Spirit of Aloha | Features | January/February 2003

A Woman in a Man's BiG-WAVE World
By Jodi Young

World champion surfer Layne Beachley has conquered the biggest waves on the planet, including the monster surf on O'ahu's North Shore

O'ahu's North Shore is a lion that awakens each winter. Summer out here is your typical picture-perfect postcard of Paradise. But come winter, the huge expanse of Pacific to the north of the Islands begins to stir.

At first, it isn't waves. It's a movement just below the surface-like a washing machine about to start the spin cycle. Then, within just a few short weeks, the ocean takes on a whole new personality.

Seemingly from out of nowhere it arrives: the Hawaiian equivalent of winter's first snow dump. This country town springs to life as the winter surf season, with its world-class events, pro surfing entourage and wave-riding greats, takes hold. There's a buzz in the air and time is measured in the distance between now and the next big swell.

The power is awesome. At night, the thunder and crash of waves can be deafening. For those whose biorhythms run with the tide, there is no sleep. Equipment is fine-tuned, back-up gear is made ready and computers and phone lines kept open to monitor hourly buoy reports and weather data for an inkling of what the morning will bring. Predicting the condition of the ocean is a fine art and an all-consuming passion for those who live to ride the "big ones."

There are those who paddle out through heaving shore-breaks, on boards 12 feet or longer, slender and sharp like ice picks. Then there are those who have conquered the well-known breaks like Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay and choose to tow with jet-ski a mile out to ride the deepwater swells of the outer reefs.

A few of these daredevils are female, and the most famous is Layne Beachley. An Australian, Beachley is a frequent visitor to the North Shore and a big-wave hunter who has claimed the world surfing title the last four years running (and in December, as this magazine was going to press, she was in Hawai'i vying for her fifth title). As a woman, she says, "You can't go out there and act like a girl. It's a man's world and it's a life-threatening environment. And if you're towing in with a partner, you're also responsible for someone else's life."

Beachley has two goals each winter in Hawai'i: to bag the world title with the culmination of the pro surfing tour-the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing in November and December-and to redefine her own definition of "big." A chameleon, Beachley has all the colors it takes to move through the North Shore surfing world: multi-world champion, sponsored athlete, role model, competitor, tow-in surfer, woman in a man's big-wave world.

" When it comes to conquering big waves, it's an individual matter of desire," explains Beachley. "I know a lot of women who are afraid of big waves. They put it down to strength or power that can't compare to a man's. But I think it comes down to mental ability and the ability to relax under extreme duress. You've got to love it-the adrenaline and the challenge to face and overcome your fears. You've got to be comfortable in really uncomfortable situations."

Beachley's talk is big, far bigger than her slender 5-foot-5-inch frame. But the naysayers have long been left in her wake. She's done all she ever said she would and much more.

In the history of women's surfing, only a few have prevailed consistently over the big waves, and Beachley has conquered the biggest waves known to womankind. In fact, she has ridden bigger waves than most men on the planet and has become an inspiration to many who want to push their limits and overcome their fears.

Big-wave riding is arguably the most respected form of surfing. It can't be imitated. Visually, nothing comes close, except, perhaps, being caught in the path of an avalanche. Try to imagine hurtling down a wave that rears so high it blocks out the sun. And Hawai'i is indisputably Mecca to surfing's many pilgrims.

Beachley has traveled the globe and ridden many of the big-wave venues, both tow-surfing and paddle-in surfing. (In tow-surfing, a jet-ski tows the surfer, who is standing with her feet strapped to the surfboard, into waves that otherwise couldn't be caught because of their size and speed.)

" Hawai'i is the training ground for every other big wave," says Beachley. "The waves here have the most power and the most variables. Swells come from so many different angles and it's never more obvious than when you're tow-surfing. When you're towing, you're chasing down a swell. A normal wave that you ride has already formed, but a deepwater swell hasn't. You've got to rely more heavily on your own ability and you need to learn fast. There's not a lot of room for error."

While O'ahu's North Shore surfing area is a stretch of coastline merely five miles long, its back-to-back individual surf spots each demands unique skills. Hale'iwa's small, U-shaped bay hugging Hale'iwa boat harbor features midsize west swells. Sunset Beach's enormous expanse of water shifts and heaves with thicker and larger pitching peaks from the north and the west. Then there's the Banzai Pipeline-a crazy, tubular wave that throws over less than 50 yards from shore, exploding over a jagged coral reef that is barely
submerged.

But the Big Daddy of North Shore surf spots is Waimea Bay. There, the contour and depth of the ocean floor are such that the wave doesn't even start to break until the swell is pushing in at 25 feet. Waimea is home to the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau surf event, which is held between December and February, on a day when
wave-face heights reach a minimum of 40 feet. That is the size that legendary Hawaiian surfer and Waimea's first lifeguard, Eddie Aikau, preferred, and it is in his honor that elite, invited competitors come to ride.

Beyond these breaks is the outer realm-the outside reef breaks that are only accessible by jet-ski and where only an exclusive few-including Beachley-ride.

Last winter, Beachley caught the biggest wave of her life at Log Cabins, an outer reef about a mile off the North Shore.

"The wave face was about 50 feet high and easily the biggest thing I've ever ridden," she recalls. "The ski was doing 35 miles an hour just to catch it and all I could think was, stay standing, stay standing. I let go of the tow-rope and looked around as I took the drop. I saw the wave barrel behind me as wide as it was high, and at that point I just wanted to get to the channel. But the feeling afterward was pure elation. I was screaming."

Big-wave riding is a gamble. Layne Beachley is a gambler. But she's a cunning one. Like every champion surfer, she knows the risks and she builds up the bank of experience, expertise and preparation needed to ride out the monster waves.

Hawai'i is the most isolated landmass in the world and it is a big, deep ocean that lies just off her shores. Taking on the North Shore's huge winter waves is not for the novice. However, neophytes can still experience the thrill of riding the big ones on the North Shore. Pick a nice spot on the beach, spread out your towel and watch the best surfers in the world put on a show. Keep a keen eye out especially for Layne Beachley. She might be the smallest one in the lineup, but her performance will be giant.

Not for Novices

The North Shore is not a place to learn. Even on a small day, rip-currents can be fierce and wave heights can triple within the hour. Surfing requires specialized skills and an intimate knowledge of the ocean. Visitors should heed signs and warnings posted on beaches. Check with the lifeguards before entering the water.
If in doubt, don't go out!

Jodi Young is a free-lance writer who covers the surfing scene in Hawai'i. This is her first feature story for SPIRIT OF ALOHA.

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