Page 3 - MidWeek Windward - Dec 28, 2022

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The amazing competitors braved the elements and there were no serious injuries, but lots of broken boards.
GQ, droppin’ in 4 U!
Meanwhile, in other news, the Vans Pipe Mas- ters finished on Dec. 18 and crowned two new winners. The unique, yet classic con- test suffered from lack of waves most of the holding period of Dec. 8-20. Surfers waited eight days as Pipe- line hardly broke the entire time, which is really rare for December. However, in the nick of time, there was an extra-large north-north- west swell on Dec. 16, which created challenging, yet mind-blowing moments. The episode reached High Surf Warning levels breaking on
charges hard and surfs Pipe- line a lot. He spends his winters on the North Shore. The big backside 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 Masters final and win the Pipe Masters contest.
Star at the Australian Surfing Awards in 2020. She is being touted as the next “big thing,” due to her natural talent and results.
The 2022 Vans Pipe Masters winners are New York’s Balaram Stack and Australia’s Molly Picklum. PHOTO COURTESY MOLLY PICKLUM
Winning $100,000 was a talented “goofy footer” from Long Island, New York, named Balaram Stack. He’s 31 and was born in Flori- da like Kelly Slater. Stack
The women’s $100,000 winner was Australian Molly Picklum. She is 20 years old and already has two back- to-back Australian champi- onships, won the Australian Pro Junior in 2019 and was also named Female Rising
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 outer reefs with many sets washing through Pipeline.
DECEMBER 28, 2022 3
Aloha surfers and beachgoers,
The rare Kona storm on Dec. 18-19 was incredible. The cause of it all was a nearby low pres- sure wreaking havoc on the weather, winds and waves. My buddy Pat Caldwell puts it best: “Fall season ends like a giant bowl of oatmeal, wet and lumpy.” The last time we had waves this big, ac- cording to Caldwell, was 50 years ago in 1972 on nearly the same day of Dec. 19 with 50-foot faces.
BY GARY KEWLEY
New Vans Pipe Masters Are Crowned For 2022
gary@surfnewsnetwork.com
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