Just before 10am local time this morning, Maui’s Dusty Payne suffered a serious wipeout after hitting the reef at Backdoor. Payne was underwater for five waves — approximately a minute and 20 seconds.

“I was padding back out to Pipe and I saw Dusty going for the wave,” said Big Island charger Jimmy “Ulu Boi” Napeahi. “It was a super steep drop, right where you don’t want to fall. So when he fell, I knew it was a nuts wipeout and started paying attention. Pretty soon, Keoki [Saguibo, longtime North Shore photog] yelled — I caught a little wave and beelined to Dusty and tugged on his leash to see if he was there.”

Ulu Boi continued: “Keoki pulled him up and was holding his neck; I had his legs straddled around my waist and my hands on his back so his neck was straight. Luckily, Keoki is a strong swimmer and a really good communicator. He was facing the waves and would call out when one was coming so we could spin sideways and go under. It was gnarly, ’cause there was so much blood; it looked like Dusty hit his forehead on the reef and he was foaming at the mouth.”

“Finally, we got him to the beach and there was a lot of people there so we let the experts take over. And I don’t how bad it is — but Dusty was yelling and swearing right before getting in the ambulance, and that’s the best thing I have in my mind right now.”

As of press time, Payne is conscious at the hospital.

This injury rings especially tough. Exactly a month ago, Payne won the Pipe Trials. He’d had back surgery the year before and barely surfed in 2017, but came back through a solid field to take the win and was looking happy, relaxed and confident.

“I’m just stoked to be healthy,” he told us at the time. “For the last five years, I was in a lot of pain and it took its toll on me. I got really down and negative thoughts kept creeping in my head. But I’m getting better, probably 80% right now. And I’m surfing for myself.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with Dusty, his friends and family.

Stay tuned as more details emerge.