SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.—The Big Wave Blog calls Hawaii’s Pipeline “one of the most perfect and deadly waves in the world.” According to the blog, “Pipeline pitches really quickly as the wave moves over first reef, making for some intense late drops straight into the barrel. … Pipe is strictly for experts only.”

Few people can say they’ve surfed Pipeline. Derek Rabelo may be the only person who has surfed it blind.

UPDATE (10:15 a.m.): President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty today officially annexing Crimea into Russia. Putin gave a 40-minute televised speech, saying, “in people’s hearts and minds, Crimea has always been an integral part of Russia.”

Putin said he has no further designs on the territory of Ukraine, but then accused Ukraine of illegally seceding from the Soviet Union years ago. Ukraine’s new government, born out of revolution just a month ago, said Russia is a threat to the whole world.

The Crimean front in the Ukrainian-Russian crisis has been somewhat quiet the past few days—eerily so for Ukrainians watching Russian troops patrol their streets and knowing the situation could turn suddenly violent. But behind closed doors, Crimea’s Parliament is taking what it says are the first steps towards leaving Ukraine and joining the Russia Federation. 

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday the move would “violate the Ukrainian Constitution and violate international law.”

Just as Ukraine’s months-long protests came to the end and lawmakers began crafting a new government and plans for painful reforms, Russia stepped in. On Feb. 28, unidentified armed men blockaded two airports in Ukraine’s southern resort destination of Crimea. By March 2, Russian troops had control of the entire peninsula, with reports of 16,000 soldiers in the region.

Lounging in an armchair and appearing somewhat flustered, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday made his first public comments since Ukraine’s former president fled and Russian troops took over the strategic Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

Putin said Moscow will use any means necessary to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine—who he claims are suffering at the hands of the new regime in Kiev—but added that only as a last resort would he use force.

After a period of silence, officials in Moscow have confirmed the movement of Russian military forces into Crimea, in southern Ukraine.

UPDATE (Saturday, Feb. 22, 12:30 p.m.): Ukraine's border guard service says that a leading governor and a mayor from the president's eastern base, both allies of now ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, have fled to Russia. Kharkiv regional governor Mikhaylo Dobkin and Kharkiv Mayor Hennady Kernes left Ukraine across the nearby Russian border Saturday.