The REAL North Shore || Oahu: Pipeline, Localism & Violence

With the Hawaiian season in full swing, we’re back to the time of year when our feeds are lit up with crazy Pipe clips and all the goings on from the seven-mile miracle. But in today’s video, we’re going deeper than surfing, into the real north shore and the bits you don’t see on social media.

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[blueleadgoldproductions]

I have lived on Oahu and surfed the North Shore regularly for the last 35 years. Less toxic localism these days. However, the excuses for it remain the same I.e. “respect”, “need to regulate the line up for safety” and “have to make sure the locals get their waves.” The same old excuses for an unwillingness to share scarce resources and lack of aloha. The ocean belongs to everyone. These days on the North Shore and the Westside 99% of the time you will get back the attitude you put out. Smile, share the waves and enjoy

[wilburhm]

I grew up surfing in Honolulu in 60's and 70's and kinda blended in as a mixed race local town boy, but the older guys especially on north shore put you in your place verbally out in the lineup ifyou got in the way. They had no problems yelling at anyone to watch out for this or that or yell at us to get out the way when they started paddling for a set. During big busy swells which could be really challenging safety conditions out there the most experienced guys in the crowd set the tone for the whole session; and a cooperative lineup keeps everyone safe watching what happens to those who do something stupid. Collective learning its not for narcissists haha.

[SummerhillGuesthouse]

Thanks. Good segment. Respectful and cautious are not bad things. You asked for stories so here are two quick ones.
My Dad took our family to the Islands in the Jan 73 when I was 10. Maui and Kauai in a camper and then Oahu for 3 weeks at a tent trailer park close to all the major breaks on the North Shore. We are from the West Coast of Canada, so the warm climate in Winter was a a wonderful change! Everyone we met treated us great and Dad had no problems with the locals, save for the one time he paddled out at Sunset. It was good, not too crowded but the locals were burning him on the rights, so he decided to go left. Dad says he caught several (Mom says only one) and was careful to dodge the boils.
After that he said one of the local guys paddled up to him, asked his name, where he was from and warned him about the dangers of going left at Sunset. Then he paddled Dad over to where the others were surfing, introduced him all around and from that moment on there was no problem, Dad could ride what he wanted. He said the local guy's name was Billy Hamilton, so thanks for that Mr. Hamilton!
Flash forward to 1989, my brother and I are at Majors Bay. My brother is run over by a local and has his board badly dinged. Local approaches him and my brother thinks he is in big trouble, but the guy is apologetic. Turns out he has a shaping business in the nearby town and offered to patch the board. We follow him in, drop it off and the next morning it is as good as new.
Show respect and get respect may be a cliche, but it is a cliche because it is true.

[chrismoore]

I was surfing Pipe one day in the late 80's. It was a dawn patrol and Pipe was 6-8 and glassy. There was hardly anyone out for the first hour and I was loving life. Then Dave Cantrell Marvin Foster, the Ho brothers, and Johnny Boy Gomes paddle out. I smiled and said good morning, then I said I am going to paddle over to Gums. Marvin looked at me and told me to stay. I was confused and said thanks, then a 10 foot set comes appears. Dave looked at me and said go Haole boy, all yours.

I paddled into it but I wasn't deep enough to get a good barrel. I rode that wave all the way to the beach. Yeah, I think they were wanting to see a Haole boy eat $hit. haha. Glad they let me have that wave and I have a fond memory of that session.

The only disrespect I have ever had on the North Shore was from a young punk kid from Florida who became a surfing legend.

[michaelmcginty]

I hired a personal trainer and trained for 6 months in preparation for Pipeline in 2005 when I was 35 years old. Dawn patrol at Pipe at 1.5x overhead was quickly mobbed with bodyboarders, so I got my 3 waves and split. But it's still one of the crowning achievements of my lifelong surfing career. Just to be able to touch a place like that is pure magic. I surfed Sunset the same day (what a fun wave!) and will never forget it. Pipeline is so legendary. Just to say I surfed it is unreal.

God bless you all and keep charging!

[Bonnieham]

A rather simplified and one sided description of the North Shore surf scene. I surfed Haleiwa, Laniakea, Chuns, Leftovers, Off The Wall, and Backdoor from 1966 to 68 and never had any trouble from locals. Often there was no one else out, and if there was, I just followed the usual surf etiquette. In later years when visiting Hawaii (the last time was 2019), it was the same…had an awesome surf at overhead Haleiwa with a Hawaiian guy and we traded waves…once he even called, “Go”, when he was inside of me and I thought it was a tad too late to catch it. I went in first and saw an older man in the adjacent parking lot. He had been whistling when a set was arriving. On the way to my Honolulu appointment, I wondered if it was Mr Aikau, because I knew that he always encouraged his boys in their surfing. I would’ve recognised Clyde and Eddie because I’d see them at Threes occasionally, but didn’t know the others by sight. I regret that I didn’t go over and thank him for the whistles. The reason there was only us two out was that in was a strong onshore wind at first, but turned offshore when we were out. One of those awesome surf days and aloha in the surf. You might have mentioned in your post, That it was Eddie who organised a meeting between the locals and the aggressive Aussie visitors in a Waikiki hotel so as to sort out an agreement to calm things down on the North Shore. Another awesome example of aloha.

[xyzct]

I grew up from 1965-1975 on a sugar plantation on a remote part of the Hamakua coast. I was just about the only haole kid, with no brothers, in that tiny town. It was $#%@! BRUTAL. I _completely_ understand why Laird Hamilton turned out the way he did.

