In Hawaii, Oahu's North Shore hosts the Super Bowl of surfing

Every year, the world's best surfers flock to Oahu's North Shore for the sport's Triple Crown. The waves are phenomenal -- as long as the weather cooperates.

By Sean Patrick Riley | Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

You're on Oahu's North Shore at the Banzai Pipeline, the most famous big wave on the world's most famous big wave surfing coastline. You set up not 50 yards from the wave's rising peak, so close you feel the shivers as its water wall shakes the shoreline.

On the bigger waves, the windows in the houses on the beach rattle as you watch lifeguards gun their wave-running machines to extract a downed surfer before the next wave hits and destroys them both. You might even collect a snapped surfboard half for a souvenir as it washes ashore.

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26th annual Vans Triple Crown of Surfing

Where: On Oahu's North Shore, from Haleiwa to the tip of the island. From Honolulu or Waikiki, it's a one-hour drive

When: Wednesday to Dec. 20

Admission: Free

MEN'S EVENTS

Reef Hawaiian Pro: Wednesday to Nov. 23 at Haleiwa Alii Beach Park

O'Neill World Cup of Surfing: Nov. 24 to Dec. 6 at Sunset Beach

Billabong Pipeline Masters: Dec. 8 to 20 at Banzai Pipeline

WOMEN'S EVENTS

Women's Reef Hawaiian Pro: Wednesday to Nov. 23, at Haleiwa Alii Beach Park

Roxy Pro: Nov. 24 to Dec. 6 at Sunset Beach

Billabong Pro: Dec. 8 to 20 at Maui's Honolua Bay

TO LEARN MORE

www.triplecrownofsurfing.com

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"If you've never been to a surf competition in Hawaii, it's as if you took the space shuttle to the moon and got off into this very surreal experience," says noted big wave rider Dan Moore of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing contests that begin here this week.

"The waves exploding create this energy field in the air that illuminates the whole coast. And the intensity and level of athletic ability has climbed every year, which makes the surfing just phenomenal to watch."