With the Australian leg of the Championship Tour finished, the world’s best surfers are now headed to Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch for the season’s one-and-only, loved-and-loathed wavepool event on May 27th.
But with nearly a month in between events – Margaret River ended in late April – what’s a pro surfer to do with all that time off? Well, if your name’s John John Florence, and there happens to be some extremely late-season swell at your home on the North Shore of Oahu, the answer is simple.
JJF was spotted (and slotted) at Backdoor the other day, scoring what has to be damn near the last swell of the North Shore season.
“Filmed on 5/2/23 at Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu,” wrote the Surfers of Hawaii YouTube page. “As the surf season comes to an end, a late swell hits the North Shore sending perfect waves to world class surf breaks like Pipeline. Watch as surfers get their last surf in before the surf season ends.”
As we previously reported, North Shore local Koa Rothman recently surfed what was believed to be “Pipeline’s last swell of the season.” But it turns out, Pipe had the energy for one more romp before the long summer slumber.
Lucky for John, he just happened to be there for the last(?) dance of season.
Pipeline Stats/Info
Wave Type: Left and right (Backdoor) barrels
Season: Fall, Winter (occasionally Spring)
Bottom: Reef and sand (and broken surfboards/knocked out teeth)
Skill Level: Experts only
Equipment: Shortboards, bodyboards (soft-tops if you’re Jamie O’Brien)
Ideal Swell Direction: WNW, NW
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