Savoring the fruits of assertiveness

Buddy and I weren't expecting much, so we headed out to Diamond Head for another weekend Lighthouse sesh. Was stoked to find the surf not too bad, with some head-high sets.

We paddled out and surf with a relatively small crowd of surfers, all of whom we recognized "by face" from previous sessions. These guys were from a few different cliques, but were all very friendly, with positive attitudes. Great!

However, Buddy and I immediately paddled out to the outside lineup, and had first dibs on any set wave that came through. The others seemed content to just sit inside and catch the tail end of the ride.

Halfway through the sesh, Buddy admitted to me his guilt about waiting on the outside. The other surfers were regulars (like us) who never hogged waves or dropped in, and he felt really bad about paddling around them.

It was really funny that he said that because I had also recognized the situation. I explained to him my experiences at Brenneckes beach on Kauai, where the old-timers who put in their time and were familiar with the wave always caught the most waves. I always marveled at their prowess, and hoped to one day be as skilled and successful.

Still, we both felt bad, but at the same time didn't want to let some long rides go to waste. So we kept at it, letting some go while grabbing most of the others. We had a great time in the smallish, but pokey surf--Bud got some hard carves and I did my usual posing.

Later on, Makani joined up and ripped with style, as usual.

After about three hours, we made our way in, satiated and satisfied. Getting first dibs is good.

Buddy's cutback

My "cutback"

Aloha from Paradise,