KKs Vacay: Surfing Puena Point and Meeting JOB 120713

Surf Report: Overhead++
Water: Warm
Winds: Off shore
 Atmosphere: Sunny with patchy clouds

Cassandra, Alex and I pile into my rental and head off to the West side.  We stop off at the local shop to pick up some water and snacks and get on the H1 freeway.  Tunes are jamming, and we tell each other stories and jokes the whole time.

"So there was this girl that had a seizure in the midst of giving head to her boyfriend and bit his dick off," Cass says.

"WHAT??"

"Yea, so she went into shock, and her teeth clamped down, and her boyfriend couldn't wrench out his dick from her teeth, so he had his dick bitten off."

"Hash tag dick bitten off," I say.

As we make our way to the West side... we see a familiar scene.  The swell isn't hitting the West side again.  It's pretty flat every where.  It was maaaaaaybe two feet on the face.  We pull into an empty parking lot, and contemplate our move. Paddle out? Or drive back to the North Shore?

"Let's go to the North Shore," I say.

And so, off to Haleiwa we went.

As we pulled into Haleiwa, the whole parking lot is PACKED.  It's insane.  We find a parking spot as Alex goes to pee.  I go to see the break, and there are legit overhead waves rolling through perfectly through the point all the way to the Toilet Bowl section.  First wave, a braddah takes off behind the peak, double bottom turns and makes it around the section.  He then blasts the lip and shreds the rest of the wave.  The next wave, another local braddah takes off behind the peak, and shreds the shit out of it.  The next wave, another local braddah... on and on and on.

The walk to Puena Point, with Alex's sexy butt leading the way

"There's no way we can compete with that.  We're not going to get any waves.  It's all the locals out there right now," I say.

"We can try Puena Point, it's more for kooks, but we might be able to get some waves there," Alex says.  "It's right over there where we drove past to get to Haleiwa."

Cass

We pull into a crowded parking lot at Puena Point.  Cass offers to drive around to find parking so Alex and I could see the waves if it's worth paddling out.  We walk through a small passage full of palm trees and get to the paddle out spot.  There are a bunch of surf schools teaching people to surf on the inside, and on the waaaaay outside, we can see overhead sets rolling through the point.  The rights look fast and shallow, while the lefts look long and shreddable.

"I'm sold," I say.  "Let's paddle out here."

"How's it looking boys?" Cass says from behind.

"Oh shit, you found parking?" Alex asks.

"Yea, found parking, so are we paddling out here?"

"Yea, let's go for it."

We all get changed and grab our boards.  I brought over Pat's Nezzy board, the biggest and juiciest board in my quiver for the North Shore.  It's a 6'3" x 19 1/2 x 2 5/8 behemoth with a pin tail.  Cass is on her longboard 2+1 set up, and Alex is on the soft top once again. As we walk towards the path, there's a man in a raised yellow Jeep, blasting loud house music.  There is a house in the Dojo that has a similar car like that, so Alex asks the owner if he lived in Town.  He said no, as he stuffed his face with poke.  He wished us good luck as he jammed to his house music. 

The Emergence of the Soft Top Bandit

This session was quite difficult for me.  I set my "limit" on paddling out to 5 or 6 feet on the face because of my shoulder injury.  Legit overhead waves meant 7 to 8 feet on the face today.  Not only that, the place was crowded as hell.  I didn't catch one single wave until the very end because either an Uncle or a local was already on it, or that I would be hitting someone as I took off.

Cass took off on three waves.  On all three waves, she snaked someone.  She was a bit unsure if that was ok, but I reassured her that she has a cute bikini on, and so the view from behind would be a pleasure if she dropped in on someone.

Alex was straight CHARGING.  He was taking off deep on the set waves on his foamie.  He took pretty much every wave that rolled through his way.  He went both left and right, making every drop and every wave.  It was pretty hardcore.  I couldn't believe it. No one in the line up could believe it.

I got one final wave where I played dodgeball on my take off.  I look up to bottom turn, and see the section closing out ahead of me, so I straighten out.  I signal to Cass that I was out.

I paddle in to the shore and wait for Cass and Alex.  Cass comes in, and realizes a huge gash on her board.  She felt really bad and apologetic towards Alex, who brushed it off as if it was nothing.

"Better the board than you, Cass," I told her.

"That's right," Alex said.

The old dude in the yellow Jeep was still there, jamming out to house music.  There was another car, blasting Jawaiian music, as if competing for air space.

"Where should we go eat?"

"Wanna try Pupukea grill?"

