A light jab pulled me out of my deep slumber. "Aren’t you going surfing with Jerry today?", my wife asked. I immediately leapt to my feet, knowing I had overslept. It was 4:50 am, and I was supposed to meet Jerry at 5 in the parking near Jimmylands. I was late!

I *hate* when people are late for surf sessions with me. So I wanted to beat myself with a stick knowing that I would be guilty of the same offense. Fortunately, when I got to the surf parking area, I found Jerry arriving simultaneously—whew! Two late birds.

Looking to the horizon, we saw a bit of whitewater at the break, so we quickly geared up and made the trek to the jump point. Jerry had just gotten back from an extended work trip, and had undergone minor knee surgery prior to that. Needless to say, he was itching to get back in the water and start bodyboarding again. I, on the other hand, always itch.

Jerry brought his bodyboard, my old Custom X custom square-tail board; and I used my buddy Jimmy’s minitank, also, one of my old boards. I’m like an older brother, passing hand-me-down gear to my friends; always at a fair price, of course. :-)

We were stoked to find the surf clean, but more importantly empty. It was head-high, with some bigger ones, and better than my last sesh here with Jimmy. Being there at early dawn made it extra special, with the city waking up right in front of us.

We started at the first break, catching some smaller ones. The waves were a bit odd, with a smaller set always interleaved with the bigger one. I caught one funky wave that felt like a tiny half-pipe, with one wave rolling in right behind another.

Later, we paddled across the channel to Jimmylands. Though a bit inconsistent, when the waves came, they were reeling!

Jerry caught a lot of good rides, including a couple of 75-100 yarders. However, the best one I saw him take was *the bomb set* that stood up with an eight foot face. He cleanly raced down the line and rode it into the channel.

I was a bit out of synch, missing some of the biggest wave. I flubbed a *slow* backside roundhouse and lost my board on the ensuing wipeout. Ended up swimming for 50 yards--grrrr!

However, I did cut my losses with a couple of nice backside rides. On my last one, I got into a rhythm, carving mid-face (although in my mind it felt like full-on lip snaps), trimming fast down the line. I can see why a lot of riders prefer going backside--lots of torque and pivot, if you do it right.

We were relishing the emptiness when some unfamiliar voices broke our private moment. About a dozen surfers and bodyboarders suddenly swarmed both peaks. Where the hell did they come from?

Fortunately, by then it was time for us to leave. I guess our secret spot was not such a big secret after all. Should’ve known that there really aren’t any secret spots on Oahu.

Aloha from Paradise,