Diamond Head was pretty small

Been real busy with work. Asked Buddy if I could use his report. Will just comment on it.

Oahu Session Report Saturday 7/18/98 (by Bud)

5:10-8:30am
Lighthouse
Overcast becoming clear, light trades
(barely surfable) 1'
me-6'3" T&C thruster

after discussing options over the past few days... hooked up
w/Neal for a dawn patrol at lighthouse. paddling gloves in hand
and longboard waxed, Neal was ready to hit it when i pulled
up to the cliff. it was still dark & hard to tell what was
happening in the water. as we walked down the trail, it became
evident that it was pretty much flat.

paddling out, it looked even worse. i sat for about 15
minutes before trying for a "wave". watched as Neal's second
wave was a cool nose ride on a thigh high set. a bit later... a few
bigger ones started coming in, so naturally, 3 surfers came out.

about an hour into the session, Neal's friend Makani
Mcdonald joined the lineup. a fluid and powerful style, the
dude was impressive as he ripped the tiny surf on a short board.

i found my new narrower board bogged down quickly on the too
frequent flat spots. otherwise it performed much to my
satisfaction. being glassed very light helped alot.

as i stood on a wave, i yelled to Neal that i was going in.
decided to chance a prone straight in over the reef.... fins
scraping most of the way, but nothing "shattering."

Neal came in soon after and the 3 of us talked about getting
together to surf, schedules and waves permitting... looking
forward to that.

I knew Makani from my contest days back on Kauai. We connected on the Net, and I found that he was moving back, so we planned to hook up well in advance. He is an extremely fluid and stylish surfer. Guarans local-pro caliber.

I was worried about them connecting, but I should've known that it wouldn't be a problem. Surfers have a common bond that transcends any differences.

As for the "Bad Call" title, well, we toiled the night before over where we were going to surf. The safest call was Diamond Head, so we went for that. However, the Country was seeing an unseasonal swell, and every north-facing beach was firing well overhead.

Although we missed it surf-wise, it was a great "get-to-know-one-another" session. Both guys are dawn patrol, weekend warrior-types--just like myself--only difference is that they shred. I really look forward to surfing with them more.

Aloha from Paradise,