Surfing

I am fortunate to live on the beautiful Windward side of the island, but for the past few weeks not so fortunate because of the variable winds conditions resulting in stifling weather conditions.  I had been praying for the trades to come back and about to dump a glass of cold water on my head when it dawned on me, variable winds = good surf on the East-side!

Now when I mean “East-side” I  am referring to the East-side of the island of Oahu such as Kailua, Kaneohe, Ka’a'awa, Punalu’u, Hau’ula, Laie, and Kahuku.  I have been living on this side of the island in Kahalu’u for the past 7 years and I have been honored to surf some of these secret local breaks.  I exclude Sandy Beach and Makapu’u simply for the fact that there is currently a surf report done on these surf locations and they may be considered “East-side” breaks but there are no secrets here.  As for the rest of the areas for those who know where to go and when to go, these places can produce some of the best surf on the island with NO CROWDS!

To catch great surf on the East-side many factors must be just right.

#1. The right winds.

#2. Large swells generating from either the north or the south.

#3. The right tide.

#4. No hungry sharks around.

If one of these factors are just a little off the surf won’t be right and most times un-surfable.  I have driven out to a particular break many times and have not paddled out because the conditions were wrong.

There are also other factors to consider when thinking about surfing the East-side.   Firstly, most of the surf breaks cannot be seen by the untrained surfer eye.  The surf breaks are either so far out that most people don’t even notice surfers or to get to the break you have to go through parks or even people’s houses.  Next once you’ve found the break, there are no surf reports for any of the breaks from Kailua to Kahuku, so you must physically be standing in front of the break to know how it is.  Once you decide you should paddle out most of the East-side breaks have no formal parking area, so you must park your car at your own risk, which is usually on the side of the road or in a neighborhood.  Another thing to remember is that the locals who surf these spots don’t like foreigners (anyone else that didn’t grow up surfing there) so be prepared not to be welcomed and even hated on.

Lastly and most importantly, if you are lucky to spot a break with ideal conditions, find a parking, and decide to go out, understand that whatever wave size you think it is the actual height when you paddle out is usually twice that size and double the strength.  East-side breaks tend to be very deceiving and usually not in the new-comers favor.  East-side breaks tend to barrel on the reef and waves come with lots of speed and power behind it.  Trust me, over the years I have learned all these things out the hard way.

As I took the 20 minute paddle out to an undisclosed surf break this weekend I got into “serious surfer mode.”  After the stare down by the locals and without any smiling I took a spot off the peak out of the way.  Surfing with “east-siders” is one like no other.  There is a very different vibe with a focus on catching as many waves as possible and not getting killed on the reef.  These guys are about ripping it up, safety, and camaraderie, not about showing off, dropping in on someone, and bragging about it.  It was an amazing day with head high waves and some of the best glass-est surf I had seen in months and months.  Even I got a few choice waves and I even saw one smile come my way from a local.

I would like to warn tourists and new surfers of East-side breaks.  These spots aren’t for the light hearted and in my opinion because of all the sketchy variables the East-side can be a tougher place than North Shore.  I respect the locals in cherishing these untouched spots and will never publish the actual locations or names of the breaks that I have been to for fear of ruining their spots.  If you surf the East-side consider yourself lucky, always respect the locals and the beaches, and don’t forget to watch your back for sharks.

Recently,  on a short visit to Kauai’s North Shore I got the opportunity to surf Hanalei Bay.  I was not expecting to surf on that quick visit and did not bring any surfboards, but was surprisingly pleased to fine some fun waves and a surfboard rental place all in walking distance at Hanalei Bay.  It was a sunny weekday and the waves were 2-4 feet Hawaiian scale and looking fun.  On that same day that I was there Laird Hamilton was rumored to have been surfing Hanalei Bay and I even spotted his wife Gabrielle Reece and one of their children on the beach.

My rental car was not equipped with surf racks if I wanted to rent a board in the town of Hanalei Bay, so the rental shop or ”grass hut” Hawaiian Surfing Adventures that is located steps from Black Pot Beach was very convenient for me.  This place offered surfing lessons, board rentals, and water adventures at reasonable prices.  To rent a board it was $10 an hour, $5 additional or $20 a day.  The boards they have for rent were soft-top foam boards, hard-top longboard tankers, and epoxy boards.  They even had stand-up paddle boards for rent and lessons.

