Every spot has its day

My friend Jon used to drag me with him to ride the spot, starting when I was around 14 or so (around 1978). I never liked the wave, but out of sheer peer pressure, I forced myself to ride it.

Sometimes, the wave could be a mutant from hell. Swells would come in and just heave on the sandbar in one quick closeout. All you could hope for was a momentary view of a barrel before going through an especially rough and sandy rinse cycle.

Every once in a while, like every surf spot, conditions would come together and an epic wave would unfold. But I never ever snagged a good one.

Running Waters was one of the places where I started playing around with surf photography. Besides beach shots with an old Pentax and a 200 mm lens, I tried out an Ewa Marine waterproof bag and managed to get some really neat shots. Using that plastic bag was very cumbersome in the small but powerful surf. However, it really revealed how unusual this wave really was.

Some people raved about riding the spot (bodyboarders and bodysurfers only). However, I really thought the wave stunk. My meager riding and paddling skills allowed me very few good rides. The ones I did catch always ended with a wicked tumbling and nasal cleansing.

There were some stories about the place that didn't really relate to surfing. Guess a lot of my classmates used to cut out of school and go there to "smoke." Also, rumor had it that one of my other classmates got pregnant there--damn, when I was in the 9th grade, my naive brain just couldn't fathom “the act."

Even my dad had a story of the place. He was (and still is) an avid fisherman who sometimes went dunking there. One early morning well before dawn, he was making his way through the buffalo grass and narrow trail to the shoreline. Suddenly, two huge eyes popped up in front of him. He was so startled that he let out a yell. That was when he realized that the eyes belonged to a stray cow that immediately bolted in fright. Cracked me up.

Our crew once caught it on a huge day. We all went out in the lineup and got totally pounded. Don't know if anyone really scored any decent rides that day. Later, as we were cruising on the rocks, a giant set blew up and dragged my friends across the lava--and I got it all on film!

Anyway, as Jon and I got our drivers licenses, we eventually started venturing out more and more to Poipu and the much better quality surf at Brenneckes. Still, Running Waters will always hold a special place in my heart as the place where I gained a love/hate relationship with the ocean--a feeling that I have carried to this day.