Makani, taking off

Had the Friday off again, so I decided to jump in the water for a while. Visiting friend Kohei couldn’t make it, but Makani could. We decided via cell that Bowls might be a good call, so that’s where we targeted.

Parking by the Ilikai, I found the surf to be smallish, maybe waist-to-head high, with nice, sunny offshore conditions. It was fairly crowded, but didn’t look all that aggro. Out there!

As I was getting ready, I found that I had parked next to an old bodyboarding acquaintance named Jon. Jon and I used to compete in the amateur ranks and had some fun surf sessions together (most notably one big day at Ehukai when they were calling the North Shore 6-10 ft Haw’n). I had lost touch with him and didn’t see him for seven years or so.

Jon was doing OK, sponging on occasion, but mostly longboarding. He got into the stock market and is doing pretty good. Stoked for the former bad boy bodyboarder. Jon decided to check out another spot with his friend, so we said our goodbyes and I headed out.

The Bowls lineup seems to be changing quite a bit. You still see the same familiar faces, but these one time youngish rippers are turning into older-types with maybe not the clout that they once had. Guess we are all marching along in age.

Another noticeable lineup change is the amount of girls in the water. I counted over a half dozen girls at Bowls alone, all on longboards. This new crop of girls are aggressive and pretty good surfers. (As Makani would later say, “Before you could give them waves, no problem. Now, they are just taking waves, dropping in and all. Different now.”)

Hooked up with Jason Katada in the lineup. He’s one of the originators of Hawaiian Hot Stix surf wax and I used to also see him all the time at amateur surfing contests. Jase has since sold the business, is now repping for Counter Culture, and has recently started Lava surf wax. The guy still rips big time.

We got caught up with the latest happenings. I gotta admit that at one time we did have a bit of a “misunderstanding” between us, but that has long-since been buried.

Makani soon made his way out into the lineup. He was sporting a new longboard with a funky Turbo Tunnel skeg. Said it worked good, facilitating noseriding, but without really sacrificing turning ability.

Makani and I talked a bit with Jason and found that we all had some mutual friends between us. Casual kine conversation, but still it was nice finding out a little about some of the guys I used to surf with.

After several hours, I decided to call it a day. Makani stayed out four a couple of hours more, but he said the conditions deteriorated. I ended up getting a “major” sunburn on my back (didn’t wear my jersey).

The waves were fun, but catching up on other people made this session neat.

Aloha from Paradise,