Taking off in the hook

Date: October 15, 2004
Time: 0800--1100
Spot(s): Pipe/BD/OTW
Conditions: Mostly light trades, typical (but local) Ehukai crowds
Swell: Significantly declined from the previous days, but still fun
Surf: 2-4'+ Haw'n

Words: With the Brewer getting first aid, I decided to go back to my roots and bodyboard Pipe. When I got there, I was stoked to find the surf really fun. The crowd was pretty thick, but the crew was more locals and quite respectful. If you took off deep, the wave was yours.

Had fun taking pictures in the water. Latronic was out shooting too, so we talked story a bit and shot each other.

Well, I started off with a bang, shoulder-hopping a few really good tubes. At this size, this wave is just so fun. Backdoor was cracking too, and I forced myself into a couple of deep ones and one bigger closeout.

Saw some of the new Pipe crew just dominating out there. I remember being on the shoulder at Backdoor, super tentative while considering the takeoff. Then I look 20 yards to my inside and see like Jaime O'Brien taking off in the pit.

Most of the bodyboarders were hanging at OTW, so I paddled over to say hi. I couldn't catch anything there, so I took off on one closeout and tried to stand on my board, getting bowled over big time. Oh well.

Went back to Pipe, but the swell had already tapered significantly. Kinda putzed around for the rest of the session until it was time to leave. Reconnecting with bodyboarding was really nice.

Aloha from Paradise,

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