"Yea, I'm down, let's go there," I replied.  

And so, off to Shark's Cove we went.  Pupukea Grill is a food truck located right by the Shark's Cove.  It's a mainstay of the North Shore with delicious, healthy food.  We pull up next to the gas station where the Pupukea Grill is located, and can't find parking.  So, I just park on the side of the road next to the mailbox of the gas station.

We get in line as we look at the menu, and I see a few cameramen following a blind guy.  He has a yellow stick, and immediately I know it's Derek, the blind Brazilian surfer.  So, I go up to him and his posse, and introduce myself.  I say in Portuguese, "Obrigado por inspiracion," (Thank you for the inspiration,) and he gives a big smile and shakes my hand.  The camera crew is smiling too, asking how I know about his story.  I tell him that I saw a video of him with Makua Rothman surfing Pipe, and that he's such an inspiration.  They tell me to check out the movie they are making of him called Beyond Sight.  I told them I will check it out, and to keep up the great work.

As we waited for our food, Alex hands me a Free Surf magazine.  We flip through the pages as we see all the amazing photography done by the big names like Bielmann, DJ Struntz, Jeff Divine, and Zak Noyle.

I sit down and order a salad and coconut curry quinoa dish, along with an Acai smoothie.  I needed the salad since I've been eating pretty much anything but greens, and I needed to feel human again.  All the good eats has made me shit liquids, and so it felt good to have green fiber in my stomach again. 

We all finish our meal, and head back to the car.

"Hey, that was Jamie O'Brien," Alex turns around and says to me.

WHAT

I swing around and see a tall dude with a Red Bull hat on, and the raised truck on 4x4's that I've seen countless times.  It's fucking J.O.B.!!

If you don't know this, I am a HUUUUUGE fan of JOB.  I love his surfing at Pipe.  He was one of the first surfers to win a Pipe Masters who only specialized in surfing Pipeline.  He goes switch foot in the barrel there, and has some of the heaviest waves of the winter every year.  On top of that, he shares my birthday of June 9th.

I tell Cass and Alex, "Guys, I have to go, I need to get his autograph!"

"Go! Do it!" they said.

So, I go back to the Pupukea Grill and smile at the people waiting in line.  My heart beat is racing but I keep it cool.  The cash register lady is taking out the trash, and replacing the garbage bag.  I patiently wait for her to finish.  My heart is thumping.  She returns to her register, and asks, "May I help you?" to me.

"Yes, may I borrow a pen please?" I ask eagerly.

"A pen? Sure," she replies.

She hands me a ball point pen, and I turn to JOB.

"Hey, Jamie, I'm a huge fan of yours," I say as I extend my hand towards him.

"Oh yea?  Sick man!  Hows it going?"

"Good, thank you.  Would you mind signing this please?" 

"Oh yea, of course!  What's your name?"

"Klaude, we share the same birthday.  We're both 69'ers." I reply.

He laughs at my 69er comment.  "Sick Klaude, did you surf Pipe today?"

"Hell no, that place is waaaaay out of my ability," I reply.  He's signing it.  He's really fucking signing it!!

"Well, you gonna come watch tomorrow right?"

"Yea, I will.  And look, I know you're not surfing in the competition because of the whole Ricardo Dos Santos thing, but I hope to see you free surf," I say.

He grins and hands me back the magazine.  "Here you go man, hope to see you there!"

"Thanks!"


He was genuinely stoked to give me an autograph.  Not only that, he wrote me a little message too: "Keep it real."

The four average looking girls flash a wide smile at me, as if to say, "Oh my god!! The guy we are with is really a famous professional surfer!! HE'S FAMOUS!"

We call them Pro-Hoes.

The reason why JOB can't surf in the Pipe Masters is because he punched a surfer during a competition at Tahiti.  The ASP barred his entry to the Pipe Masters even though he's one of, if not THE, best surfer out there.

Back at the car, Cass and Alex give me props for going up to JOB and getting his autograph.  I felt content, even though I didn't catch that many waves.  We make our way back into Town.  Alex knocks the fuck out in the passenger seat, so Cass and I talk on the way home.  We talk about careers and jobs, and how it's hard to find people who are driven in life.  I reassure her that she will find her niche, or group of friends, that she shares the same drive with, and sometimes, you have to cut out people who don't share that from your close circle of friends.  "What you seek is seeking you," I tell her. 

We get back in the afternoon, and we chill for a while.  Cass and Alex spend some quality time together, and are doing their thing.

