Page 6 - MidWeek East - Jan 4, 2023

6
JANUARY 4, 2023
Aloha surfers and beachgoers,
The rare Kona storm on Dec. 18-19 was incredible. The cause of it was a nearby low pres- sure wreaking havoc on the weather, winds and waves.
BY GARY KEWLEY
New Vans Pipe Masters Are Crowned For 2022
The 2022 Vans Pipe Masters winners are New York’s Balaram Stack (left) and Australia’s Molly Picklum. PHOTO COURTESY MOLLY PICKLUM
My buddy Pat Caldwell puts it best: “Fall season ends like a giant bowl of oat- meal, wet and lumpy.”
The unique, yet classic contest suffered from lack of waves most of the hold- ing period of Dec. 8-20. Surfers waited eight days as Pipeline hardly broke the entire time, which is really rare for December.
Picklum loves cracking jokes and “cracking the top off” waves through rigorous training. It is her dream to get to the top of the World Championship Tour. Picklum is the first woman Pipeline Master in history and if that doesn’t build confidence and bode well for her pro surfing career, nothing could.
The last time we had waves this big, according to Cald- well, was 50 years ago to the day — Dec. 19, 1972.
However, in the nick of time, there was an ex- tra-large north-northwest swell on Dec. 16, which created challenging, yet mind-blowing moments. The episode reached High Surf Warning levels break-
For the latest forecasts, visit surfnewsnetwork.com.
ing on the outer reefs with The amazing competi- many sets washing through tors braved the elements Pipeline. and there were no serious
The women’s $100,000 winner was Australian Molly Picklum. She is 20 years old and already has two back- to-back Australian champi-
In other news, the Vans
injuries, but lots of broken boards.
GQ, droppin’ in 4 U!
Pipe Masters finished on Dec. 18 and crowned two new winners.
a talented “goofy footer” from Long Island, New York, named Balaram Stack. He’s 31 and was born in Florida like Kelly Slater. Stack charges hard and surfs Pipeline a lot. He spends his winters on the North Shore. The big back- side barrels he surfed in the contest were off the charts, so the hardcore observers were not surprised by his win. Stack is the first New Yorker to make a Pipe Mas- ters final and win the Pipe Masters contest.
onships, won the Australian Pro Junior in 2019 and was also named Female Rising Star at the Australian Surf- ing Awards in 2020. She is being touted as the next “big thing,” due to her natural tal- ent and results.
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