, I later found out).
Gaining some false confidence, SickShots.com
It was a bit of unfortunate timing, but this year the contest received a lot of early exposure. Three bodysurfers from the United Kingdom put out a press release to the world saying that they were going to compete. All of a sudden, this usually low-keyed event became novelty news.
On January 22, there was a precontest meeting. Going there, I quickly realized the pedigree of competitors I was going to tangle with were all world-class watermen. But what I didn't know was that the meeting was more for people who were on the waiting list to get into the event.
Patience and intensity at the precontest meeting
I had many days prior submitted my application online and received confirmation. So I was actually good to go. Although the atmosphere was cool, I couldn't help but feel like I was being sized up, maybe possibly even getting a little bit of stink-eye for taking one of the coveted slots. Just my imagination, maybe.
The contest shared the waiting period with the Monster Energy Pro - Jan. 27 to Feb. 10. The Monster ran its first day on Saturday (Jan. 28) in some munching conditions. I thought for sure they were going to run the bodysurfing the next day. Surf was on the decline, but with good conditions. I guess they had a lot more time in the waiting period and decided to wait for better stuff.
At the beach park, I chanced upon bodysurfing champion Mark Cunningham. We made small talk about the conditions and the contest, both a little surprised that it didn't run. Told him I was also entering the event and he wished me luck. I didn't have the nerve to admit that the night before, in preparation for the contest, I actually watched two DVDs of Mark bodysurfing to get some inspiration. Talk about hero-worship!
This is why I look up to Mark (shot during the contest final)
So the waiting period continued. I don't know how these pro surfers do it, waiting around for contests to get the green light. It was painful waiting each day, hoping that the contest would be run. After a while, I just wanted to get it over with in whatever conditions prevailed. For real kine, the hype in your brain can get overwhelming as you psyche up for the contest, then get all bummed when it is postponed.
After what seemed like an eternity (actually only six days into the 15-day waiting period), the event was finally a go. Not making excuses, but in all honesty, I was ill-prepared for the event that day, thinking the swell wouldn't be ideal. I had stayed up somewhat late the night before doing some work-work; then got engrossed in some stupid late-night movie.
Called contest director Alan Lennard first thing in the morning, and confirmed it was on. S#!t! I called the boss to tell him I'd be out, gathered all my gear, and then made my way out to the North Shore.
Great call!
When I got to Ehukai Beach Park, I saw why Alan called it. Although the sky was quite overcast (not the best for photographics), the ocean conditions were sweet, with smooth barrels rolling in from the west. Good call.
I was in heat 7 of the first round, so I had plenty of time to assess the situation (and invariably psyche myself out). I was not in a full-on contest mindset because I was planning to write a news story about the contest and had to get some beach shots, especially of the British guy. So I hovered around the Pipeline house (acting all important), trying to figure out which guy was the one. Finally found him checking in for heat 5.
Still low-key at the Pipe House
Regarding the Cornwall crew, the story goes that the three of them went out at Pipe on a big day prior to the event and got hammered. Either that or they saw Pipe on a big day and went to a bar and got hammered. Two of them decided to withdraw right then and there. But Andrew Whitworth gamely stayed in, but placed last in his heat.
For me, I started getting all butterflies just like in my old contest days. My game plan was pretty simple. Get into the lineup early and start off on the outside looking for a bigger one. I hoped to catch at least one tube and one longer ride. If the opportunity arose, I would love to take off right at Backdoor. Making the final would have been nice, but I'm a realist. My goal was to advance a single round.
Our heat had the maximum six competitors. Top three finishers would advance. I was stoked and at the same time admittedly a little bummed that I had a friend in the heat - another Kauai boy named Andrew Vea.
Andrew Whitworth from Cornwall, UK, posing for the BBC (and wearing the beanie)
For our heat, we had to wear those silly looking beanies on our head. Guess a regular contest jersey (or singlet as the Aussies call them) isn't very functional when it comes to bodysurfing. (Btw, I don't own a pair of Speedos, so I wore my styling neoprene shorts.)
