In 1795, during a great war to unify the Hawaiian Islands, King Kamehameha was victorious in the bloody Battle of Nu'uanu in which many of his opponents were forced off a cliff to their death.
Thursday's round one and round two action at 12- to 15-foot Pipeline was a fairly gruesome battle as well. After a lackluster early season, a healthy dose of energy rolled out of the North Pacific to explode on the famed reef, sending surfers down a few cliffs of their own at the Billabong Pipeline Masters In Memory of Andy Irons.
On such days (busted fiberglass, blood shed, blown-out joints, snapped leashes, and critical scoops by the Hawaiian Water Patrol) it's the "Pipeline Specialists" who tend to get through rounds. And in true survival conditions, a group of Hawaiian wildcards dropped a few surfers off the World Tour for 2012.
Evan Valiere had the highest heat total of the day with an 18.16 in a heat where Freddy Patacchia had his jersey ripped clean off. Valiere proceeded to crush Miguel Pupo. Patacchia and Aussie Chris Davidson will have to requalify for the Tour.
Maui's Ian Walsh had an excellent day, handling Kai Otten, who posted a 9.5 on a single wave but failed to find a back up, and held off Bede Durbidge in round two.
2004 Pipe Masters champ, Jamie O'Brien, who is very public in his critique of the ASP and its surfers, proved that he is a worthwhile authority on the subject. He paddled out in round one and showed no mercy on fan favorite, Dane Reynolds, handing him a 14.77-3.24 loss. O'Brien even finished a double barrel with a triple claim for a 9.27.
The only perfect 10 of the day came from a surfer who is certain to gain a kind of Van Artsdalen/Lopez/Ho status at Pipe someday -- 19-year-old John John Florence. In round two, against Kai Barger, Florence high-lined a gorgeous barrel, then slowed himself up enough for a belching double section. Kelly Slater called it the most technical wave of the day.
"I knew it was going to double up when I took off," Florence admitted.
Florence grew up just a few feet from the famed break. On the beach after the mind-blowing barrel, he thought back to some of the 10s he has seen growing up. He recalled one by Pat O'Connell, but the one that stuck most firmly in his memory is Andy Iron's perfect wave against Kelly Slater in the 2006 Pipe Masters.
Florence leads the Vans Triple Crown as of now with no signs of slowing. He could be the youngest surfer ever to take this title, though his closest competition, Adam Melling, won two rounds Thursday.
Kolohe Andino, 17, who won a slew of major qualifying events this year, had his first taste of the famed break. He got a small wave to start things off, then took a dreadful fall and took the next wave on the head.
"Jamie O'Brien yelled 'Go Brother, stall it.' I tried to stall at the top and maybe slide down the face. But that was way too big of a wave for me to be doing that at my skill level. I felt like I was tumbling and I think my heel hit the reef. That got the nerves out of me. That's probably not the worst I'm going to get worked out here because I could have been held down a lot longer, but I definitely got smashed," said Andino.
In round two, Andino fell to Dusty Payne, who is holding on to his slot on Tour in a similar style to last year.
To round out a day full of carnage, Australia's Laurie Towner dislocated his shoulder, had it put back in place on the beach and then headed out for more. Tanner Gudauskas took a series of beatings and finally fell to last year's runner-up, Kieren Perrow.
Injury alternate CJ Hobgood kept his chances alive, downing Kekoa Bacalso and slipping past Jadson Andre. Kona big-wave charger and Billabong sponsor wildcard Shane Dorian, 39, got through two rounds, as did North Shore local Marcus Hickman. Hickman can take that Pipe knowledge and use it against Kelly Slater tomorrow.
The swell continues Friday at about the same intimidation level, and the bloody battles will likely continue.
2011 Billabong Pipeline Masters Results
Round 1
Heat 1 : Marcus Hickman (HAW) 13.67pts ; Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 9.46pts
Heat 2 : CJ Hobgood (USA) 6.50pts ; Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) .60pts
Heat 3 : Evan Valiere (HAW) 18.16pts ; Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 6.00pts
Heat 4 : Travi Logie (ZAF) 3.57pts ; Bruce Irons (HAW) 2.70pts
Heat 5 : Ian Walsch (HAW) 13.00pts ; Kai Otton (AUS) 11.63pts
Heat 6 : Kai Barger (HAW) 9.93pts ; Chris Davidson (AUS) 6.33pts
Heat 7 : Amion Goodwin (HAW) 10.34pts ; Daniel Ross (AUS) 2.84pts
Heat 8 : Jamie O'Brien (HAW) 14.77pts ; Dane Reynolds (USA) 3.24pts
Heat 9 : Kolohe Andino (HAW) 5.27pts ; Laurie Towner (AUS) 1.17pts
Heat 10 : Shane Dorian (HAW) 6.40pts ; Wilian Cardoso (BRA) 1.94pts
Heat 11 : Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 4.76pts ; Jack Freestone (AUS) 2.63pts
Heat 12 : Mason Ho (HAW) 9.00pts ; Hank Gaskell (HAW) 3.93pts
Round 2
Heat 1 : Marcus Hickman (HAW) 16.50pts ; Adrian Buchan (AUS) 9.30pts
Heat 2 : Evan Valiere (HAW) 13.60pts ; Miguel Pipo (BRA) 3.70pts
Heat 3 : Ian Walsch (HAW) 16.06pts ; Bede Durbidge (AUS) 10.17pts
Heat 4 : John John Florence (HAW) 18.07pts ; Kai Barger (HAW) 14.67pts
Heat 5 : Aamion Goodwin (HAW) 2.20pts ; Taylor Knox (USA) 2.13pts
Heat 6 : Jamie O'Brien (HAW) 5.33pts ; Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 2.83pts
Heat 7 : Shane Dorian (HAW) 10.50pts ; Brett Simpson (USA) 1.90pts
Heat 8 : Adam Melling (AUS) 9.64pts ; Mason Ho (HAW) 8.84pts
Heat 9 : Kieren Perrow (AUS) 14.50pts ; Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 5.90pts
Heat 10 : Dusty Payne (HAW) Dusty Payne ; Kolohe Andino (USA) 6.57pts
Heat 11 : Travis Logie (ZAF) 5.80pts ; Tiago Pires (PRT) 5.67pts
Heat 12 : CJ Hobgood (USA) 9.70pts ; Jadson Andre (BRA) 9.27pts