Backside Buddy
Check out Buddy's photos.

Expectations were high. The surf was forecast to rise to four feet (Haw'n) and we were all fired up.

Picked up Buddy at 5 AM and met up with Makani at Jimmylands soon after. In the darkness, we strained to see whitewater on the faraway break, but there were very little signs of life.

Waxed up and all ready to go, we hesitated for a long time before making the journey out to the lineup. Hardly a ripple came through during the long walk out. Wrong call or what?

Surf was small, but there seemed to be a swell starting to show. And as expected, there was nobody out.

We jammed through the first break, across the channel and into the prime peak. The surf immediately started to pick up with some infrequent, but clean head-high sets. It eventually started pushing overhead, with nice, slopey, killable walls.

Makani tore up the course, shralping both rights and lefts with his leashless 6'5". It’s fun watching him from the back--he disappears from sight, then suddenly throws a nice fan, with most of the board just out there.

Of course, he went the full stylemaster trip again when we swapped boards. On my longboard, the man just ripped, blending that 50/50 old school/new school technique. He loves my tank--sorry, it ain't for sale.

However, Buddy was the star of the day, snagging the best bowls on the rights. Makani and I were shoulder-side witnesses to two great roundhouses that he set up so nicely. Shweet!

As for myself, I was far from being in the zone, but had a fun sesh nonetheless. There were a couple of waves where I really felt in control of my longboard, turning at will without losing too much speed. No outstanding maneuvers or waves on my part, just some moments of good flow. Had a pretty good time on Makani’s board too, but Slater I ain’t.

Throughout the whole three plus hour session, the only visitor we had was this chatty 'yakker who talked about the good old days in Town, but still acted like he didn't understand wave etiquette by taking off on Makani more than a few times.

When it was time to leave, we all waited for "one more wave". When the set finally came through, Makani snagged one but Buddy and I were left scratching, and ended up paddling across the channel with no last ride.

However, we both lucked into the same last wave on the inside break, this time icing Makani behind, with me taking a pic of a carving Buddy. Fun way to end the sesh.

The high expectations from the forecast were dashed on the beach. However, once out there, the surf turned up a notch and provided a more than decent session. I think lowering our expectations made the session that much more satisfying.

Aloha from Paradise,