On January 5, 2023 the recent storms brought massive waves to the California coast. While most spots were huge and messy there were some protected breaks that saw some clean sets. It isn’t too often that waves come pushing into the San Francisco Bay but the bomb cyclone blessed surfers with some fun waves at Fort Point.
Yesterday saw the second day of surfing get underway, and the first day of competition for the women. Surf fans were treated to some iconic performances on both sides of the draw. Conditions were big and unruly, yet scattered with moments of Pipeline beauty, reminding us why it is considered one of the best waves in the world. The leaderboard style of competition meant that surfers had to secure themselves a place in the Top 4 in order to advance to the final. This was determined by their two best scores from either of their non-elimination heats.
This made for exciting viewing as the leaderboard jumped around as the day progressed. In a truly pivotal moment for women’s surfing at this iconic venue, Carissa Moore came out and stunned everyone with her last-minute heroics at Backdoor, getting the highest single wave score of the event, man or woman. The women then continued to carry this momentum through the rest of the day, raising the bar for female competitive surfing at Pipeline. Some incredible performances soon followed from the men, with Oahu local, Kaulana Apo stunning the crowd with two classic Pipeline barrels, earning him the top spot ahead of finals day. As the day came to a close, the men’s leaderboard was finalized and the stage was set, with Kaulana Apo, Griffin Colapinto, Balaram Stack, and Joao Chianca heading through to the final.
Finals day kicked off with clean, fun-sized waves on offer. A dreamier, much more inviting image of Pipeline, as opposed to the chaotic version we witnessed the two days previously. The women took to the water for Round 2 and picked up right where they left off. Molly Picklum managed to find herself a runner at Backdoor to jump to fourth place on the leaderboard, displacing the Queen of Pipeline, Moana Jones-Wong, and clinching her spot in the final. Carissa Moore, Bettylou Sakura Johnson, and Caity Simmers claimed the other top spots and also secured their chance to vie for the title of Pipe Master.
The Final came next. After a slow start, Kaulana Apo opened his account with a stylish tube at Backdoor, locking in an early lead. Griffin Colapinto then went on to link four critical turns, showcasing exactly why he’s on the Championship Tour and taking him into second position. The no-priority rule had Joao Chianca’s competitive juices flowing as he searched around for a score, breaking his board on a big air attempt. After a series of exchanges resulting in Griffin taking the lead and with twelve minutes left on the clock, Balaram decided to kick into gear, locking in a 19.3, and then backing it up soon after with a Backdoor bomb earning himself a 23.0. After sitting atop the leaderboard for almost the entire event and sealing the deal with the wave of the final, Balaram proved himself a worthy Pipe Master, with Griffin Colapinto taking out the runner-up position.
Keeping the momentum going, the Women’s final got off to a quick start with Molly Picklum attacking the Backdoor end section and taking the lead. Carissa Moore, Bettylou, and Caity Simmers all answered back with a rapid succession of waves, with Carissa coming out on top. The heat leader then proceeded to change countless times throughout the heat, as the women battled the elements with the strengthening wind and heavy rain squalls. Molly found the highest score of the final on a technical backside tube and kept a stylish wave at Backdoor as her backup. Bettylou locked in a series of graceful turns that earned her a 15.3 while Caity Simmers showed off her trademark style but struggled to lock in anything substantial. Carissa found herself in an unfortunate interference situation right at the end which impaired her scoring potential and cost her the runner-up trophy, handing it over to Bettylou. Molly claimed the win and the $100k prize and proved she will be a surfer to watch at the Billabong Pipe Pro in January.
With all four women’s finalists, and two out of four men’s finalists all competing on the 2023 WSL Championship Tour, the Vans Pipe Masters has no doubt been a great preview for the CT opener at the Billabong Pipe Pro on January 29. The Vans Pipe Masters has no doubt ignited the fire ahead of the Billabong Pipe Pro next January.
IIXI or “Eleven By One” is a collection of eleven one-minute vignettes that each stand on their own, but are also designed and created to fit into a greater body of work. Each vignette is curated to encompass and tell a cohesive story of a winter spent turning on snow with our friends of the KORUA family. – A Film By @morganmaassen
With COP in our news and the call for us all to do our own bit, it’s probably time to admit that we all have pile of wetties in our garage or back room that we have discarded for our own use as seams start leaking, but we feel are too good to throw away and we keep for mates, or emergencies, which never come. We all have them, but it needn’t be this way.
Europes biggest repair centre, Bodyline in Newquay, estimate that 75% of wetsuits are being thrown away when they could be easily and cheaply repaired. Repairs are startlingly cost effective think £18 for a zip replacement, replacement crotch panels from £22.
We caught up with Gary Chambers from Bodyline to find out more.
What percentage of wetsuits do you think are being thrown away that can be more economical repaired?
I would estimate that the majority (circa 75%) of wetsuits are being thrown away, when they could be easily and cheaply repaired.
Sadly we live in a throwaway culture. But the global pandemic and the knock on effects to wetsuit supply has certainly made surfers think twice. We have certainly seen surfers willing to spend more on repairing their wetsuit as opposed to buying a new one.
What are the most common repairs you see and how fixable are they?
Issues with wetsuits are a result of either;
1. Manufacturing faults – Faulty stitching and/or gluing, peeling tape etc…
2. Wear and tear – compressed knee pads and elbows, leaking in the main stress areas (crutch panel/seams & armpits) etc…
3. Misuse and accidents – tears/rips, fin cuts, broken zips etc…
Individual issues on wetsuits are easily fixable. Our average wetsuit repair cost is around £20-30. It is only when there are multiple faults on a wetsuit that repairing will either be too expensive or that the wetsuit is too far gone to repair and the money would be better put towards a new wetsuit (in this case we would advise the customer accordingly).
I guess the most common reason for a wetsuits to get binned is that the seams have gone. How do you find and and repair these and how can you tell if a your wetsuit is repairable or if it has gone too far?
If seams are leaking, gluing and/or retaping the leaking seams will not stop water getting through, as it is the bond between the panels that has opened up. To properly repair leaking seam requires the seams to be trimmed and rebuilt or panels (i.e the crutch panel) to be replaced. We can watertest wetsuits, using a pressurized air line, and as long as a wetsuit is not extensively leaking, then repairing can be very cost effective.
Is the standard inflation test a good way of surfers seeing where your seams have gone?
Liquid welded seams and blindstitched seams can both leak. Our pressure test is very accurate at finding leaks, but surfers can generally tell when a wetsuit is leaking and whereabouts, especially in winter/colder water, as they will feel a cold trickle when sitting on their boards, or when first wading out.
I know every suit is different, but are the any standard costs for seam repair, or knee replacement?
Wetsuit repairs cost from under £10 (so cheaper than buying a tube of neoprene glue). Crutch and knee pad replacements cost from £30. So repairing a wetsuit so that it lasts another season or so it can be used as a back up suit, is very affordable and cost effective.
Does your old loved suit still have life in it? A few average costs to fire up your imagination.
• Zip Slider Replacement £15
• Zip Replacement from £30
Knee Pads
• From £30
• Replacement Panel From £15.00
• Stitching and glue seams From £5.00
• New Arm Replacements From £25.00
• Replacement Crotch £30
• New Collar £25