good morning. 7am on this windy last day of january. rainy, cloudy, and windy again. town is flat. north shore is 2-3′ and bumpy. nobody out at pipe yet but they are going to run the monsters pipe pro anyway. nothing on the way so they have to take what they can get. and small waves is what they will get. the japanese pros did really good yesterday with most advancing. shinpei and ushikoshi both winning their heats. good luck again guys… i’m deciding if i should go out there and watch the contest in the rain, or stay home and watch on my computer in my warm house. i guess that’s a simple choice. haha. have a nice day….
**going on boat trips to places you don’t know what to expect is the best. it was back in 2004 when we boarded a boat in the philippines with hayato, and a bunch of international pro surfers. couple from south africa, italy, and england. we all went out on a voyage looking for new surf spots that have never been discovered. it’s kind of a gamble spending thousands of dollars knowing you can come back with nothing. a gamble a lot of people are not willing to take. but what the heck, if you know how to make the best of it, and if you enjoy the ocean as much as we do, it’s all good….
and if you happen to score!!! it’s just a bonus.. we pulled up to this spot off an island in the middle of nowhere. there was this 4′ left just peeling to perfection. i grabbed my board out of my bag, jumped in even before we anchored, and paddled into an unknown lineup. paddled for the first wave over shallow razor sharp reef, pulled in, and got barreled…. the rest of the guys paddled out and we had such an awesome session. went to the island later that day and a man who was a caretaker of the island was living there. he’s been living there for 30+ years and said it was the first time he seen surfers there. we named it “The Black Hole”….. why, don’t ask…. that was 4 years ago and i bet nobody ever went there after. only a few people in this world knows where that spot it and we swore to keep it secret…. scouts honor….
and world famous photographer john callahan was there to document it…. now people can’t say i was lying…. actually, i don’t care if they believe me or not….
if you eat it, your done. the nearest hospital is 10 hours away by boat. just ask the south africans how shallow it was.. ouch….
and nothing like a cold san miguel with a glass of rum and coke after a good session. a lot of happy faces that night….
and you will never know what you will run into… check out this beautiful island. this is paradise…. gosh, i need to go on another trip really soon….
