This set was was pretty awesome. And yeah, I got rolled.

Date: September 15, 2004
Time: 0545--0645, 1700--1800
Spot(s): south shore
Conditions: Light winds, lightish crowd
Swell: Declining south swell
Surf: 2-3'+ Haw'n

Words: Stoked that work took me back home to Kauai. Because of the travel prep, I missed the peak of the swell, but I did manage to catch some of it on the Garden Island. Brought a bust-up 6'6" that I learned on. Interestingly, it was shaped by Kauai legend Terry Chung.

Paddled out before dawn to one spot that just wasn't working. Went over the falls on the first wave, and just couldn't figure out the lineup (I never cared for that wave). Ended up paddling to another spot that was way way better.

Met old acquaintance and local shredder Reuben Balmores who was ruling the spot. Caught a few insiders before rushing in to go to work.

Work ended a bit early, so I had enough time to go out in the afternoon. Not quite as good as the morning, but the crowd was surprisingly light, so I got my share of waves with a real positive crowd.

I couldn't help but feel that the board just belonged back home because it just worked, especially in that lineup. Felt like I returned the board back to the source.

Aloha from Paradise,

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