The second best thing about the Billabong Pro Pipe

The Pipe Pioneers, a gem, a must-see; the series that traces the surfing history of the queen of the waves

February 9

In addition to having the legendary victory of Kelly and Moana, the Hispanic-American participation and some impressive waves, the Billabong Pro Pipeline brought a series called Pipe Pioneers that honors the wave and all those who had the courage and talent to surf it.

Narrated and written by legendary North Shore lifeguard Mark Cunningham and noted local pro Coco Ho, Pipe Pioneers traces the beginnings of Wave 1 surfed by Phil Edwards in December 1961 through to what the author considers the new era of female wave surfing.

There are 16 chapters full of emotion, sacrifice, challenge, honor and respect.

“Phil didn’t know it at the time, but he had changed the world of surfing forever,” he said of that wave, that day in 1961 when he paddled out to Pipe on a 10-foot board and caught the first wave.

Then comes Butch Van Artsdalen, Jon Peck who invented the edge-grabbing approach, or when Jock Shuterland came along with a shortboard in hand, “things would never be the same again,” says Cunningham.

The legacy of Gerry Lopez and the end of it with the arrival of the “door-busters” with Shaun Tomson, Rabbit Bartholomew and friends at Pipe that ended with Tomson's victory over Lopez at the 1975 Pipe Masters.

The arrival of the three fins at Pipe and the victory of the 81 Masters by its creator, Simon Anderson, forging a line never before done.

The legacy of Mike Stewart, the rivalry between Tom and Derek Ho, that of Bruce and Andy and their influence on the world of surfing, the dominance of the locals JOB and JJF on the wave, the arrival of the Brazilian storm.

“For someone who doesn’t have much time free surfing the wave, I’ve never seen anyone adapt and excel so quickly on what is undoubtedly one of the hardest waves to adapt to. Maybe one of the few who seems to use it to his advantage and not the other way around,” Cunningham says of Medina.

The series ends with what the bodysurfer believes is the new era of Pipe, which is the definitive arrival of women.

Coco Ho, meanwhile, highlights how Joyce Hoffman was inspired to take to the water after seeing Phil Edwards surfing Pipe for the first time. She highlights Margo Oberg, Rell Sunn, Becky Benson, and Lynn Boyer, among others.

Then, it goes back to the arrival of the eighties and nineties with Jodie Cooper, Rochelle Ballard and Keala Kennelly and reaches Moana Jones Wong.