SURF OBSERVATIONSWorld Surf Day, 2001 -- 4/22/01
Date: Sunday, 4/22/01 World Surf Day is the alt.surfing newsgroup's annual tradition of having a global surf event by all the group's participants. It's traditionally held in the month of April, and this year we decided to coincide it with Earth Day--April 22. Unfortunately, April seems to be one of the worst months for surf globally, and this year was no exception (for Hawaii anyway). Regardless, I was stoked to be a part of the event. It looked like windswell was the call, so I headed out to Kaneohe in search of something to ride. Brought both my longboard and bodyboard just in case. Got there at around 6 AM only to find it a mushy thigh-high at best. Fuggetaboutit!
Finally got to Sandy Beach and was somewhat disappointed to find it smaller than Friday. Still, there were some pretty good tubes funneling in and only a few heads in the water. There were some tents set up in the parking lot, so I decided to talk to the Japanese nationals manning the area. The guy I met said that they were there to shoot a Japanese TV show, and they seemed hunkered down to spend the morning there. The guy then told me that I looked like a top Japanese Major League Baseball player by the name of Hideki Matsui of the Yomiuri Giants (In Okinawa about eight years ago, I was told the same thing). All the other people nodded in acknowledgement. I looked him up--we don't really look alike.
The monk seal didn't show up this time--guess Earth Day wasn't high on his agenda. Still, I picked up some trash on the beach, just to clear my own conscious. A worldwide surf coupled with worldwide environmental awareness. What a concept! Aloha from Paradise,
 Sunrise at the Lookout
 Ray, getting some
 Fitting in
 Shliding out
 The Almond
 Shorebreak Surprise
 Sharing the Closeout
 Inches Deep
 The Good Earth
Aloha from Paradise,
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Decided to take the scenic route through 
Anyway, I jumped in the water and immediately scored some really fun ones on my bodyboard. I felt really confident about my riding (especially since the surf was moderately small). Surprising for me, since the shorebreak at Sandy's kicks butt as it draws water off the sand and doubles up very ominously, even with small conditions.
I paddled over to Pipe Littles and Half Point, but they just weren't happening. Came back to Middles and found my friend Ray Guinto once again. We shared some waves before I decided to go in and shoot some water shots. Got some fun ones, but the patchy sky and inconsistent surf made it a challenge.
