Me in the bowl, Bud foto

My last few sessions had been exercises in frustration as the good waves were wasted by lousy winds and a lousy rider (me). I just had to break out.

Unfortunately, the swell was on the wane, and we were left with a forecast of 1-3’ (Haw’n) on the south. At least the winds were supposed to be fairly light. Good ‘ole Diamond Head Lighthouse was the call.

This time, I managed to get my old buddy Jerry back in the lineup. He has been traveling so much that he hasn’t had the time to get wet. Also, late sleeper Jimmy surprisingly said that he’d join us, although he’d be coming in the water later on.

Met up with Jerry at 5:30 AM at the lookout. Jerr had his girl in tow, and she decided to rest in his truck while he partook in the action.

We paddled out with a couple of other dawn patrollers and were all happy to find some better than expected waves. Sets were inconsistent, but they were head-high plus with good form.

Right off the bat, Jerry snagged this sweet one, carving right in the hook and riding it all the way through the inside reef. Considering he hadn’t touched the water for months, Jerry did really well, catching some fun ones.

I had a great time myself. I was sporting a new Custom X bodyboard that was a bit different than what I was used to (excuse the elaboration). This board has more of a standard template with a wider nose (12") and a gull-wing tail. It has a flexible Polypropylene core with a smooth, Cross-link deck skin, and even has a fiberglass stringer to maintain stiffness. It’s a pretty radical departure from my last few boards.

As expected, the rails felt really different. I had to fine-tune my trimming, but the wider nose allowed for a much faster down-the line experience. I thought that the stringer theory was a bit far-fetched for bodyboards, but on some of my (meager) launches, I could actually feel the recoil. Don’t know if it is more the core than the stringer. Time will tell, but from my initial reviews, I liked what I felt.

Soon enough, Buddy paddled out and proceeded to carve it up. Got some good blasts in the smooth conditions, throwing his tail a few times.

Then Jimmy came out on his tank and proceeded to grab some great waves. That punk immediately dropped in on me, nearly taking my head off in the process. Had to get back at him by throwing insults in the crowded lineup ("Eh, what’s wit da wetsuit? Neon colors went out with the 80’s!").

Just before 8 AM ("Right on schedule," said Buddy), the winds started to kick in. In no time, our glass turned into rough chop. Such is life.

Buddy and Jerry had to leave early, but just before they left, I managed to snag a nice bowl in front of everyone which surprisingly threw right from the takeoff. Got a lucky coverup before racing to the inside.

This was the smallest, most crowded session we surfed in over a month. Even then, for me it was the best. More importantly, it rekindled my dying embers of stoke. Consider me rejuvenated!

Aloha from Paradise,