The Man Who Fell from the Sky. (makani foto)
Check out Buddy's story and photos.

Sunday was looking to be a good day on the south, with a solid swell expected to peak in the mid-day. We were amped!

Buddy came early to pick me up and had a surprise passenger--Makani! He had just come back from a family vacation and in the past two weeks had only a wave pool session to his credit. No need to say that he was amped, too.

In ten minutes we were on the beach at Q-tips, checking out the situation. The swell was inconsistent, but it looked like it was cracking the reef pretty good. After each of us performed our pre-surf rituals (inside joke), we made the long paddle to the lineup.

It was a bit windy, but not terribly blown. Unfortunately, the surf was a pretty inconsistent 2-4' Haw'n (overhead). It was solid surf, but I guess there's always a bit of disappointment when you’re expecting more.

Buddy dominated again, just tearing up whatever Q-Tips served up. On one of the bigger sets, he got a full-on, dry, stand-up barrel.

Makani said he was a bit out of synch, but he was still ripping backside. Maybe we all should practice in wavepools more often!

Me, I was disappointed by the inconsistent waves and surprisingly large crowd (14 at the max). I sat deep and tried taking off on the bigger waves, but for some reason, I was falling out of the sky more than surfing. Even with paddling gloves on my tanker, I was still doing these late-takeoffs. Guess the waves jack a lot more than they lead you to expect (and I'm a poorer surfer than I’d like to admit).

I had a couple opportunities to pull into some tight tubes, but balked, instead skirting around them. Wimp!

Just before heading in we were treated to a spectacular jump/spin by a large sea creature, maybe 20 yards out. I thought it was a dolphin, but some guys in the lineup whispered that it was a shark. Very uncharacteristic behavior for Mr. Jaws, I pondered, but upon second thought, his underbelly did seem too white and flat for Flipper. There was a long lull, but no one bolted.

In all, a very good workout, especially from getting caught inside on multiple occasions, but a poor showing on my part. Should’ve known that high expectations can lead to a major fall.

Aloha from Paradise,