“Opening Day” at Pipeline: Surfed-Out Tourists, a Koa Rothman Clip, and a Reminder About How Close the Lineup Comes to Shore
The North Shore opened to a clean, heavy swell in October 2025 — a welcome but dangerous sight for anyone near the sand. Footage circulating from pro surfer Koa Rothman shows the kind of close-quarters chaos that can happen at Pipeline when large sets roll all the way to the beach: tourists caught in the impact zone, surfers and good samaritans scrambling to help, and Ocean Safety teams on alert.
What the clip shows
A short video posted to Koa Rothman’s Instagram appears to capture an incident where non-surfing beachgoers were swept toward the line-up at Pipeline during the season-opening swell. The clip (below) gives a raw sense of how quickly things can go sideways when a shore-breaking reef break is firing and the crowd is densely packed.
Watch the clip from Koa Rothman:
Why Pipeline feels so unforgiving from the beach
Pipeline is a steep, fast reef break that, compared with some other heavy reef breaks around the world, can look and feel dangerously close to shore. That geographic reality, the wave pitching shallow over reef with sets that can retain power all the way to the sand is a consistent observation from surfers and a useful comparison point to places like Teahupo’o, which is famously hollow but sits further from the shore.
That proximity is part of why tourists and casual beachgoers sometimes end up in the impact zone. The research pack notes that Pipeline’s break is “very close to the shore compared to Teahupo’o,” and that incidents involving non-surfers being swept into dangerous water are documented regularly each winter.
Other clips from the same swell
Jamie O’Brien and other local accounts provided footage during the swell, showing large Backdoor bombs and the overall severity of conditions that week.
Jamie O’Brien Instagram footage of big Third Reef sets.
What officials and outlets are saying
Local outlets and Ocean Safety channels have historically reported increased rescues and warnings during the North Shore winter season. For those checking context and follow-ups on specific incidents (for example, reported rescues at nearby Ke Iki Beach), Hawaii News Now and the City & County of Honolulu Ocean Safety channels are the best places for official updates and rescue reports.
The social-media paradox
Video from pros like Koa Rothman and Jamie O’Brien is invaluable for showing the scale and reality of conditions, but it also acts as a magnet. Dramatic clips drive views and can encourage people to flock to dangerous shorelines, sometimes with little understanding of the local risk. Use the footage to learn, not to test luck.