[RobertWirthlin]

I grew up in So Ca and surfed my whole life. I joined the military (even worse than a tourist) and was stationed on Oahu. My first full day there I went to the North Shore. I went to a freaking yard sale I noticed and bought a bad and paddled out. I was surprised, the waves were not too big for me but the power took me by surprise. For the most part I know how to stay out of people way and be safe but I did make a mistake. It was not violent but pretty scary. After that I mostly stuck to one spot I liked. I stayed of the way and would just wait and wait. Finally this one day a local, I think he noticed my roof rack or a few times had a mountain bike on the roof. He paddles up near me and, I could hardly understand him but when I realized he was telling me he had a dirt bike as a kid and now would like to try mountain biking, I was very happy. I knew I was set. I told him I could take him and meet up with the guys I have been riding with, one had a small bike shop on the other side of the island. The next time I seen him on the North Shore I was wearing a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert shirt and he says "Hey Chili Pepper, good to see you brah, hey you guys know my friend? This is Chili Pepper". So from then on I was Chili Pepper.

[boydcole]

The localism and violence, the competition is what puts off a lot of people who just want to enjoy the sport, being in touch with nature and at peace..

[zephmckee]

Lived on Oahu for about 10 years. Only a few spots on the north shore are truly localized. Pipe, Backyards, Vland and occasionally Rockies you need to watch your back when you paddle out. Most other spots are quite chill and sometimes even welcoming by the locals, especially if you show a little respect and wait for a set to pass before paddling to the point.

Last year I paddled out at a spot close to rockies where Michael Ho was surfing. Someone else in the lineup told me to watch out for him, but when I saw him he waved and smiled. If you are willing to be patient and dont go for the big name spots you will still get really nice waves on the North Shore.

Town (Honolulu) is often worse than the north shore. I have seen more fights and got in more arguments at spots out there than anywhere else.

In general, I would say hawaii lineups tend to be more organized than places like California. I still get burned by a white haired grom from time to time, but its no where near as bad as ****-all SoCal where everyone drops in and priority is ignored completely.

[nealemace]

I've been there many times and I love it - mainly surfing Sunset and have never had any issues with the local crew. Be respectful, wait your turn, don't snake, let some waves go, have a chat and get a bit friendly. After a few seasons there I was getting called into waves by the locals. Pipe an V-Land are probably a different kettle of fish though.

[HowardMorland]

In 1978 I used to go to Haleiwa in the morning and wait for someone else to show up, so I wouldn't be out there alone. Occasionally I would give up and surf alone. Those were the days.

[wildstagefarm]

1996 Kaipo Jaquias, ranked number 5 in the world, called me off a wave at Off the Wall. I thought nothing of it. What was remarkable was when he calmly and gently paddled over to me and gracefully explained that he was in the "pocket" and was in the "right place." I smiled and acknowledged his statement. I was honored to be in the line up. It was incredible. So humble. So kind. Real Aloha. A giant of a man in my book. I had great times on the North Shore as a visiting surfer from San Francisco. Got punked at Sewers for being stupid on West Side though. FAFO. Love Hawaii and Hawaiians.

[mattkurvin]

I've been going there for about 15 years now, spent months at a time on the North Shore, and have surfed many of the best breaks. I've never had an issue. Be respectful in and out of the water, know your limits, smile, and share the Aloha. In the end, you get what you give.

[donaldbillings]

Back around 2005 I was having an awesome surf at Makaha. Everything was working in my favor. I never hopped anybody, the waves just kept coming to me. After about 2 hours I had two guys come up to me and told me I had had enough, and to go in. I didn't go in and then it got worse. I was taking off and one of them grabbed my leash to prevent me from catching the wave. Then a local lifeguard paddled up and said I needed to go otherwise my car was going to get robbed and vandalized.
, Trestles is my home break and we have people from all over the world surf our spot. I've never been a part of, or seen anything there like what I experienced. The waves don't belong to anybody. Just have respect and follow the rules and you should be fine. Except on the west side. By the way on the same trip I surfed Pipe, Haleiwa, Sunset and Chuns Reef without issues. In fact the locals at those spots were cool.

[nicksinderson]

I've only surfed in Hawaii once, late 1990s on Kauai. Late summer south swell 6'. Not too crowded, very friendly, people sharing waves and acknowledging when it was your turn to go.
Way more respectful than in my home town of Santa Cruz Ca. Where l saw drop-ins many times a session and a occasionally a fistfight.

[LiveSurf]

I am at the beginning of the end of my surfing life. I think that it was much more widespread and due to many different factors, including localism, racism, hatred, evil, and cultural differences but that all has recently started to change with technology. Happy to say.

[Joseph-qni]

Might want to check your dates on Hawaiian territory vs statehood. Great content and thanks for taking on the tough conversations. It’s easy to ignore the distractions and negatives when the scenery is as epic as the North Shore. Keep it up! 👍

[eveningglass]

my dad often visited and surfed north shore and even spent time living there from the 90s and super early 2000s. he’s told my countless stories of dai hui and the wolfpack just pretty much terrorizing anyone who wasn’t a local. whether it was fighting or pure intimidation . i always found it funny how the dai hui boys are from kauai not even ns, and how eddie rothman one of the dai hui founders is a white jewish boy from philly and ultimately just terrorized everyone, not to mention selling drugs. i’m not against localism i think it’s needed at some spots to keep kooks who shouldn’t be out the to stay in, and also to prevent spots turning into malibu, it just seems like localism back in the day wasn’t even localism just pure choas and anger. you just need to show respect, and basic surf etiquette. wait your turn, don’t drop in on people, and let the locals get their waves. i guess my dad was lucky that he had local friends and just blended into the background😂

[HoStevie]

Awesome video Dan, Oahu is it's own beast 🤙🏼