North Shore of Oahu

The Telegraph '...known as "the seven-mile miracle", a series of world-class waves stretching from the hippie town of Haleiwa on the south-west of the north shore to Sunset Beach towards the north-eastern point.' By Alex Wade

'The seven-mile miracle is the centre of world-class performance surfing, offering breaks which, to surfers, are household names. As well as Pipeline – so named in the Sixties because a surfer is said to have seen a sewer pipe being laid on the nearby highway, complete with a sign saying "Danger – Pipeline" – there are the big-wave spots of Waimea Bay and Sunset Beach. In addition, there are Off the Wall, Rocky Point, Gas Chambers and Log Cabins.

'I first read about these and some of the other north shore classics in my teens. Thirty years have passed but, at last, I'm finally here. Just to witness the extraordinary power of the ocean on Oahu's north shore is wonderful, but there's a problem: I doubt that I'll be doing any surfing. Despite Rasta's declaration that the waves at Pipeline are "friendly", they look anything but to me. They are easily double overhead – which means the height of the wave face is a solid 10ft and then some – and a mistake on the take-off would mean a pummelling into the reef: Pipeline breaks in about 2ft of water. Having had neck surgery a couple of years ago, I need to be careful.

'All the more so given the reputation of Oahu's surfers. Oahu may mean, in Hawaiian, "the gathering place", but the surf-media buzz has it that the locals are none too happy about the mass gathering of incoming surfers at their breaks. Reports of intimidating stares are just the half of it; some who dare to paddle out at the likes of Pipeline and Sunset are said to have been punched and hassled out of the water.

'Buttons Kaluhiokalani, 52, a charismatic figure on the north shore, says the buzz is exaggerated. We meet at Ted's Bakery, a popular café across the road from Sunset Beach. Widely regarded as the best surfer never to have won the world title, Buttons swears by "the aloha spirit". "It's the Hawaiian way. If you give love you get love back. That's the way we're raised. The same applies in the sea. Sure, the locals will get more waves, but if you're patient and respectful, you'll have a good surf too."'

Alex Wade is the author of Surf Nation: In Search of the Fast Lefts and Hollow Rights of Britain and Ireland