So, I rented a 6 foot 10 inch epoxy board and followed the locals out to a surf break called “the bowl” and had a great 1 hour surf session.  There were a few other surf breaks in sight and some out on the point that were coming in about 1-2 feet bigger than where I surfed at.  The breaks were pretty crowded with a mixture of locals, tourists, and some professionals, but everyone was friendly and got their waves.  Overall, I thought the surf at “the bowl” was A quality, an intermediate wave and I was wishing that I had brought my short board with me on this trip.  The ocean water was surprisingly chilly because of the closeness to the crisp river water.  This was my first time to surf the North Shore of Kauai and will definitely be back with my boards and long sleeve wet suit to try again.

This year the Women’s Pipeline Pro will be have their holding period from March 31st to April 14 on the infamous Banzai Pipeline on Oahu’s North Shore.  They will hold 3 days of competition from 8 am to 4 pm in women’s longboarding ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals), shortboarding ASP, and bodyboarding IBA (International Bodyboarders Association) allowing 180 female competitors coming from all over the world.  This year will mark 20 years for the Women’s Pipeline Pro which began on 1988.  The Pipeline Pro was orginally started by women bodyboarders, who were the first ever to charge this male dominated surf break.  This year’s purse is the highest in 20 years at $50,000.

This year, pro surfers have teams up with Girl Scouts of Hawaii to help celebrate Women’s leadership.  Pipeline Pro’s 2009 contest theme is courage, confidence, and character, which are common threads between female surfers and scouts.  The women’s surfing community is hoping to inspire young girls to become leaders and live a healty active lifestyle and excel in sports.  This year’s contest will be  dedicated to Women leaders who help make surfing what it is today.  One of those leaders is Patsy Mink a Hawaii congresswoman from the 1970s who worked hard for equal rights for women.  Because of the legislation that was passed by Mink, the Patsy T. Mink Equal Oppurtunity in Education Act of 1972,  women were able to get federal funding to play sports in school.  

The Hawaii women’s surf community is excited and fully charged for this years Pipeline Pro.  As a female surfer I feel women’s surfing has come a long way.  Women are only now being more respected and recognized in the water for their strengths and accomplishments.  Young girls growing up can look forward to becoming anything they want to be including fierce waterwomen.  My good friend, professional bodyboarder Ayako Ancheta is sitting this contest out this year, but only because she is 8 months pregnant.  She has competed in the world tour from 2000 to 2005 and she is an excellent example of a strong water sportswoman.  Not only does she work as a real estate agent, she is also already a proud mother of a three year old son, and she still finds time to surf the north shore with me, pregnant and all.  Women like Ayako give young girls much to look up to.

Ayako & Taryn after surfing V-land, photo by Larry Haynes

The winter season has been “epic” for the North Shore of Oahu.  The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing completed all three jewels with great competition. Swells have been piling up keeping all the surfing enthusiasts from around the world making the pilgrimage to breaks like Pipeline and Sunset.

This week, marked the largest surf arriving to the Hawaiian islands with wave face heights predicted to reach 35 feet. All this buzz is creating anticipation that the Quicksilver Eddie Aikau Big Wave Event at Waimea Bay will go off. The event, which has a holding period of 3 months, has only occurred 7 times in the past 23 years with the most recent being just over 3 years ago in December of 2005. I was able to make that one, and believe me, you want to take off of work and make it up there.

The Eddie is an invitation only event to honor legendary big wave surfer Eddie Aikau who passed away more than 30 years ago trying to save shipmates from a terrible storm. The best big wave riders in the world travel to the North Shore of Oahu to compete in a paddle only surfing event that happens when conditions are right. Paddle only means no watercraft tow-in, and conditions being right are 30 foot plus wave face heights.

So will the Eddie go in 2009?

