I should've known there was some ulterior motive. I found out that he had a tennis match in town, and wanted to get wet beforehand. Of course, Town would be small, "guarans ball-bearin's." That's ok, it would give me a chance to rag on him again.

We decided to meet at Ala Moana Beach Park at 7:30 am and surf at Big Rights. However, when we got there, Big Rights just wasn't working, but Courts looked pretty good and was empty. So we went for it.

Courts, a predominant longboarding spot, is named after the tennis courts fronting the wave. It was the very same tennis courts that Jimmy was scheduled to play at later that morning. There must be some irony or profundity in there somewhere; I just can't figure out what.

By the time we paddled out, three longboarders were in the lineup ahead of us. Jimmy was using my old mini-tank (7' 10"), and I was bodyboarding. Although the surf was small, maybe waist-to-chest high, it was pretty fun, with long righthand peelers hooking in.

Right off the bat, I started getting into little skirmishes with one of the longboarders. He dropped in on me twice, then block paddled me a couple times. Deep down inside, I was fuming; but, being the nonconfrontational guy I am, I maintained my composure and tried to enjoy the sesh. I thought it was one of those surfboard/bodyboard psyche trips, but after watching him burn a couple of other surfers, I realized he was just a dick.

I managed to paddle into a few nice ones, riding them all the way to the inside. I even successfully performed a reverse-floater-360; a rather standard maneuver with an imposing name that I have never quite mastered.

Jimmy was baited more than a few times by the deepwater peak that sometimes popped up on the Ewa side of the break. However, he brought his wave count up towards the end, and even caught a long right all the way into the shallows, maybe 50 yards.

Jimmy started talking story with one of the longboarders, and found out that they used to work together, almost 20 years ago! As a matter of fact, they even went surfing together way back when. It’s a small island.

Towards the end of the sesh, we swapped boards, and I (once again) got reacquainted to my old mini. I'm a poser at heart, and love running to the nose and acting like a hood ornament. I can't wait to get myself a tank for the summer.

After a couple of hours, the winds started to pick up along with the crowd, so we bailed. Anyway, Jimmy had another court appearance to go to.

P.S. Jimmy won on both courts. But then again, you always win when you go surfing.

Aloha from Paradise,