Greg Noll, Outer Reef Pipeline, 1964 – Foto: John Severson
Waimea Bay, Outside Pipe, Big Waves, Big Wednesday – mit Greg “Da Bull” Noll hat die Surfwelt eine seiner größten Ikonen verloren. Der Kalifornier starb am Montag im Alter von 84 Jahren. Noll prägte nicht nur die Ära der Pioniere an der North Shore Oahus, er inspirierte mit seiner unnachahmlichen Art sowie als legendärer Shaper Generationen von Surfern, weit über die Wellen am Seven Mile Miracle hinaus.
Die Familie gab Greg Nolls Tod mit folgenden Worten bekannt:
“It is with a heavy heart the Noll family announces the death of our patriarch, Greg Noll.
Greg died of natural causes on Monday June 28th, at the age of 84.
We invite all of our friends and family to celebrate his life by sharing this post and your stories, pictures and experiences through your preferred platform.
Aloha
The Noll Family”
Noll machte sich in den 1950er Jahren nach seinem Umzug von San Diego nach Hawaii schnell einen Namen, weil er es in seinen gestreiften “Jailhouse”-Boardshorts mit Wellen aufnahm, die zur damaligen Zeit selbst Locals als unsurfbar bezeichnet hatten. Im November 1957 paddelte er in der Waimea Bay in 25-30 Fuß hohe Wellen. Das berühmte Bild am Big Wednesday von Fotograf John Severson zeigt Da Bull am Strand, kurz bevor er 1964 erstmals eine Welle am Outer Reef von Pipeline surfte.
“The wave I caught at Outside Pipeline that day walled up twenty-five-feet high about half a mile in front of me. It broke to the left, so I was riding with my back to the wave, goofyfoot, and it was a god-awful uneasy feeling. Instead of getting smaller as I rode it, the sonofabitch grew on me. It got bigger and bigger, and I started going faster and faster, until I was absolutely locked into it. I felt like I was on a spaceship racing into a void. At first, I could hear my board chattering across the face of the wave in a constant rhythm. As my speed increased, the chattering noise became less frequent. Suddenly there was no noise. For about fifteen or twenty feet, I was airborne. Then I literally was blown off my board.” — Greg Noll, Da Bull: life over the edge
