Small, but juicy--note the camera in Buddy's hand

The crew set up a dawn patrol to Backyards. Since I had a lunch party to attend, I drove separately, and got there a bit early.

The swell was down big time from the previous day, so when the boys arrived, we decided to check out Velzyland There we hooked up with a couple more guys, Hiram and Steve, who were friends of Rich. It was nice out there, but three guys were already out, with more to come. Backyards was the call.

The waves were head-high and super glassy out there. Everyone was on their small shortboards, except for me and my tanker.

I immediately dialed into some beautiful walls, just racing down the line with no real break of trim. Fun!

Everyone else was tearing it up: Makani was going mental, just tagging the lip and throwing fans. Rich was powering again, doing some heavy carves. Buddy slapped the lips with abandon, especially after gouging an eight inch line into his board on the coral during a shallow duck-dive. Big Hiram was surfing hard for man of his stature, and had an infectious laugh that kept everyone in good spirits. I missed Steve’s rides, but I know he caught some sets off the far peak.

For most of the session, we had it all to ourselves, just sharing waves in the fun lineup. Buddy and I had one of those classic, "You take it", "No, you take it" situations. I ended up going... over the falls, that is, laughing all the way.

Had to run away early, so I left on a left, which turned out to be one of the prettiest waves of the day for me. Leaned into a shoulder-high wall going backside, surfing directly into the sun. The reef was crystal clear below, and the water looked pristine, sparkling in the morning light. I did a few weak pumps then saw the closeout section rolling my way. Banked it smoothly off the oncoming foamball and straightened out to shore.

After my serious surf sesh at Lani’s and my closeout sponge riding at Off the Wall, fooling around with friends in the small, but juicy surf was a welcomed relief. But then again, it’s always fun to play in your own backyard.

Also check out Buddy's pics.

Aloha from Paradise,