Breaking: Pipeline claims fifth surfer as horror season continues

Waves, uncrowded, clean, four-ish foot. The sorta day even mortals can tread the boards without exiting this mortal coil. Or at least you'd like to think so.

A little earlier today, around 11:04 Hawaiian time, a surfer was pulled unconscious from the water at Pipeline.

Waves, wildly uncrowded Pipeline, clean, four-ish foot. The sorta day even mortals can tread the boards at Pipeline without exiting this mortal coil. Or at least you’d like to think so.

Details of the surfer’s condition has yet to be released but our source at Pipe says the man was a relative Pipeline novice enjoying a month-long stay on the North Shore and was equipped with a helmet and an impact vest.

Watch the wipeout thirty-five seconds in and the rescue on the Surfline cam here.

It’s the fifth major incident of the North Shore season at Pipeline with world number four Joao Chianca, Tahitian kingpin Eimeo Czermak, Pipe regular Koa Rothman and Peruvian shredder Joaquin Del Castillo the big names injured only one month into the Hawaiian winter and proof it ain’t just kooks getting hurt.

And, apart from Koa and his banged up yet still photogenic face, each of the above surfers, Joao, Eimeo and Joquain, will be dealing with the long0-term effects of their wipeouts for years to come.

In a little back and forth exchange with Eimeo’s dad, turns out his kid is just hoping to get the use of his legs again, Joaquin has got multiple hip fractures and he don’t got the insurance to pay for the repairs and, as for Joao, ask Owen Wright what it’s like to get your head banged up at Pipeline.

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Kelia Moniz (pictured) dropping hammers.
Kelia Moniz (pictured) dropping hammers.

Hawaiian surf royalty Kelia Moniz burns Roxy parent company Authentic Brands Group to ground on way out door!

Burn, baby, burn.

Hawaii’s Kelia Moniz is the absolute visual representation of effortless grace. The stylish longboarder is a two-time champion, multiple-time cover girl and, most importantly, surf royalty, hailing from the revered Moniz family. She is, in a word, indelible and has been a face of Roxy for nearly two decades.

As surf fans know, Roxy, along with Quiksilver, Billabong, RVCA et. al. was scooped up by licensing giant Authentic Brands Group a handful of months ago. Salaried positions were shredded, team riders cut, the very landscape changed.

Moniz, barring no holds, went directly after ABG today after getting told to take a 90% pay cut.

In a moving to-camera piece, Moniz declares the ride has been long, fun, crazy but now over before pivoting to the sad.

“Today, I’m announcing my departure from Roxy,” she says. She then thanks those who believed in her, her wonderful Roxy sisters. “This shit is real. So real, that many brands often try to replicate what we had. They’ll have a very hard time doing so because you can’t replicate real shit. You can’t replicate authentic friendship. You can’t replicate authentic stories. And that was a testament to the one and only Lisa Andersen. I’d like to thank her for paving the way on the path we all walk on today. Not just as a Roxy girl, but as a surfer. I genuinely love you.”

While the viewer is left to wipe away tears, the screen breaks then a voice can be heard asking, “So what was the real reason you’re leaving Roxy?”

Kelia Moniz, wasting no time, drops the hammer.

She explains how, after Covid, she signed a great contract, the best she had ever had. After ABG completed purchase, the contract was terminated and she was told she could come back for the aforementioned 90% off. “After years of fighting for fair pay and equality,” she says, “there was no was I was signing that deal, especially knowing I wasn’t the only athlete that this was happening to. I’m not about to be strong-armed by some corporation that knows nothing about the sport and doesn’t give a shit about it. If you’re wondering why I’m leaving, it’s not because I don’t love what I do… I’m leaving because if I sign this deal I’d be setting the industry standards for the girls who look like me and surf like me and I simply want nothing to do with that. The surf industry has been consolidated by two large corporations who don’t care that there has been a dismantling of the monetary value of a whole generation and I refuse to be part of it because it looks pretty on a spreadsheet.”

Essential.

Burn, baby, burn.

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Sean Davey and wife Lane
Sean Davey and beloved wife Lane at Pipe.

Help wife of surf photography legend Sean Davey fight stage 4 colo-ovarian cancer

"They say that Lobsters mate for life. Lane is my Lobster. Please, please, please help me save my lobster."

One of the more likeable figures in the loosely strung together world called the surf community is the Australian photographer Sean Davey.

I met Sean when I was a junior editor at Surfing Life magazine many orbits ago.

And, then, long before the eyes became jaundiced, the limbs weary, the marrow cold, I would thrill to his submissions, which were noted for their vivid colour and a fanatical attention to detail in his exposure of transparency film that made technicians weep for their beauty.

Later, when I got the reins to the magazine, I made a point of throwing every bone I could at Sean Davey, enjoying his company on myriad trips. This included a wild sortie to the Philippines as we hunted the ghost of Mike Boyum.

During this time, Sean met and fell head-over-heels in love with an American gal who was one of the few women who would ride Pipeline. Pretty soon they married and carved out a life on the North Shore together.

