Fun Makaha

Fun day at Makaha. I decided to go west after the news was predicting the North Shore to be 8-12 feet plus and the West Side to be in the 6-8 foot range.  I didn't want to push the still healing ankle at that level just yet and honestly, 8-12 feet Hawaiian scale is probably a little more than I'm ready for right now. Also, the wind was supposed to still be up a bit and I didn't want to chance it. Whenever the trades are up at least they'll be straight off shore on the west side, plus looking at the clouds to the north just before I had to make the H2 decision I felt like the almost certain sunshine on the west side was more desirable.

When I got to the beach it was already quite crowded. I guess everyone else had heard of the arriving swell because last week when I went I expected the same number of surfers due to school being out for Christmas break but today there were at least twice as many people. It's always great to feel the energy on the beach when a new swell moves in, especially at a true surfing beach like Makaha where the main reason people are there is to surf. The water was beautiful and glassy and I thought I might be one of the first to get there but there were a number of people who were already exiting the water from their session.

 I paddled out just before 8:00 and didn't come in until just before noon.

The cool thing about Makaha is that because the wave is so long and spread out and because there are so many different take off zones and personalities depending on where you are sitting you'll see every type of water craft out there. There were people riding the standard short and long boards of course, with a few SUP's mixed in along with the body boarders and one old timer riding a Paipo board and another on a huge gun probably 12 feet long. 

Makaha is one of those real special places, probably because of it's isolation, that really feels like a neighborhood or community beach. People are catching up and talking story about family and what they've been doing to their house and their cars between sets. It feels like a big family reunion at times out there and if you handle yourself right the vibe is really special.

It took me about 30 minutes to get my first wave. It wasn't quite as big as they were calling it but there were some sets in the 6 foot range, almost breaking on the point. I think it takes at least 8 feet to really get the point going and in my opinion that is when the wave goes from being pure fun to challenging and world class.

 I probably got about 6-8 waves during my entire session which doesn't seem like very many due to the amount of time I was in the water but the swell had some pretty long lulls between the sets coupled with the fact that there were about 50 people in the water. It's kind of like playing pin ball sometimes out there with so many people scattered about the line up. This pin ball game is all about avoiding the obstacles however.

  When I did get waves they were awesome though. The ride from the outside is probably a good 100 yards and then you have to paddle back out so 6-8 ain't that bad. It was a lot of fun when you hit the inside section that really started to race and then you have to prepare yourself for the infamous back wash.  Probably gonna have to see the chiropractor to work out some alignment issues after those backwash jolts. I even got a little chandelier cover up on one wave. All in all a great day.

Blustery Bowls

I have not surfed the Bowls area for years and I knew it was not going to be great. I just felt like I had to get in the water. Like, previously mentioned I sprained my ankle back in October and I haven't got to surf much since so now that I'm about 70% back I decided that I need to surf at least 3 times per week no matter the conditions just to get the paddling in so that when it's good, and I have the time, I'll be ready.
Now, first of all I did not take the pic above and it is not even yesterday's session. I spaced out and forgot to take a pic like I decided I would do on each of my sessions from now on to log my experiences, which was the reason I started this blog. The above photo is a random google pic that I copied that looked somewhat representative of yesterdays surf, at least the clean, clear water and relatively empty lineup.
Admittedly it didn't look quite that good. It was windy, 15-25 M.P.H. trade winds and the water was cold. Yes mainlanders the water can be cold here in the winter. I did a check on the Surfline page and discovered that the water temp was between 77-79 degrees. That's probably about 4 degrees cooler than summer time and it can make a big difference. I'm really glad I wore my wet suit top. I know that I would have been freezing without it. That $100 something I spent was money well spent.
The waves were small, the wind was howling and the sets were few and far between but, the people out were cool, little kids were getting lessons and there was a lot of space to move around. I forgot how beautiful that little space in the middle of urban Honolulu is, the little chunk of protected beach next to the jetty, the view of Diamond Head on the east side and Magic Island on the west. Probably just an hour in the water but my whole day was lit up because of that short session.
P.O.

West Side Story

 

Surfed Makaha yesterday. It's been a long time since I surfed any quality waves after sustaining a high ankle sprain on October 12th. I guess these injuries take a long time to heal. Still not 100% but with some tape and an ankle brace I braved it. Funny thing is that I was on my way to the North Shore but I timed it so that I would make the call to SSN before I hit the exit for the North Shore to find out the wind conditions. Still wasn't decided after taking the H2 exit but listened to my inner voice and made a U-turn at the Kauka Boulevard exit and headed west. I thought that with the strong trades it might be blown out on the NS and straight off on the west side. I knew I'd be sacrificing some size but I thought the conditions would be good. I was not disapointed. I love the West Side! It really feels like your getting away and in touch with the real Hawaii.
Te first two pics show why I love Makaha so much! It doesn't look very big from my crappy shot with my Iphone, and it wasn't, but the photo was in-between sets and we did have some head high waves outside in the beginning.

The last photo is of my new KIMO GREENE 9'0 round pin. I honestly thought it might be too much board for me but it floated me perfect, paddled awesome and is fast as heck. Believe it or not I can duck dive it too. Kimo always makes killer boards and gets the dimensions right. My advice to any novice is to meet with a shaper personally, preferably one that's a little older, he will get the dimensions right and after talking to you about where you surf, how often and what you want in a board as far as performance goes they will take those factors as well as your age, size and fitness level into consideration and get it right. Speaking from experince, being a bigger surfer(6' 225lbs) qane trying to surf something too thin/narrow will be quite frustrating and hinder your advancement.