"The Pipeline Masters," Jim Kempton, SURFER, April 1979

In the Masters prelims, each man was allowed six waves per heat, and after his six, the contestant had to come in. This meant that in the end, there might be only one man left out in the lineup surfing all by himself, having his pick of the set. The inequality was that, quite possibly, the last men would not have gotten those same good waves if they had not had them to themselves. So Jackie Dunn and Jeff Crawford, who in their early heats surfed brilliantly, were eliminated for not thinking. They simply went out like they always do, snagged every tube in sight, then suddenly found themselves on the beach watching while others picked off the cream of the set waves.

But the judging at Pipeline (where the surfers are so close to the beach you can almost see the whites of their eyes) was impeccably accurate. The surfing of young Californian Joey Buran, Aussie Larry Blair (both in their first Pipe events), and Hans Hedemann was so dynamic that it could not be denied.

Unfortunately, the finals were held two weeks after the prelims in windblown closed-out gnarly Pipeline. Larry Blair won it by making tubes, not taking off on anyone, and not getting killed in the meantime. It was a shame they couldn’t have had better surf for the finals, because the eliminations were held in as near perfect Pipeline as it gets. The night before had been absolutely insane, and if the contest had been judged on that evening’s performances, it would have shown the truth about what it takes to be a real master at the most famous surf spot on the globe. When it is 12-foot and out of the west, there is no one in the world who can touch Lopez, Russell, Crawford and Dunn, probably in that order.

"Goofies Return," Peter Townend, Surfing Magazine, April 1979

In contrast to last season, the Pipeline Masters seemed determined to put an end to the backside invasion of recent years. Led by Master Lopez himself, and with a back-up crew that included defending champion Rory Russell, Coke Surfabout winner Larry Blair (making his first contest appearance since his Coke victory) and young Californian Joey Buran (an upset semifinal winner), they did just that.

With a 70-minute time allotment and unlimited wave count, the Masters final proved to be an all-out, go-for-it surf marathon that saw Australia's newest golden boy, Larry Blair, pull out a very close upset victory over Russell. Like other previous Hawaiian affairs, the event was tight and dramatic as heck.

"Blair's Flair Wins the Pipeline," Carol Hogan, Honolulu Advertiser, Dec 10, 1978

Larry Blair, a 20-year-old surfer from Sydney, Australia, dropped in and out of some of the best waves of the after at Banzai Pipeline yesterday to win the men’s seventh annual Pipeline Masters Competition held at Ehukai Beach Park on Oahu's North Shore,

Six of the world’s best surfers vied for the title captured by Blair. Defending champion Rory Russell of Hawaii was second and Hans Hedemann, also of Hawaii, took third. Hawaii’s Gerry Lopez, two-time Masters Pipeline champion, was fourth with California’s Joey Burren fifth and Dane Kealoha of Hawaii sixth

Surfers were allowed to stay in the water for one-and-a-half hours with unlimited rides. A minimum of five waves was required from each finalist. A northerly swell caused the hollow Pipehm waves to break sooner and faster than usual, closing out frequently on the competitors and creating less than ideal conditions for championship rides.

Lopez scooted in and out of the hollow 10-foot tubes with ease, but Blair who recently won the world’s richest surfing contest—the Coke 2SM Surfahout in Australia—won the tabulation by a panel of international judges and was awarded the best five rides. This was Blair's first competition in Hawaii.

"I’ve only competed in two professional contests in my life and I've won them both," he said. "I was nervous and excited. I thought the surf was great My last wave was perfection, the only way to end the heat."

1978 Pipeline Masters

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