Fast forward twenty seven years and Sean and his wife Lane are dealing with the two-pronged horrors of cancer and America’s cruel healthcare system.

 

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A post shared by Sean Davey (@sean_davey)

As Sean explains in a message to his friends, fans and surf family,

Friends and family all over this beautiful world of ours, I have some crushing news to share with you all. My wife of 27 years ; Lane has been recently diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer. She is in the fight of her life right now.

Lane had her first infusion of chemotherapy yesterday. The procedure went better than expected but she was awake all night with nausea, which I guess is to be expected.

Though we both have had decent health insurance, Lane’s is about to finish due to the fact that as a professor, she is only employed on a semester by semester basis, and so Lane’s insurance might run out any time now. On top of that is the very likely scenario that Lane will need to go to the American mainland to get specialized care. She would have left on New Year’s day, but her condition has been deemed too serious to fly right now. So hopefully the chemo can shrink the cancer to a point where we can reach the next step in this process. Meanwhile, we are looking at some pretty major expenses coming up.

Some of the specialized care that Lane requires is not covered by the insurance and so it’s looking to be very expensive. Given the need for the specialized care, flights and upcoming operations, we are looking at an initial figure of $90,000. We really need all of your help to make this happen. Those of you who can contribute, please go to Lane’s GoFundMe page to donate, if you are able to. Any amount helps. For those of you who can’t afford to, PLEASE do what you can to spread the word to others. We really, really need ALL of your help right now to help Laneski beat this insidious disease. From the bottom of my heart, please know that we appreciate each and every one of you. Please help save my Laneski!

In the subsequent GoFundMe, Sean goes into a little more detail.

My wife, Lane “LaneSki” Davey is in the fight for her life against a Stage 4 colo-ovarian cancer associated with a 6cm mass that is blocking her intestine, causing a lot of pain and making it hard for her to eat. In the 6 months it took us to get a diagnosis, the cancer spread to her liver and lungs so at this point the only option for treatment is chemotherapy which she will start on Dec. 26, but since it is unlikely to cure her cancer, Lane is researching cutting edge facilities such as City of Hope (Az), the Burzynski clinic (TX), and the Turtle Band Clinic (NV) who specialize in advanced cancers. Costs of treatments at some of these centers run up to as much as 140,000 plus travel costs. We are also looking for a reasonably priced rental close by in Kahuku so Lane’s Mom can come and help out which will free up more time for me to work especially since Lane isn’t able to work at this time.

Lane and I met back in 1995 and were inseparable from the get-go. We married in late 1996 and I moved to Hawaii in 1997, where we’ve remained ever since. We were a great match with Lane being a pro surfer/ clothing designer at the time, while I was photographing for surf magazines all over the world.

The news has been so devastating to Lane who has spent the last 12 years serving as a full-time college lecturer and also acting as a part-time caretaker for her father with dementia while earning her Ph.D. that she finally completed last May. Lane is so dedicated to her students that she will stay up into the wee hours of the night grading resubmissions from students to make sure everyone has a chance to succeed in her class. This past semester, she spent a lot of time curled up in a ball on the floor before she would transition back to her computer to grade papers, answer emails, and prepare her lectures which often proceeded each worsening scan and diagnosis. You may have seen her out surfing with a smile on her face but that was after being up crying all night in pain. I know if anyone can beat this, my wife can.

Lane is a courageous and devout woman of faith who has always followed God’s call despite enduring a lot of opposition and difficult circumstances. I remember her paddling out to second and third reef Pipe when no one had ever seen women go anywhere near that. We would all sit on the beach and gasp as her 115-pound frame feathered on top of 12-foot sets and sometimes we watched her get annihilated by them but somehow she always found her way back to the beach. I remember Lane traveling the pro circuit with a surfboard under one arm and a sample bag under the other which contained her one-of-a-kind women’s surf line that she sold to 50 stores across the U.S. and Japan. Of course, everyone told Lane that women’s surfwear was a ridiculous idea and then they all eventually followed suit anyway, laying the groundwork for the amazing opportunities that women surfers enjoy today. In the 90s, Lane also began writing about the female surfing experience for a range of international magazines that I was shooting for and this eventually led her back to school because she wanted to document local legends in a lasting way. Her doctoral dissertation is one of the most extensive works on he‘enalu (surfing), detailing epic swells at Pipe and Bowls that Lane surfed daily for over thirty years and documented rigorously for about 20 in a blog she wrote for the Honolulu Advertiser and Oceanic Cable. She hopes to continue her research and publish them as books.

The cancer diagnosis has been a shock, to say the least since Lane, just 53, has no family history of cancer, eats healthy, exercises daily, and doesn’t drink, smoke, or do drugs to the point where she will rarely even accept an Advil. According to statistics, Lane is currently looking at a 2-9 month life expectancy if she doesn’t get help quickly. I can’t conceive of losing my soulmate and the mother of our three beloved dog babies Paumalu, Tazzy, and Kai Boy.

