During the "Boogie" session

Date: September 5, 1999
Location: Westside "secret" spot
Wave height: 2'8" faces
Wave period: 4 seconds
Winds: Light onshores
Water: 75 degrees, chlorinated
Crowd: 200 of my closest friends

For my daughter’s fourth birthday, we decided to have it at the newly opened Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park. Really fun place--I highly recommend it for the keikis.

Anyway, what grabbed my attention, of course, was the wave pool. Wasn’t expecting much, and it really wasn’t all that great. Some sort of machinery pushed out these extremely short interval waves over this rough, hard surface. The crowd was insane, except during a few bodyboarding sessions that I was ignorant of.

Late in the day, I snuck away from the party, and waded into the lineup. The machine was off at the time, and the calm water was filled with flotsam and jetsam of people floating on these huge pink innertubes--oh the humanity! The crowd was abuzz, eagerly anticipating the waves. All of a sudden, I got this déjà vu--it felt just like that scene in "The Titanic" when all the passengers were in the water screaming bloody murder! Creepy!

Eventually, the machine began kicking and everyone started lolling in the waves. Smiles everywhere as the undulating swells rolled through and crumbled to shore. I couldn’t handle the masses, so I quickly made my way in. Of course, I had to bodysurf a few yards just to say I "surfed it".

What is it that makes waves so alluring? I’m not sure, but all I know is that I love them, no matter what kind of water it is.

Aloha from Paradise,