Walked down the beach early to give myself plenty of time to gather my thoughts and psyche up. Did my little stretch routine while my fellow competitors arrived. Had an Australian lifeguard, and a couple of California bodysurfers in the heat too. Right then I came to the revelation that they would be way better swimmers than me.
As soon as I hit the water, I realized mistake #1. This winter, I had done all my water photography with a short-john wetsuit to keep me warm. The suit has this nice by-product of being somewhat buoyant, which made it easy to stay on the surface and swim. Well, without it, I floundered, with my butt pulling me down.
This is the view coming from the channel
This had the unfortunate effect of making it hard for me to swim. While the others deftly made it through the rip and into the lineup, Andrew and I got swept easily a hundred yards down the beach. Mistake #2. The horn sounded the start of the heat with me far away from the lineup and I could only watch (all sick) as the contestants started catching wave after wave.
By the time I got to the lineup, five minutes had expired from my 20 minute heat. To top it off, I was dead tired from all the swimming. In the meantime, Andrew had scored a ride with the jetski, that lucky buggah!
I grabbed the first little wave that lined up for me, a crumbler that I milked only for distance. Style does not play into my equation.
My limbs ached from oxygen deprivation, but the countdown wasn't pausing for me. I just forced myself to keep going.
All the while, my worthy competitors scored some decent waves. Man, I was so jealous, but there wasn't anything that I could do except curse myself for not prepping better.
Me taking off on the steep one, Greg Rice photo
The next wave I got was a really steep one. I just launched myself over the edge with no hope on making it. Zero forward velocity meant I freefell and just flopped into the pit. At least I got a nice view of the barrel before the wave took me for the rinse cycle.
I got a couple more, including another fun little freefall. Ultimately, I realized that all my bright ideas of projection-practice didn't pan out one bit. Mistake #3.
I knew my fate before I hit the beach. Came in totally exhausted and defeated. Amazingly, I got 5th, coming in ahead of one other competitor. A small consolation.
Although I was very disappointed with my performance, at least I was free from the stresses of competition. Took a bit of rest, gobbled down a half-dozen energy bars, drank a couple of liters of sports fluids, and went out for session #2 - the photo shoot.
Sometimes you *can* get clean shots
It is so hard to get good bodysurfing photos. There's usually a lot of splashing which makes it hard to get a clean shot. But I just love shooting Pipe, so I was out there!
Pretty much had it to myself for most of the contest, with up and coming photographer Zak Noyle joining me towards the end.
When we got to the quarterfinals, I realized how awesome these guys really are. The performance just went to another level as riders got insanely long rides with incredible positioning and maneuvering. My jaw literally dropped on some of the rides I saw close up.
I was thinking about going in to rest during the semis to get fresh batteries and a new memory card. But in the end I decided to conserve battery power, memory space, and personal energy and stay out all the way through the finals.
Express yourself!
The Expression Session before the final was insane! The contest director allowed all competitors to jump in for a free surf session which lasted well over a half-hour. The stoke level was at an all-time high as everyone picked off wave after wave, sharing and laughing. "This is the way it should always be," is what I heard from more than a few waveriders.
After shooing out the freesurfers, we got down to business with the final. The waves were actually on the rise, and the competitors were killing it. Everyone surfed incredibly well, but I was especially stoked that friend Steve Kapela (to his surprise) won.
And the winner is...
I ended up shooting over 600 photos in four hours of treading water; most shots really bad, but I managed to get a few nuggets. As a photographer, it was definitely one of my top photo shoots.
In the end, it was a pretty eventful day. Although I had my trials and tribulations as a bodysurfing competitor, I really enjoyed the camaraderie of everyone. The photo session afterwards was great, and I came home with the goods. I'll admit that getting caught in that rip, essentially blowing my whole contest strategy, will haunt me for a long time.
Stay stoked!
More of my stuff from the event:
- Body and Soul: The 2006 Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic
- More photos from the 2006 Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic
Champion Steve Kapela, slotted where I could only dream to be
Stay stoked!
Neal Miyake