We just celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary just last week. I remember telling Lane way back in the mid 90’s that we would grow old together as a couple and I intend to stand by that pledge.

To be honest, I know Lane feels let down because she gave up a life of material gain to serve as a teacher and community activist for over 20 years, and in her time of need, neither the education system nor the health system has been there for her. Similarly, the surf industry largely refuses to recognize her contributions. So we sincerely ask for your prayers and your support. Any amount, big or small, not only funds Lane’s chances at life but fuels her fight to live because it shows her that people care and appreciate her service.

They say that Lobsters mate for life. Lane is my Lobster. Please, please, please help me save my lobster. 

Jump here if you want to kick the Daveys a shekel or two.

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Australian surfers reenact a scene from Silver Strand of old.
Australian surfers reenact a scene from Silver Strand of old.

Silver Strand shreds last bit of fearsome reputation as hardened local saves boogie boarder from certain death!

Not a dry eye in the house.

Silver Strand, tucked right there in the “least fun city in America” Oxnard, California, has long harbored a reputation for its fierce surf locals. Daring to surf there, and not living there, was met with the fiercest windshield waxing, angry looks, being ordered to “beat it.”

Alas, those hardened days have receded what with everyone’s penchant to record everything on telephones then call the police. And  a human wave of adult learners so thick that the ranks of grumpy locals would have to be filled in twenty, thirty, forty times over in order to have enough window waxing resources.

And in the latest disheartening news, it seems as if an icky cloud of benevolence, care, love has descended on over the argenti shore for, yesterday, reports came out that the son of a local, making him local twice over, saved a drowning boogie boarder.

The local Ventura CBS, ABC, FOX affiliate shared the story of a husband and wife out for an evening beach stroll when they saw a distressed boogie boarder in real trouble. The husband attempted to call 911 and the harbor patrol but accidentally dialed his son Noah, instead.

Now, Noah’s dad had received a new surfboard for Christmas after snapping his during the just-wrapped California super swell event. Very core. Noah, in any case, didn’t feel like waiting for 911 or harbor patrol, grabbed dad’s gun (or maybe soft topped Beater), sprinted across the sand, jumped into the water and saved the sponge.

Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Not only the selfless heroics but father accidentally calling son when he tried to call emergency numbers?

Son being up for the challenge?

It can only be hoped, anyhow, that the boogie’s windshield was waxed while he was being saved.

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Albee Layer almost dies on Maui
Albee Layer writes, "Idk how I woulda handled another set into the rocks. Ended up puking up some salt water for a while in the channel and some whiplash and other soreness…"

Hawaiian Albee Layer almost dies in New Year’s Eve tow surfing accident!

"Ended up puking up some salt water for a while in the channel and some whiplash…"

Albee Layer is a surfer who will dance a rigadoon in waves four feet or forty. Little surfboards and monstrous guns.

But even big-waver Albee Layer, who is thirty two, pronouns He, Him, Hottie, can find himself in strife as was evidenced by his brush with death on New Year’s Eve. 

Albee Layer takes up the story.

Had to give it a go yesterday. Couldn’t find anyone to come out (they were elsewhere scoring) but @annie__starr was there to watch over me. 

Went on the third wave of the set cause no sets had more than three waves till this one of course. Annie was right there ready for the pick up before the following wave but I waved her off to protect the ski and figured wave number 4 HAD to be the last wave of the set, in retrospect not my best call. 

After two more waves she was there again but we were so close to the cliff and I saw the next wave closing out into the worst area ever so I waved her off again (my bad again) then she was able to swing back in and get me. Right after we were back outside more waves came and idk how I woulda handled another set into the rocks. Ended up puking up some salt water for a while in the channel and some whiplash and other soreness but all in all pretty much fine. 

Very thankful all we lost was a board and a hat. Very thankful you were there @annie__starr you are a fucken insane ski driver.

 

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A post shared by Albee Layer (@live.fast.die.old)

The footage is wild.

Albee Layer’s gal Annie Reickert, noted for her bravado in Maui’s big waves, comes in to scoop him out of the impact zone. Albee waves her off multiple times. 

Not everyone was thrilled by the bravura performance, howevs.

Four-time runner-up to the world surfing title, Cheyne Horan writes,

“Wouldn’t be my partner , came in and missed with the sled twice , consequences could have been serious… lucky this time.”

Albee Layer ain’t afraid to put it in on the line, as they say. In 2019, he suffered a brain injury after wiping out on a thirty-footer at Jaws.

Four years later, Albee Layer was still feeling its effects.

“A lot of people have told me how stoked they are to see me back to normal since the concussion in 2019. I really appreciate that but the truth is I’m not and never will be whatever I considered normal before. It’s been over 3 years. I’ve been through lots of treatments, tried prescribed meds, meditating, therapy, fucken spirit quests you name it. I’m still a bit different. I can be shorter to anger (directed at myself), shorter to negative assumptions (very anxious), and even worse than I was at social interaction, which lead to a lot of self medicating that made things much worse.”

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