Buddy, after the assault. Check his story.

We sat on the beach, disappointed. We knew that it was going to be small; that was a given. What we didn’t count on was that the trades would kick up again, turning Pyramid Rock into onshore mush.

Just the day before, Makani and Buddy scored small, but glassy stuff on that very beach. Even in the predawn, it was dead calm on the Town side of the island. But as soon as we got to the Windward side, it started blowing. I must be a curse!

We watched as ghost crabs scurried across the beach, trying to find some security before dawn. Finally, I decided if I wasn’t going to catch any good waves, at least I was going to catch a few crabs.

Those buggahs were good-sized and real fast. I was zigging and zagging all around, trying to catch them, tossing sand, scooping them up, and finally cornering a couple.

Buddy was amused by my antics and wanted to get into the act. He had a small piece of surf wax and coaxed my crab to pinch it. As I brought the crab over, it suddenly snapped at the wax, totally startling Buddy. In reflex, he pulled his hand back taking the crab with him.

Unfortunately, the crab lost his grip and in some cruel act of coincidence, headed straight for the only hard surface in the vicinity--Buddy’s surfboard! It landed with a sickening THWAP!

The crab was obviously stunned, and seemed to have broken two of his legs. As far as living in the wild, he was a goner. I gingerly put him in one of the crab holes, knowing full well that the current occupant would eventually chase him out to a certain death.

Buddy and I felt all guilty, but there was nothing we could do. So we surfed.

It was about waist-to-chest-high, mushy, but surprisingly punchy. Buddy was harnessing the little power pockets for some good banks off the sections.

I was having fun on my bullyboard, then switched to my performance bodyboard. The transition was like going from a longboard to a shortboard--at first it felt like a little toy. But after a few waves, it felt oh so responsive and maneuverable.

Incredibly, we had the whole beach to ourselves the whole time. It wasn’t all that great, but it was still real fun. We surfed for about two and a half hours before calling it a day.

Aloha from Paradise,