by Raleigh on September 3, 2010

Highwater chronicles the Triple Crown at a notable milestone, the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters’ 35th anniversary. From the start, Pipeline Masters contests drew attention from national media, including the likes of the New York Times and CBS. ABC’s Wide World of Sports covered the event for nearly a decade, and a network popularity poll ranked the event only behind Olympic figure skating and ski jumping. More and more surfers journeyed forth to the North Shore, attendance grew, tourists and enthusiasts followed.
Women’s Surfing has also grown considerably over the past decade and the Triple Crown offers a women’s title, showcasing the world’s top pro female surfers concurrently with the men’s Series. The Roxy Pro at Haleiwa and the Billabong Pro offer prizes of over $120,000. These two events determine the women’s ASP World Champion and the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing champion, as well as the WCT lineups for the next season’s circuit.
The Triple Crown has also grown into a major corporate party, attracting the top surf industry corporations: Van’s , Rip Curl, Billabong, Quicksilver, Roxy, Red Bull, Foster’s and virtually every action sports apparel manufacturer on earth; exemplifying the growing clout and mess of the surfing industry and it’s lure.
by Dan on September 1, 2010

Round three and four of the Billabong Pro Tahiti are underway in Teahupoo today. Andy Irons, Dane Reynolds, CJ Hobgood, and Pat Gudauskas took their heats with authority in the first few hours of the second round with near perfect tube rides and filthy snaps in 3-4 foot rippable Teahupoo. The swell is holding up for now with high hopes for another contest day tomorrow.
If you haven’t checked the live web feed of the contest at www.billabongpro.com, dont wait another second. This is one of the most epic contests on the ASP World Tour so don’t miss out. This years contest is going off as surfers are using the whole face of the wave pulling next generation snaps and massive airs in addition to the classic Teahupoo stand-up barrels.
Here’s the surf forecast for Tahiti over the next few days:
Wednesday, Sept 1- Small mix of old SSW leftovers in the morning, with a new SSW swell building in the afternoon and a touch of new SW swell also building. Surf is in the 2’ up to 3’ range (chest-head high on sets). Moderate+ E trade winds.
Thursday, Sept 2- Small mix of decreasing SSW swell and slow building SW swell with continued 2-3’ surf (chest-head high sets). Moderate to strong E/ESE trade winds.
Friday, Sept 3- Decreasing S and SW swell mix with swell in the 2’ range, occasionally up to 3’ (waist-shoulder high mostly, occasionally up to head high). Moderate to strong ESE trade winds.
Look ahead for updated post with results. Enjoy watching the heats.