The rest of the Dojo and I go off to Sandy's.  We body surf playful waves and come home.  The night is already dark, and I pop in Django Unchained.  I can hear from Alex's room that Cass and him are getting it on, so I turn up the volume.

"What do you want to do at your last night at the Dojo?" Kev asked.

"Actually, I wanted to just chill.  I'm pretty tired, and I want to go to the North Shore tomorrow to watch the opening rounds of the Pipe Masters," I replied.

"Freeaaaal.  Well if that's what you wanna do, then that's cool too," B-sauce said.

Later that night, I met up with Aiko-chan, a friend of ours from Los Angeles who moved back to Japan.  She was also participating in the Honolulu marathon, and flew in from Japan.  We meet up at her hotel lobby and walk around Ala Moana mall.  We catch up since we haven't seen each other since my sister's wedding in June.

The Dojo was quiet that night... The Boys respected my wishes of a quiet night and kept the living room empty and all did their own thing.  B-Sauce went to a birthday party, and so I didn't see him all night.

The sound of the water trickling down the turtle pond in our neighbor's property lulled me to sleep, as I tried to sleep... in anticipation of watching the Pipeline Masters live and direct for the first time in my life.

Aiko-chan and me, night before she runs for the Honolulu Marathon

KKs Vacay - Haleiwa and Sandy's 120613

Surf Report: 3-5 feet on the face Head High + on sets
Winds: off shore
Atmosphere: Sunny
Water: Warm - Duh, it's Hawaii

The three muskateers: Fransauce, Alex, and myself. 

I get up early, from my slumber on B-sauce's living room floor.  I start my yoga and theraband exercises slowly, and then make my way to Bogarts.  I ask Fransauce if he wanted a bagel sandwich, but he wanted an omelette with breakfast potatoes instead.  I get Alex a bagel sammich too, since his phone number changed to an 808 area code. 

We all eat our breakfast, pile our stuff into Francis's car, and hit the road to the West Side of Oahu.  I play some tunes from the back as we head to the West side, hoping the swell has filled in.  Francis points out a road with a center divider. 

"We got a 9-1-1 call when I was at this gas station further up, and I headed the wrong way.  The guy had cardiac arrest, and we couldn't U-turn forever.  I felt so bad." 

We start checking spots on the West Side.

"This place right here, it's usually a good indicator if there are waves on the West Side."

It was flat.

We drive further and further, but there were no waves.  The swell wasn't hitting here yet...

"Should we go to the North Shore?" Francis asked.

"Yea, let's go there.  I haven't been back since 2008 to surf North Shore."

"Where should we go? Puena Point?" Alex asked.

"How about Haleiwa?" Francis said.

"I wanna try Haleiwa.  I've never surfed it.  I've watched all the competitions though, so I wanna see it."

"You think Klaude will be ok there?" Alex asked Francis

"Yea, he'll be fine.  Just watch out for the toilet bowl section cuz it's shallow."

So, off to Haleiwa we went.

The familiar roads leading to the North Shore hit a soft spot for me.  I really love the North Shore, or the Country as Hawaiians call it.  There really isn't anything around here, besides local communities, world class surf spots, and Foodland.  Haleiwa town is a small, quaint town with surf shops, places to eat, and small clothing stores dotting the area.  We drove to a huge parking lot marked Ali'i Beach Park.  The famed Ali'i Beach Park that I always heard about on the webcast... and now I'm here.  I walk to take a look at the break, and it's just like how we see it on the webcast.  There were maybe ten heads out, and the five foot faces rolled in periodically.  There were kids playing in the shore break where the channel started.  It was a world class surf spot, but indeed a beach PARK, with benches and picnics being set up with people laying out on the sand. 

Alex and I wear jackets to protect our skin, while Francis lets his sexy brown skin bronze even more.  We grab our boards, and head down to the beach.  I stretch, and Francis points out the channel and where the toilet bowl section is. 

"Try to go around that section, and then just paddle straight out," he says.

So, here I am, back on the North Shore... paddling into some medium/small surf.  I can see the reef in the toilet bowl section, and paddle around it.  The toilet bowl section is super shallow, like the webcasters always say it is.  I see small groups of people sitting on the peak, and some scattered wide of the peak.  I sit wide of the peak first. 

I see Alex catch a set wave on his foamie.  I inch closer to where he took off.  I see Francis take off on a wave.  I inch closer to the pack. 

