Me, getting launched in the shorebreak (Note: this is NOT a B&W shot)
Check out the entire seque here.

Also check out Bud's session reports and pics page.

Friday saw a rise from the NNE, pushing the North Shore to six feet. Unfortunately, a certain department store had a grand opening that very weekend. So I was coaxed into deferring my sesh until Sunday.

By then, the swell had swung to the NE, so we decided to hit P-Rock for some onshore action. Hopefully, the winds would ease enough to give us at least fair conditions.

When we got there at dawn we were pleased to see that the surf was up. Unfortunately, the winds were blowing pretty hard at an side-onshore angle, trashing the surf. Ever the hardcore crew, we charged into the washing machine conditions, hoping things might change later in the morning.

Rich and Buddy were on identical 6' 3" sticks (somewhere around there). I brought both my tank and sponge, but opted for the latter given the messy conditions. Makani soon joined us with his blade, rounding out the crew. Once again, we were fortunate to have the place to ourselves.

We started out at the main peak, working the overhead crumblers to shore. It was pretty choppy out there with very few good walls to work with. No complaints, though--it was still great to get outdoors and stretch the old body.

We eventually ventured down the beach to try our luck at the sandbar. Sometimes it can get epic given the right conditions. However, it was pretty much victory at sea, with a strong outgoing rip chopping up the incoming waves. Sets broke way outside and crumbled in, while the smaller ones only had a few decent tubes, if you were very selective and lucky.

Wave of the day honors goes to Makani. I was toying with the shorebreak, when he cruised by. A wave came in that looked like it had some semblance of rideability, despite being fractioned off. I ended up taking off right on the section that was lagging the rest of the wave. I was right at the crest of the wave, ready to come down when I noticed a wicked barrel swinging left towards me, just dredging below sea level. Just as I was about to commit, I heard this howl, then saw a head peak out of the barrel. Makani was coming out of it! I pulled up just as Makani cleared the tubed and kicked out. Man, I was just yelling at him as he surfaced, wide-eyed in amazement. Unreal!

Rich had a fair session, working hard on the waves he got. Caught some good ones going right into the cove, and even worked some frontside lefts to the shore.

Buddy called it his all-time kook session. I dunno, I saw one wave that he worked from the point all the way into the dumping shorebreak--that one would’ve easily scored an 8.5 in a contest.

As for me, I made the most of the shorebreak action, pulling into some closeouts. Tweaked my body trying some moves I shouldn’t have been attempting (but you know I had to try). Ended up getting an intense workout and a free sinus flush.

Tired after surfing three days in a row, Buddy headed in early and shot some video of us. We stayed out for an hour longer, until a couple guys joined us. By then, we decided it was time to go in. Talked story for a while and checked out the scene before heading home. Not the greatest of sessions, but then again, it wasn’t a total wash.

Aloha from Paradise,