Jamie O'Brien Edges Out Bruce Irons at Da Hui Backdoor Shoot-Out
With the permit for Da Hui Backdoor Shoot-Out running out and only good through the weekend, thankfully a flawless 6- to 8-foot west swell pumped across the Banzai reef on Saturday, Jan. 12. There was no question, the contest was on, which was a fortunate call for Jamie O’Brien, who, after the previous day’s heats sat in second place behind Bruce Irons. “The most terrifying moment was when Bruce took the lead for the point total,” said Jamie. “I had to sleep on that one last night. I didn’t think the event would be on today so I figured I would be getting second. I had a hard time sleeping.”
Despite a fitful night’s sleep, with the dawning of the final day came
perfect conditions, and Jamie set about doing what Jamie does best:
hucking himself over the ledge of the world’s most deadly wave. By
mid-day he’d made up the points difference on Bruce and had taken the
lead once again.
But
Bruce, a regular old hellion himself, was left with one more chance to
catch Jamie in the sixth and final round. Throwing caution to the wind,
he spent the heat taking off deep and hanging behind the Backdoor
curtain. He snapped two boards in the process, but ultimately came up
just short.
It just so happened that Jamie was in the last heat of the day, and not wanting to leave anything up to chance, he stuck a backside rodeo on a 4-foot Pipeline corner for good measure—clean. Another sick Backdoor barrel for the local and the horn sounded, starting the party at Jamie’s house.
“I’m not a competitive surfer in small waves,” tells O’Brien. “It just doesn’t excite me. I can’t release what I want to do, surf how I want to surf. Pipeline is my backyard. I don’t surf it as a contest, I surf it as an everyday backyard deal. I just go play out my backyard and get barreled—switch-stance, airs, 1 to 30 feet, this is how I live.”
But
Bruce, a regular old hellion himself, was left with one more chance to
catch Jamie in the sixth and final round. Throwing caution to the wind,
he spent the heat taking off deep and hanging behind the Backdoor
curtain. He snapped two boards in the process, but ultimately came up
just short.It just so happened that Jamie was in the last heat of the day, and not wanting to leave anything up to chance, he stuck a backside rodeo on a 4-foot Pipeline corner for good measure—clean. Another sick Backdoor barrel for the local and the horn sounded, starting the party at Jamie’s house.
“I’m not a competitive surfer in small waves,” tells O’Brien. “It just doesn’t excite me. I can’t release what I want to do, surf how I want to surf. Pipeline is my backyard. I don’t surf it as a contest, I surf it as an everyday backyard deal. I just go play out my backyard and get barreled—switch-stance, airs, 1 to 30 feet, this is how I live.”
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