somebody asked me a good question. what is a surf caddy? a surf caddy is a person who paddles out with the competitor and waits in the channel with a spare surfboard just in case the competitor breaks a board or snaps a leash. most contests around the world don’t allow a surf caddy. in fact, i think the only contest they allow a surf caddy is at sunset beach. why? because the chance of breaking a board or leash is very high at sunset beach, and to swim all the way back to the beach in the 30 minute heat timeframe would be impossible. and there are rules to be a surf caddy. if you anyway interfere with another competing surfer, the surfer you represent will be disqualified. or if you need to get assisted by the rescue, the surfer you represent will get disqualified. in other words, if you get swept out to sea, get in the way, or have to be rescued, the surfer you represent will lose.
sunset beach is probably the most heaviest water in the world. yesterday was maxing 15′ or 30′ faces. a caddy was required to either paddle out 2 surfboards or have swim fins. the way the current was ripping out to sea yesterday, it was hard enough making it back in on a surfboard.
i was a caddy for Joshua. i chose to take out swim fins. so if Josh broke his board, i would paddle to him, give hime mine, and swim in. simply said right? not so easy. i’ve surfed maxing out sunset beach many of times so i know how the current is. yesterday was probably the strongest i’ve ever experienced. it was like paddling against a raging river. constant paddling to stay in position just in case anything happened to Josh. my eyes were on him and nothing else. and trying to look over the 15′ mountains in sea level was pretty hard. here is Seth, Josh, and I paddling out. my sister took this photo from the beach. pretty cool. you can see the fins shoved in my trunks, luckily i didn’t have to use it.
and when the waves are 15′ maxing out, waves in the channel will close out on you. and you can’t run because you are already in the channel! haha. i got caught a few times and on one occasion, i threw my board and dove for abalone. haha. you can see my board as i jumped off and dove under. it was a constant paddle for 50 minutes, great exercise, and great experience. i was so stoked to be in the water at such a prestigious event caddying for my nephew. it was back in the late 1980’s when i was a caddy for their father Tony Moniz in the triple crown back then. kind of cool family surf history when i think about it.
in that same heat yesterday, the brazilian caddy got swept out to sea and had to get rescued by the jetski. the ocean yesterday wasn’t for everyone and i’m just glad my nephews were comfortable out there at such a young age. what a confidence booster for them!
