Pipe Dream
CURLmag issue 1 Spring 2005.
“My blessing was to surf Pipe every day as I had for the past eight years. The heavy crowds or occasional insults were all just a part of the challenge” Author Lane Davey
For years bystanders wondered why women weren't included in the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) event at Hawaii's infamous Banzai Pipeline, but surfers would always say it was because the surf break was too dangerous for women. Even the women themselves were divided out whether or not they would want to compete there. For the past several years permits for Pipe events are so tight that any new event, let alone a female one, seemed impossible. However, after years of controversy, contemplation and contempt, women finally got their day in the international surfing spotlight when the first ever women's stand up surfing event was held at Pipe earlier this year. Lane Davey shares the story and the events leading up to this historic contest.
Pipeline was one of the very first places I surfed on the Northshore.
I had always wished for a women's surfing contest there, but in the early 90s even top pro women were against the idea. They felt there wasn't enough money in women's surfing to risk their lives at a place like Pipeline. Women were told they could and should not surf Pipe, which kept many of them from ever experiencing the beauty of this incredible wave.
It wasn't until 1997 that I became a dedicated Pipe fan, surfing it every day, more and more, bigger and bigger, inspired by female bodyboarders who led the way. There were very few women who ever paddled out at Pipe then, but in 2002 things changed with the release of the movie Blue Crush.
After the movie, more girls ventured out at Pipe and a whole new pack of extreme women began to emerge on the Northshore. In this revolutionary era, former pro-surfer and big wave pioneer, Banzai Betty, felt it might be a good time to try and apply for the event permit. It was no surprise when the North Shore community laughed at her, and though I had been one of the women encouraging her for so many years, I had strong doubts it would ever happen. However, in September 2004 Betty called to say her application had been accepted.
We waited skeptically until Betty got the final confirmation, considering it might have been a mistake. In our celebration of the approval, we realized just because we had a permit to run the event, it didn't mean anyone would actually show up to compete. We decided to make a wave height restriction of 6ft maximum to ensure a good turn out. Then, just as we had a fairly solid list of entrants, we were told a schedule change on the ASP Tour would prevent any of the traveling pros from attending our event. Knowing there were many underground surfers who would love to compete at Pipe, we built a website to publicize the event and put the word out in every way we knew how. Sure enough, the global network of female surfers spread the message in several languages and an international band of beautiful women from as far as Japan, Brazil, Argentina and Puerto Rico, began packing the lineup at Pipe for about a month prior to the event. The men seemed to stop and watch with their jaws hanging out and I wondered if this confused reaction meant they wanted to send these girls in or ask them out. I don't think they knew either. Some days we were encouraged, others we were mocked and certain people and organizations even tried to boycott our contest. But we continued.
On the day of check in, we all started to feel as if even God was against us. Not only had it been the stormiest spring I had ever experienced on the Northshore, but there were two high surf warnings, (above 25ft face), and three huge storm systems forecast in our narrow six day waiting period. After praying for a perfect day for months, I had my doubts if the contest could be run within the waiting period. But once again we continued.
On contest day I pulled into the parking lot at dawn, and as with every other contest, the red cones were set up and the local security crew were there.
However, it wasn't until I saw my friend Caron pounding the last nail into the contest structure that I became overwhelmed with emotion. This contest was really going to happen. It was for me, it was for Caron and it was for the hoards of women who began pulling up in their cars next to us.
On March 11, 2005, there would finally be a contest at Pipe that myself and 100 other women would participate in. Knowing this moment had finally come was probably the highlight of my whole experience because just having this opportunity was my dream come true. It was hard to hold back the tears as I walked down and paddled out with five other women in the first heat and I was thanking God all the way until the moment the starting horn blew.
It was at that point my dream started becoming a reality. The surf, as blessed as we were to have anything, was far from good for Pipe. As soon as I hit the water, I knew my dream of being able to get a 6ft tube was pretty much out of the picture. I did still manage to win my heat however and as I came in, a group of female bodyboarders looking on showed how stoked they were for me. It was truly magnificent to have support, because after 14 years of watching them compete in their own event at Pipe, I was finally indulging in the same experience with them.