I take off on my first wave, and it's so easy.  It's such a perfect wave, I bottom turn, carve off the top, then pump down the line and carve off the top on the toilet bowl section.  It's so shallow I can stand here.  I paddle around it with a smile on my face. 

Francis took one left that he pumped down the line, and unleashed buckets of spray on.  He lost control of his board because he pushed so hard off the tail.


Alex was killing it this day, taking a lot of waves.  He is really good on a longboard, and it doesn't matter that it's a soft top - he was just killing it.  He is goofy, so he took off backside on a right.  It was steep so he grabbed rail on the take off to help angle the board.  I duck dived right near him on the head high wave.  He makes a huge backhand turn on the foamie and comes back stoked.

"Nice wave Alexxxxxx!" I say.

"Thanks Kimo!" he says.

"You know what the best part of that wave was?" I ask.

"What's that?"

"That I saw it!"  We laugh.

Indeed, the best waves we ride are the ones our friends see us on, since we share the experience of riding waves from two different perspectives: one as the rider, and one as the observer, hooting them as they drive down the line.

I catch a left where the take off was super smooth, and bottom turn.  I wait an extra second to make my turn, and feel my toes dig in to the tail pad.  It was a one shot wave, but I was happy to get that turn. 

"Yo! That was a sick turn! Shredddddding it Kimo," Alex says.  "You know what the best part of that wave was?"

Driving to the North Shore, you see pineapple fields forever

"No, what?"

"That I saw it!" 

There were maybe ten people in the line up the whole time.  I'm not sure how long we surfed for, but it was fun.  We all catch our last waves in and shower off. 

We decide to eat at Wailua Bakery in Haleiwa.  Immediately, we see Cheyne Magnusson and Matt Wilkinson eating inside.  I was star struck, but kept it cool.  We order our food, and proceed to sit outside.  As we walk out, Taj fucking Burrow walks in. 

"Oh my god!! it's TB!!! Guys, I have to get a photo with him," I say. 

He was with a girl and talking with Wilko, and so I waited for him to stop talking with Wilko to ask.

"Hey Taj!"

"Hey, how are you?"

"I'm good, thanks.  Look, I'm a big fan of yours, is it ok if we took a photo together?"

"Yea, right mate!  No problem!" He was genuinely stoked to take a photo with me.

"Should I take it for you?" the girl asked.

"Naw, we'll selfie it, we've done this many times," Taj said, as he smiled. 

Snap snap.

Taj Fucking Burrow

"Thanks man!  Good luck at Pipe this weekend!"

"Thanks mate!!"

Wow, he is payed millions of dollars to surf, and he was totally cool with some surf geek coming up to him and taking a photo with said surf geek.  How.  FUCKING. Cool.

We eat our delicious post surf meal and Alex has some jail bait call out to him.  She works at the Outrigger Canoe Club too.  She was with a bunch of other girls, and they had just shopped at San Lorenzo bikini shop.  They had a 50% off sale, which explain the throngs of girls going in and out of this parking lot with bags full of bikinis. 

The sign at the register of Wailua Bakery in Haleiwa

Definitely a must if you're on the North Shore

Alex has to get to work, so we head out of the Country.  We hit horrendous traffic, and so Alex takes a nap in the back.  Francis and I drive back on the H2 and H1 and get back to Town and wake up Alex.  Alex calls in saying he will be late for work.  I guess it's ok to be a little late for work in Hawaii... haha.

When we get back to the Dojo, we start playing some ping pong with B-sauce and Taiki.  After a few rounds of ping pong, we decide on going to Sandy's again. 



We body surf while B-sauce and Francis go shell diving.  It starts to rain a little bit as we get home, and we start deciding where we need to eat.  Taiki had dinner plans already so he wouldn't join us this night for dinner.

It's in the water

B-sauce wanted to take me to a noodle spot called YOTTEKO-YA.  This charming place is a gem!!  It was the best broth this side of Japan.  It blew all the ramen places I ate at in Los Angeles that I touted as the best ramen outside of Japan.  They use half chicken, half pork broth to come up with an elaborate tasting broth that is silky smooth.  I later asked the owner what was their secret, to which she replied, "It's the water.  Mainland water is not like Japan or Hawaii's water... so you have to use different techniques or gimmicks to get the flavor out, but in Japan, or Hawaii, it's the same water, so it's easy to get the flavor out."  Nuff said.

Afterwards, we go to Bubbies to get some mochi ice cream.  We each get four flavors... yum!  And holy shit was the cashier girl cute!!! I lost myself and found myself mouth agape and stuttering.  B-sauce clowned me on that. 

