SURFERMAG.COM CURRENT ISSUE vol. 44 #3

1986 Hawaii Kai's Tim "Taz" (as in Tasmanian Devil) Fretz, a standout in the Pipeline fray for both his buzz-cut, white-blond hair and penchant for riding Pipe on a 6'2 twin-fin, dies in what Honolulu police call a "drug-related suicide." In explanation to why Fretz was discovered with two bullet wounds to the head, police sources merely shake theirs. "He must have considerable resolve," they admit, "Hey, it can happen."

1969 The biggest winter swell in recorded memory hits the North Shore of Oahu. Generated by a massive 960 millebar low pressure system whose cyclonic winds covers almost a third of the entire North Pacific, storm surf described in the 30 to 40 foot range (60 to 80 feet by today's standards) batters the coast between Kaena Point and Kahuku. The National Guard closes down the Kam Highway in Haleiwa as during the swell's peak at midnight of December 2, a number of beachfront homes are swept off their foundations and back onto Ke Nui and Ka'Waena Roads. With surfing out of the question on this side of the island, hardy souls make their way to Makaha. A 14 year-old Shaun Tomson, visiting with his dad Ernie, joins 16 year-old Rolf Aurness, Randy Rarick, Keith Paull, Fred Hemmings and a few others riding the glassy 20 foot bowl. Later that afternoon, as the swell spiked again, Greg "Da Bull" Noll would paddle out alone for his apocryphal "last ride" on the biggest wave of the 1960s.

1977 Kua Aina Burgers opens in Haleiwa and is an immediate hit with locals and visiting surfers alike, despite exorbitant prices that include $3.50 for a plain burger with lettuce, tomato and grilled onions. Kua Aina keeps it real, however, with a redwood-paneled interior, tastefully appointed with framed photos of Haleiwa and its surrounding areas 1968 World Champion, then-State representative and International Professional Surfing founder and promoter Fred Hemmings Jr. provides a photo of his own, depicting himself arching off the bottom on that epic day at Makaha in '69, a young Randy Rarick dropping in above him. "Randy Rarick Drops In On Fred Hemmings, December, 1969" the caption reads. Faded now, the photo still hangs on Kua Aina's wall.

1969 Riding a series of bladed-out, wafer-thin pocket rockets, Hawaiian icon-to-be Barry Kanaiaupuni becomes the first surfer to successfully interpret the power-surfing capabilities of what are now being called "short boards," re-inventing the bottom turn at Sunset and Haleiwa.

1994 Riding a series of bladed-out, wafer-thin pocket rockets, Floridian icon-to-be Kelly Slater becomes the first surfer to successfully interpret the power-surfing capabilities of what are now being called "glass slippers," re-inventing both frontside and backside surfing at Pipeline and Backdoor on his way to the first of three successive Pipeline Masters victories.

1941 At approximately 8:02 on the morning of Sunday, December 7th, 51 Aichis Type 99 dive-bombers from the Japanese Imperial Navy carrier Akagi, led by Lt.Cmdr. Kakuichi Takahashi, fly in low over Haleiwa en route to their attack on the 6th Pursuit Squadron Barracks at nearby Schofield Barracks, coordinating their bombing run on the North Shore with the more extensive strike on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, 20 miles to the southwest.

1972 Burleigh Head local Paul Neilson muscles his way to first-place at the Smirnoff Pro, surfing in sizable Haleiwa against the cream of the new North Shore regime, including Jeff Hakman, the Aikaus, James Jones and Barry Kanaiaupuni. Narrabeen hot grom Grant "Dappa" Oliver places fourth in a show of force that predated the more traditionally accepted Aussie North Shore "invasion" by almost four years.

1971 Laguna Beach goofyfoot Mike Armstrong is out surfing a windy, six-to eight-foot day at Pipeline. Groomed in the Brooks Street shorebreak, 18 year-old "Army" has the weighted front foot, hunched-back tube stance down. On this otherwise unremarkable afternoon, a man with a clipboard and a bullhorn who looks surprisingly like 1968 World Champ Fred Hemmings Jr. flags him in and asks him if he'd like to compete in a new, ABC-televised surf contest called "The Pipeline Masters." He is apparently to replace Gerry Lopez, who, thinking the contest was called off for the day, is home in Niu Valley watching TV. Army says, "Sure!" and paddles back out with Jeff Hakman, Corky Carroll, Jim Blears, Bill Hamilton and Jock Sutherland. Jeff Hakman wins and takes home $500, while Army, signed up on the beach, places second. Lopez, the undisputed Pipeline master, hears the results on the evening news Livid, he wins the next two Masters in succession.