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 Small Mountains Date: December 22, 2002
Words: Woke up real early in hopes of jumping in at Pipe predawn under the near full moon. I've been sick the past few days with a cold, so I had to convince my wife that surfing would be good for it. Arrived at Ehukai Beach Park at 0505, plopped down on the cool sand, and was blown away by the surf. When the sets came, it looked like at least eight feet Haw'n and just grinding. The waves were even spitting these firehose sprays when the tubes collapsed from the inside. I spent nearly an hour there, trying to decide if I could surf it. Since I was sick, I continually spat bits of phlegm as I looked (dreamed) on. There were lulls, but the lateral shoreline current looked especially nasty, and the swell direction seemed to be a bit too north, shutting down most of the waves. I finally decided that I would not do well out there, and drove away. Paddled out at Laniakea at 0630. Didn't understand it but the waves were surprisingly choppy and messy. Also, the rip was running quite hard (Buddy explained to me later that it was the rip that was chopping up the conditions). Surf was decent-sized and jumbled. Early on, I scored a long ride, bouncing most of the way. Got caught inside a few times too--not too fun. In fact, on one I actually got rolled on the reef--kind of rare at Lani's. When Buddy and Rich came, they suggested we head out to Himalayas. After one inconsistent spell, I was more than willing to give it a shot. When we got there, we found that the waves were also inconsistent, but when they came, they were pretty solid. I was fortunate enough to dial into a really long one that traveled through three distinct bowl sections, riding for almost a hundred yards. Came in pretty tired after a nearly four-hour session. Although I didn't get a chance savor the spitting tubes at Pipe, I did climb some of the smaller mountains of Himalayas.
Aloha from Paradise,  |
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