Well this week has brought massive surf to the Hawaiian islands with wave heights expected to reach 30 feet. However, the week has also brought poor conditions, with wind gusts reaching 60 miles per hour, rain causing the bay to turn brown and surf that just looks choppy.

Looks like the Eddie Aikau Invitational won’t go this week from the most recent article at the Quicksilver site, here, but we’ll be tracking the progress and let you know as soon as we know.

Sunday at "Brown" Lanikea's Surfbreak

After Thursday’s massive rain storm and rain showers all weekend, Sunday was the first real sunny day.  I was happy to venture out of my house and maybe do some surfing.  The winds were perfect and the conditions would be right for me, so I thought.

I went around the eastside past Kualoa and began to see the sea of brown.  The sea of brown continued all the way up the coastline getting browner as I went up north.  Velzyland and Sunset looked a disappointing brown and there were about a handful of surfing on the clean 2-4 foot Hawaiian scale size surf.  I thought I should check all the breaks just in case and continued up to Haleiwa, but to my dismay it got even browner as I passed Waimea Bay.

Hawaii State Officials have warned residents to stay out of streams and coastal waters that have turned brown and murky by storm waters since  Thursday’s downpour.  These waters and flooded areas may contain chemical pollutants or harmful micro-organisms from overflowing cesspools, septic tanks, as well as animal feces.  The Department of Health even issued a Brown Water Advisory for all of Hawaii until conditions clear.

After remembering all this information and staring at the dark brown water all morning I decided against risking my health.  There are many things I will sacrifice for surf such as work, family functions, or even a boyfriend, but after careful deliberation I decided that getting leptospirosis (a bacterial infection) was not the sacrifice I was willing to take today.

To the few surfers I did see in the water I wish you good luck.  I envy you for getting clean, uncrowded North Shore to yourselves, but I don’t envy you for all the bacteria that you may have ingested into your body.

If you haven’t yet gotten your fill at the Black Friday shopping bonanza, there’s plenty more to be had today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hawaiian South Shore “Swap Meet.”  The name is deceiving in itself because I wrongly assumed the sale would be happening at Aloha Stadium where the weekend “Swap Meet” begins at 8 a.m.  I was all ready to wake up bright and early to score the best stuff, but luckily was informed that the Hawaiian South Shore “Swap Meet” is happening just down the street from where I live!  Clearly, they don’t call it Hawaiian South Shore for nothing.

This one-day, four-hour sale will happen right next to the store on Ward Avenue (across from Sports Authority), and will feature (count ‘em) ten different vendors selling the latest, greatest, and (hopefully) cheap surf gear and apparel for your holiday needs — or simply for your personal needs.  I fall into the latter category, as I’m in desperate need for a winter board for days on the North Shore.  There will be a tent full of great stuff, and Rainbow Drive-Inn will be serving plate lunch!  Even if you leave empty handed, you can leave with a full stomach!

Hawaiian South Shore has become my favorite surf store on the island.  A relatively new store, it always carries some great boards and surf gear.  One bonus is that it has the friendliest staff around.  Dave Kelly (the owner) and Sarisa (a staffer) are the nicest, smiliest people I’ve met.  I can’t imagine you being disappointed by going, so do make an effort to get there early while supplies last.  I’ll be there around noon to grab that perfect winter board, so I’ll see you there!

Hawaiian South Shore
320 Ward Ave
#808.597.9055
www.hawaiiansouthshore.com
hawaiiansouthshore@gmail.com

It is known as the most famous wave in the world, the wave that all other waves are measured against, and this wave is Pipeline. Gerry Lopez, a surfer who built a surfing career from Pipeline, sums up Pipeline as, “A matter of precise timing, strong paddling, and mostly a lot of luck.” In the surfing world, Lopez has earned the nickname of Mr. Pipeline and has been one of the most influential surfers to ever surf Pipeline.

Located on Oahu’s North Shore, Pipeline has provided the arena in which the world’s surfers travel to in order to prove their worthiness in some of the world’s best waves. Pipeline is known for being one of the most dangerous waves in the world. Having a shallow coral reef and a lack of continental shelf to break up the open-ocean swells, throw a mix of large crowds of wave riders all trying to get a piece of the action, and what Pipeline provides is an extremely dangerous, extremely entertaining show every year.

