Page 5 - MidWeek Leeward - Jan 19, 2022

We had our first Waimea- sized west-northwest swell of the season with waves reaching 12-18 feet on Jan. 9.
What’s new? The girls get to take part! That’s awesome and gnarly all at the same time. Women are busting down the doors in all surf- ing categories: performance, big-wave surfing and heavy reef barrels like Pipeline, the apex predator.
Going back to the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout — it features the right or back- door of Pipe because you often come from behind the heaving lip and race a faster peeling wave into ever-shallower water — as if the left weren’t shallow enough. Backdoor is even more dangerous than the left, which has killed plen- ty of surfers and seriously
and the day was none other than John John Florence. He’s having a ludicrous- ly successful season in his backyard, winning all of the main contests thus far. No one would be very sur- prised if Florence won this one, too. Watch out, 2022.
The Da Hui Backdoor Shootout had gotten in two full days of fun competi- tion at the time of this writ- ing. It usually scores insane waves and this year was no exception. It was some of, if not the best, Pipe that’s been seen this season. It was huge, thick, A-frame, lip
My friend and Surf News Network reporter for over 35 years, Betty Depolito, has been fighting for women’s surfing for decades. We’ve been supporting her hard ef- forts from the start. We used
to surf Waimea together in the 1980s. Today, women’s equal status is becoming a full-blown reality: Wom- en in the Eddie at Waimea,
women in the Pe‘ahi Chal- lenge and now, most of all, the Pipe contests. This now includes the World Tour’s Billabong Pro Pipeline Jan.
Mahalo for sharing the surf stuff with me here in MidWeek’s Leeward O‘ahu Voice. Stay safe, well and stoked! Mahalo and aloha.
launchers all day long with some of the best Pipe spe- cialists on Earth.
29-Feb. 10. This event is historic for many reasons, but the main one is that it’s the first-ever World Surf League Pipe contest for women and men.
injured plenty more.
Well, the man of the hour
JANUARY 19, 2022 5
Aloha surfers and beachgoers,
Whoa, what a winter it has been!
BY GARY KEWLEY
Eagerly Waiting To See What Surfers Do In 2022
Moana Jones Wong celebrates at a recent surf contest. PHOTO COURTESY BETTY DEPOLITO/BANZAI PRODUCTIONS
GQ, droppin’ in 4 U!
gary@surfnewsnetwork.com
Be our guest for an authentic Thai experience. Enjoy vibrant dishes made fresh daily from the finest ingredients.
ALL LOCATIONS OPEN DAILY FOR DINE-IN & TAKE-OUT
TOWN CENTER OF MILILANI 95-1249 Meheula Pkwy (808) 744-0384
KUNIA SHOPPING CENTER 94-673 Kupuohi St. #B105 (808) 676-0843
CITY SQUARE SHOPPING CENTER 1286 Kalani St. (808) 845-4554
WWW.HAWAIITHAIVILLAGE.COM | TAKE OUT ORDERS WELCOME
WAIPIO GENTRY SHOPPING CENTER 94-1040 Waipio Uka St. #15 (808) 678-2878
WAIMALU PLAZA SHOPPING CENTER 98-1277 Kaahumanu Suite #118 (808) 488-1288