Sweet and shallow

Date: February 1, 2004
Time: 0630 -- 0945
Spot(s): Pipe/Backdoor
Conditions: Light offshores; light (for Pipe) crowd
Swell: small WNW
Surf: 2-4' Haw'n

Words: Smallish conditions prevailed, but it was still so inviting. The bodysurfing contest was postponed, so Pipe was open for business.

Decided to try out the shortboard again. I'm not too keen on the steep takeoffs at Pipe and Backdoor, but again, gotta push the envelope once in a while.

When I got out to the lineup, I realized I bit off just a little bit more than I could chew. It was small, but the tide was much lower than I expected. Peaky conditions made for some really jacking waves and double-ups.

But I just had to at least try. Started scratching over the ledge, only to bail and freefall into the pit. I was just destroying myself. Sometimes, I'd get to my feet, only to hit the trough and have the board skitter underfoot. It must have been a very comical sight from shore.

Eventually I managed to get into a few, especially on my frontside at Backdoor. Really good feeling pumping and gliding and doing flying kickouts.

I was not doing well going backside at Pipe though. My positioning left much to be desired and I was just blowing every takeoff. Fortunately the crowd was light so I wasn't really wasting waves since most of the time, I was the only one in position. Can't imagine riding the place with any size.

The wave of the day was this well-overhead righthander that set up nicely. I scratched for it and pressed up, all the while thinking, "Here we go again; another wipeout." Miraculously, I dropped into it cleanly into a vertical wall, pumping down the line silently. Had to kick out early, but not before pulling a smile from ear to ear.

Towards the end of the sesh, I got caught inside at Backdoor. Held onto the board, but ended up bouncing off the reef with both board and body. Decided to call it a day as I limped in.

While showering off, I found out that the board did not fare so well, with a quarter-sized crush near the nose on the bottom, along with many cracks on the tail rail. Oh well. Sometimes you gotta destroy before you rebuild.

Aloha from Paradise,

---