Billabong Pipeline Masters a Fistful of Firsts

The Billabong Pipeline Masters claimed a lot of records yesterday. In a contest loaded with firsts, Kelly Slater got an unprecedented triple tube ride, and won his record-defying sixth Pipeline Masters, defeating California dark horse Chris Ward.

Joel Parkinson got two perfect ten point waves in one of his earlier rounds, the highest score ever at Pipeline, on his way to winning the Triple Crown title.

“I have been after this title for a long time,” said Parkinson of his Triple Crown win. “It feels good to finally get there.”

Exceptional waves blessed all three of the Hawaiian surfing events that make up the Triple Crown of Surfing, which closes with the Billabong Pipe Masters. In the best season of contest surf in recent memory, it was the first time in 26 years that the Pipeline Masters finished within the first week of the waiting period.

Even in a competition that attracts talent from around the world, it was the first time a surfer from the Basque Country won a berth at Pipeline Masters. Aritz Aranburu (who only a year ago was a virtual unknown from a country most people have never heard of let alone could find on a map) then went on to defeat Pipe powerhouses Kalani Chapman, Pancho Sullivan, Bobby Martinez, before being stopped by Jamie O’Brien.

The winning equipment was also a first. Slater, 36, astonished many of the contestants by winning the Billabong Pipeline Masters on a 5’11” Merrick– a board many considered too small for the 6-to-8-foot, bombing waves. While other Pipe Masters competitors rode surfboards in the 6’4” to 7’2” range, Slater surfed with relatively smaller equipment on the 12- to-15 foot wave faces.



“I wasn't even worried about surfing the event, so to surf it and win was sort of inexplicable,” said Slater. At the awards podium Slater was presented with a Gerry Lopez designed surfboard as his trophy.
“To get that board - I'll cherish it for sure."