It was small Pipe, but it sure wasn't easy Pipe and all the competitors that first day made a strong statement in those waves they weren't supposed to be surfing! The fearless Bethany Hamilton, (left with only one arm after a shark attack), expressed how difficult the wind made it for her to catch waves with only one arm and I reiterated that it was difficult for me even with two. The strong wind gusts along with the north direction swell made it extremely hard to get down the face of Pipe's famously steep drops. If you were somehow able to make that drop, the wind was blowing the usually rewarding barrel rides right off the back of the wave. I think all the women watched in awe of each other somewhat - we took heavy drops, wipe outs and sets the head, but all popped up each time, just like the guys usually do.
As I prepared for my quarter final heat, I could see the swell dropping but the wind had kicked up another notch. I stuck with my strategy of going for bigger waves and less turns, because I thought that would be the criteria for scoring the highest waves that day. Unfortunately the waves did not come to me as I would have liked and though the whole beach was said to have been screaming for me every time I stood up, it was still not enough to convince the judges. In the end I was beaten out of the next round by barely half a point.
After 15 years of waiting for a women's Pipe event so I could surf the break to myself, my total of 36 minutes sure did go by quickly and, with less than average conditions, I didn't get any waves I couldn't have caught on a normal day. As with most contests, you try to be a good sport, but it sucks to lose no matter how you look at it, especially when it's at your local spot and everyone expects you to win. However, everyone in the heat was charging and it was really inspiring for me.
The next day, competition continued. I was anxious as I walked up in the pouring rain to check the surf. My heart sank when I saw conditions were perfect. The only thing that saved me from having a complete breakdown was that the swell had dropped, so I wasn't missing out on epic waves, just really fun ones. No girl in the world wanted to be out there competing as much as I did, but being so involved in the promotion of the event, I knew I couldn't just leave. I would have to be a good sport and help out that day, watching as others got to live my dream.
In the semis, stand outs like Honolulu's Helena Suehiro, Big Island's Mehealani Haunanio, and Maui's Paige Alms, took risks making some of the most critical drops in the contest, but were not able to rack up as many points as some of the other girls who rode smaller boards on the inside shoulder, executing several turns into the sandbar. Melanie Bartels dominated through the whole contest and the semi final. Melanie chose medium sized waves from the peak and as others stalled for tubes that didn't materialize, she had no qualms about doing a radical turn right over the top of it.
Young local favorite, Crystal Dzigas, placed second in the shortboard final, surfing strongly throughout the competition and showing she could make the critical drops on some of the larger sets and then find a section to crank a turn. In the end however it was 14-year-old Alana Blanchard from Kauai who hot dogged her way into the history books as the first ever women's Pipeline champion.
When it all came to an end, I could finally let my lower lip hang back out where it belonged, but nothing could stop me from walking down that Pipe path to check the surf. It was quite comforting to find my friend Adrianna already sitting there with the same lower lip. We were the regulars, but both lost our heats and there we were, right back at Pipeline.
The surf was already on the rise as predicted, but the surfer girls were leaving as fast as they came and just a pack of hardcore bodyboarders prevailed in the lineup as usual.
"It's just us again," I said to Adrianna. She nodded and replied: "Are you out there Lane?" We got up, smiled and sucked in our fat lips and went to get our boards. It was at that very moment I realized I never needed any contest or movie stunt to live my Pipe Dream, because the dream was my life. My blessing was to surf Pipe every day as I had for the past eight years. The heavy crowds or occasional insults were all just a part of the challenge. Sharing my experiences with girls like Adrianna is what makes the dream come alive and at the end of the day, this Pipe contest would be another vibrant memory for all of us girls to cherish forever.
Author
Lane Davey
Lane started surfing in 1988 at a time when the industry was not yet developed properly towards women. In 1993, Lane innovated the first female specific board short and started her own company, Us Girls. On the ASP Pro Tour from 1998-1999 and while living her wildest dreams and worst nightmares as a female surfer, Lane became encouraged to write about them and the women who shared them.