ONLY THE BEST

THE BANZAI PIPELINE

       The north shore of Oahu is one of the world's premiere athletic venues.  Only the best dare try it here.

  Before the sun was over the mountain, surfers were in the

 Pacific, looking for a ride before the "Backdoor Shoot-out" Championship, part of a 50th anniversary tribute to Duke Kahanamoku.  Kahanamoku is the Olympic champion swimmer who created modern surfing.

 As the sun finds the line, it turns the Pacific from gray to blue.

  Team surfing competition begins at 8 AM. The professionals tune up.

  On this day conditions are near perfect and the waves are 20 foot tall.

   The power of the ocean is thunderous. The danger is underscored by the deaths of 21 surfers and photographers at the Pipeline.

    In this sequence we see a shooter deploy for his spot in the big water to capture dramatic footage of the champion surfers inside the shoot or tunnel of water.

   Here he is cut loose where he will attempt to survive the swells as he watches the board artists take on the sea.

 As only the best ball players make it to the all star game, only the best surfers in the world have a chance to survive here.

 At the pipeline, the beach rumbles and explosions roar when some of these 20 foot walls collapse. 

    If you look closely in the frame below you will see a surfer emerge from the curl of the back wave. This perspective reveals how solitary and fragile these athletes are as they compete against a primal force of nature.

MELLOW ON THE BOARDS

   A few miles away in Kawelia Bay, inside the reef, the board work turns to yoga.

ALOHA EVENING

   See you down the trail.