As we roll into the new year, we take a moment to reflect on some of the amazing waves we have witnessed over the past few months which have kicked off our North Shore surf season here in the Hawaiian. The surf season started off spectacularly with pretty consistent swells combined with stellar weather over the past few months.
In November, the surf and weather aligned to cue a “green light” on the 2018 Peahi Challenge at the iconic big wave location of Peahi on Maui, also known as Jaws. The surf became so large at one point that the competition was delayed due to conditions deemed too dangerous.
One of Kauai’s own, Keala Kennelly, took home the women’s championship at Peahi, showing her complete fearlessness in surf that topped 50-foot faces on the day. Check out some of the waves from the women’s final highlight reel here:
On the men’s side, Billy Kemper of Maui took home the crown. Check out the men’s final’s highlight reel here:
In mid-December, the conditions aligned once again. This time it was for the 2018 Billabong Pipeline Masters, which is both the final event comprising the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing which recognizes the top scoring competitor among a trio of North Shore Oahu surf events, and is also the final event of the World Surf League Championship Tour.
Hats off to Jesse Mendes and Gabriel Medina. Jesse Mendes took home the Triple Crown while Gabriel Medina won the 2018 Billabong Pipeline Masters which propelled him to a 2018 WSL World Championship crown. Check out the highlights from Pipeline here and fingers crossed for plenty more beautiful waves throughout the rest of the season’s winter!
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