Day 32 of 2022:  i’m going to stop counting from today because i don’t even know how many days are in each month.  haha.  i knew the waves were going to get huge today and i knew the contest was going to be on so i drove out in the dark and surfed Haleiwa before the crowd.  omg, it was epic!  then i arrived at Pipeline at 8am, just in time for the contest.

i’m so proud of Seth.  he’s very calm and very confident.  and he’s also a very good role model for the kids.  everybody loves Seth Moniz…

and he even has a fan club.  haha.  i was watching the contest and i saw Wade Tokoro surfboards everywhere!  i think 1/3 of the competitors are riding Tokoro’s.  that’s pretty impressive!

there is no other competitor that has family and friends louder than us.  we make so much noise cheering on Seth that the whole island can hear.  and Kelia is the loudest.  haha.

Seth beat Ezekiel Lau in Round 3 and Felipe Toledo in Round 4. that’s huge wins!  the waves weren’t that great in his heats, but Seth surfed really smart.  he kept cool and calm.  this was right after he beat Felipe.  i went to give him a hug and then i jumped in my car and came home.  smiling the whole way…

only 8 surfers left and i’m guessing they will run the contest tomorrow morning or Saturday.  i’m not missing that!  Go Seth!!!

20 years ago, i would paddle out to big 2nd reef Pipeline and sit right on the inside ledge.  it’s a very dangerous place to wait because 15′ Pipeline sets will break on your head.  i would take that risk for one reason and one reason only.  i wanted to ride the biggest Backdoor barrel out there.   when it’s that big, you have to be patient because there is only one or two perfect ones all morning long.  and sometimes none at all.  i would wait for hours and get smashed on the head by 15′ waves but i knew if i was lucky enough, i could get the wave of the day.  on this day, i saw huge waves breaking outside on the third reef at Pipeline.  everybody was paddling their hardest to the channel to avoid it.  if you do that, you won’t be in position so you have to be kind of crazy patient and wait in the impact zone.  i saw this wave trying to break on the second reef and it backed off and started to grow tall and wide right before it hit the ledge.  i turned around and paddled my hardest.  i knew if i missed it, the 3 bigger waves behind would destroy me.  so i’d rather die trying.  after i made the drop and did my bottom turn, i saw the whole ocean starting to dump over my head.  i was deep and the barrel then it spit me out.   for the next 10 years, i searched and searched for something bigger, then i realized that that was maximum Backdoor.  it don’t get bigger than that.  i’ll never forget that special day…

thank you Kimoro Kondo for capturing my life changing moment.   i remember you were the only photographer shooting from Off The Wall that day.  i guess you knew too that this gem was coming.  haha…

Total Satisfaction…

Good morning 4am.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR NORTH/WEST!
North shore 3-5′ this morning coming up fast to 6-8′ this afternoon.
Pipeline Pro ON!
Ala Moana waist high and good.
Diamond Head chest high and bumpy.
Trade winds at 15mph.
Sunny and warm.
Going North.
Have a wonderful day!