Beach

The real name of this famous Hawaiian beach is Ehukai Beach Park, but almost everyone calls it Banzai Pipeline, a nickname that refers to barrel-shaped waves that form just offshore. This legendary wave draws surfers from around the world who consider tackling “Pipe” to be a rite of passage. The difficulty of the task is evident both on the beach and in the water. Every surfer fantasizes about ducking inside the “Green Room,” as the tubular wave is known, and spitting back out at the very last moment before the tube collapses into a seething cauldron of whitewater.

Surfer carves the face of a smaller wave, while a larger wave towers in the background

In those fantasies, they conquer Pipe effortlessly, impressing their surfing buddies and winning the admiration of spectators watching from shore. But when standing on Ehukai Beach for real, Pipe’s legendary power and danger can intimidate the most accomplished surfer. Some never make it into the water. Others paddle out and join the lineup but hang back, never quite getting up the courage to catch a wave. Still others settle for riding the gentler waves on either side of Pipeline. Only the most daring, most fearless (in some cases the most foolhardy, as the lifeguards will tell you) actually paddle into one of Pipe’s skycraper waves. Some get “worked” – surfer lingo for wiping out and getting hammered by a wall of water that slams surfers into a coral reef lurking just beneath the surface. But when a surfer times the paddle perfectly, pops up, streaks down the wave’s face, and slides inside one of Pipe’s perfectly formed barrels – well, it’s a thing of beauty.

Bodyboarder catches a barrel

Was I a surfer? Oh yes! But I was never very good at it. I paddled out on “chick days” when the waves were glassy and no more than waist high. So when I finally made it to the North Shore of Oahu, every surfer’s dream, I was one of those who stood on the beach and watched. Later, with waves growing calmer as the sun dipped low, I walked along lovely Ehukai Beach Park as the sky turned exquisite shades of cobalt blue and gold. I had come. I had seen the Banzai Pipeline. I had watched some of the greatest surfers in the world conquer this legendary wave. And it was enough.

Sunset on Ehukai Beach

Photo credits in order of appearance: Top, Center, Bottom

Article by Barbara Weibel at Hole In The Donut Travels