Pipeline breaks in the winter of the Northern Hemisphere, when storms from Alaska send groundswells towards the North Shore of Oahu from thousands of miles away. The waves are able to travel in great distances across the northern Pacific Ocean, and in this, they become shaped or “groomed”, keeping their powers concentrated. With Oahu having a coast directly exposed to this part of the ocean and a lack of a continental shelf, the waves here explode near the beach with an extreme intensity that is not found in most places on earth.

Every year, thousands of surfers and bodyboarders travel to Oahu in order to ride the North Shore — Pipeline being the main attraction of this attraction. Coming from all ends of the earth, wave riders test their skills at this famous spot. It is a wonderful thing that many great wave riders come to Pipeline to ride, but here’s the catch: Pipeline only breaks consistently in the months of November to March. Not only does it not break most of the year, shortening the window of time in which wave riders can take it on, but the people who do surf here are amongst the best in the world. This adds a very real and very dangerous aspect to surfing Pipeline.

It is quite impressive that Pipeline is a perfect wave that breaks in a few feet of water, but when taking into consideration that there are 50 of the world’s best wave riders riding the same spot, and in an area of a basketball court, it becomes more than dangerous. “These guys nowadays are so fearless. It’s such a competitive thing out there; they get a chance at a wave, and even though it’s not a good wave, they’re just going to go,” adds Mr. Pipeline.

Pipeline earned its reputation early on because it is simply a perfect wave. Depending on the day, one may go in either direction on the wave. The right is known as Backdoor and the left is called Pipeline. A person can drop straight into a wave, like a vertical drop into a smooth bottom turn, resulting in a loss of speed just enough for the throwing lip of the wave to cover the rider.

Jeff Hubbard, a graduate of HPU, currently working on his master degree, bodyboards Pipeline often, and has been featured in a HPU commercial. Hubbard, who was the winner of the 2006 Pipeline contest as well as the world title, explains, “My favorite wave in the world has to be Pipeline; I love it. I have the most fun out there than anywhere else, and it’s in my backyard, even better.”

History was made on the North Shore of Oahu yesterday as 16 year old Carissa Moore won the first leg of the Vans Triple Crown.

The Punahou student took the Reef Hawaiian Pro, the women’s division, at Hale’iwa Ali’i Beach on Thursday. In a tight heat Carissa beat out seven time world champion Layne Beachley. Laura Enever a 17 year old from Australia, placed third, with North Shore’s Coco Ho also 17, coming in fourth. It was a young final as Layne Beachley was the oldest of the group.

An amazed Carissa said she was nervous out on the water and just trying to have fun.

Windy weather is caused poor surfing conditions for Oahu on a Monday that should have seen some decent waves.

Predicted for the north shore were 2-4 foot (Hawaiian scale) waves that would have produced nice conditions had it not been for that stronge NE wind.  Out on the east side of the island, the huge surf observed Sunday carried into monday but rain and wind caused many to stay out of the water.

The rest of the week looks pitiful as the North and East facing shores may see 2-5 foot faces today tapering off to flat, flat, and more flat around the island.  The next sweel looks like it will be arriving on the shores of Oahu come Friday where 8-12 foot faces will help the surf contests on the north shore and 5 – 8 foot faces will bring fun to the westside.

On the south and east facing shores, loos like winter as usual with flat to 3 expected for most of the week.  Be ready though. Saturday and sunday, could provide some much needed water relief if the mini bump comes in at 2 – 5 foot faces.

Enjoy!

Big surf is expected on the North Shore this week and through the weekend.  The surf is coming right as the first jewel in the Vans Triple Crown begins Wednesday November 12, 2008.  The Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa is this first Jewel.

The swell is predicted to reach peak on Thursday at 10 – 20 foot faces with a resurgence on Sunday of possible 15 -25 foot faces.

The west shore will see possible 10 to 12 foot faces starting Wednesday through the weekend with even the south shore getting in on the action with faces of 3 to 5 feet.

Have Fun!