i wrote this blog on the perfect laniakea day. forgot to post it. here it is:
November 30, 2012: The Day
i’ve been surfing the north shore for the past 27 years and guess what? today’s laniakea was the best i’ve ever seen it, and the best i’ve ever surfed it. when i woke up and checked the waves, i knew that today was going to be special. a solid 8′ north swell with sunny sky and no winds, laniakea was going to be the best spot on the island. i knew i had to take Nakagawa-san surfing today but i wasn’t sure if he could handle the size and power so when i picked him up, i asked him about his surfing level. “hey, what’s the biggest wave you caught?” he said “overhead sunabe.” then i ask him, what’s the biggest board you rode. he said “6’0.” right there, i knew laniakea would be too much for him to handle. then he said “i want a challenge.” eeh? “you want a challenge?” he said “yes, i want to challenge myself as this is my first trip to hawaii.” right there, my switch went ON! i stepped on the gas and and headed out to the north shore. we pull up before we reach laniakea to park the car. i told him “hey, we’re not going to check, we are just going to GO!” i thought if we checked, he might have second thoughts. i give him my 6’8, i grab my 6’3. that’s all i had in my car so we had to use it. if i had another choice, i would give him a 7’0 and i would ride my 6’8. in fact, i think i was the only guy out there with such a small board. but hey, let’s go for the challenge right? we walk to the beach and the waves are absolutely going off!!! solid 6-8′ and perfect! we paddle out, i tell him to sit near me. but sitting near me is kind of crazy because my board is so short so i have to sit pretty much in the impact zone to catch a wave. i catch one. not bad until somebody dropped in on me. my second wave, i get barreled. stoked! then i watch for Nakagawa-san. we are still waiting in the impact zone when i seen huge swells out on the horizon. all the surfers on the outside were paddling their fastest to get to the outside. right there, i knew we were in trouble. haha. then there it was, a freak 8′ set breaking on our heads. then another one, then another one. Nakagawa-san got swept all the way to the inside. i watched and he was ok. he paddled back out and said “OMG, i thought i was going to die!” haha. i laughed and said “well, you survived the worst so everything will be easy from now.” next wave, i take off and jump of my board because it was a junk one. then my leash snaps. omg! laniakea is pretty far out and with the big waves, strong current, and wind, you could lose your board in the big ocean. i’ve seen it happen many of times. i bodysurf a wave in and luckily find my board. now what do i do? go back to my car and get another leash? no way, too far. i paddle back out, and surf the rest of the session with no leash. some of my friends thought i was crazy. i caught so many good waves after that and so did Nakagawa-san. after every wave he caught, he paddled back out with the biggest smile on his face. it was the coolest thing ever.
i see pat o’connell and we talk. he tells me “the waves are incredible! the waves today are world class, better than the mentawai’s, and better than anywhere in the world right now. ” i couldn’t agree more.
then i see kalani robb and we talk. i introduce kalani to Nakagawa-san. they shake hands and then he tells me that kalani is his favorite surfer in the world. he even likes kalani more than kelly slater. i thought to myself “me too.” haha.
then taylor knox, and so many other surfers were out. just watching the big perfect waves ridden with perfection was something to see. i haven’t seen laniakea like that in my whole life and i wasn’t the only one thinking the same.
after that, we passed by sunset beach where they were having the contest. we looked for 1 minute and thought it was boring. after surfing and seeing some amazing riding at laniakea, sunset looked junk.
instead, we sped back to diamond head and played in the waist high super fun waves. surfing there was like playing in a childrens playground. it was an amazing day for me as a surfer and as a guide. i couldn’t have wished for anything better. if i surfed by myself today, things would be different. but surfing with somebody on their first trip to hawaii was exciting. the butterflies in the stomach as we approach the north shore, the first wave, the near death experience, and the last wave. the fear, the glory, and the smiles. it’s like conquering your worst fear as a surfer. and to be able to survive it is something you will never forget. we were all once there and in this sport, we will face a challenge in our lives over and over. i love this feeling and wanted to share it with you.
so if you ever want to challenge yourself, just let me know and i’ll take you to the highest level you possible can go too. you might die on the way, but if you survive, your life will never be the same. never!
i didn’t get to take a photo but it looked something like this. in fact, just a little bigger.