Alex came home with Cass that night, and Cassandra and I played ukulele together. 

B-sauce, with Fransauce in the background

"Where you wanna go tomorrow?" Alex asked.  "Cass wants to surf too."

"Let's go back to check the West side," I said. 

"Ok, let's do that then." 

The bounty of the day's hunt

My bounty of beauty for the day

Bubbies!!!

KKs Vacay - Canoe Surfing and Sandy's 120513

Surf Report: 2-3 feet
Water: Warm
Atmosphere: Sunny
Winds: light

Bogarts Acai Bowl

and Bagel Sammich

I get up in the morning and get to my warm ups, which now include yoga, foam rolling, and theraband exercises.  Then, I go to Bogarts for breakfast.  I order an Acai bowl and a bagel sandwich, which is loaded with sprouts, Macademia nut spread, tomatoes, and capers.  They also had a dark chocolate truffle coffee that I had to order.  So delicious!! 

Diamondhead Reef

After I eat that, I return back to the Dojo as everyone else is getting up.  Alex looks at my board and fixes the ding quickly.  He drives Kev and I to his work, the Outrigger Canoe Club.  Alex fills us in on how we should coordinate paddling.  We swim to the canoe, and get in.  I sit in the front, Kev in the middle, and Alex is the anchor.  He unties the canoe, and we start paddling out to sea.  We get to a spot where there are small waves breaking, with a SUP taking some small waves for long rides. 

Alex starts to tell us how we should start on one side, then switch after ten or so strokes when he or I make the call.  "OK!! START PADDLING!!"

We paddle furiously.  There is water spraying off the bottom of the canoe.  I am nearly blinded as I continuously paddle.  I feel the boat start to pick up speed, and we stop paddling.  "Ok, LEAN TO THE LEFT!!"

Our boat takes off on a beautiful wave.  It felt like a bobsled or roller coaster ride.  The wave kept breaking and we just watched our canoe glide along...

"Ok, paddle again!!"  The wave starts to reform, and we paddle.  The boat picks up speed again, and we're in the glide of the wave.

The boat turns out of the wave, and we start paddling back to the point. 

"Wow, that was one of the coolest feelings ever!" I yell to the boys. 

As we wait, we talk about what to do if there is a wipe out. 

"Abandon ship when I say so!" Alex says. 

Kev playfully splashes water on us as we wait for the next set.

"Ok, PADDLE!!"

We paddle hard.  I see the nose lift up... Shit! Here we goooooooo!!

I put up my hands like I was on the log ride at Disneyland.  The nose dives in, and sprays buckets of water into our canoe.  I lean all the way back in my seat to compensate for the nose dive.  So much water is moving, I don't know what is going on.  Abandon ship?  No one's yelled it... Just hold on!!

Then the boat miraculously holds on in the wave.  We're gliding down the face fast.  The water we took on has to be shoveled out, so Kev, being the middle guy, takes a jug of water with the bottom cut out and a cap on it to scoop it all out while we ride.  The wave takes us for a looooong ride and we finally get out on the channel.

"Damn Klaude, you were about to abandon ship!! I saw you with your hands up like 'Ahhhh!'" Kev laughs.

Alex and I laugh at this as he scoops out more water from the canoe.

"Let's go for one more," Alex says.

We paddle out to the spot again, and we wait for a wave.

"Hey, where ya'll wanna go eat after this?" I ask.

"Wherever you wanna go, Klaude," Alex said.

"How about Ono's for some poke? I'm dying for some poke."

"Sounds good, I haven't been there in a minute," Kev says.

"OK, start paddling!" Alex says.

We paddle for a set wave, and the drop isn't as critical as last time, but it's still a long ride.  We enjoy the glide as I see the corals under us shoot by like darts.  We all lean to the left as Alex anchors his paddle into the wave to guide the canoe.

"Keep paddling!" Alex says as the wave reforms on the inside.  We paddle a few more strokes to keep up with the wave and get in to the channel.

"Man, that was one of the funnest things ever!" I yell.

"Man, you were about to abandon ship on that big one though!" Alex laughs.

We paddle from the channel back to the boat docking station.  As we paddled across the Outrigger Canoe Club, the people in the restaurant overlooking the ocean  start cheering us.  They must have been watching us catch those waves.  They're all waving, whistling, and applauding us as we paddle in. 

We dock the boat and swim back to the beach.  We rinse off at the shower, and head back to the Dojo. 

B-Sauce is up now, so we get a few ping pong games in.  Alex finishes the ding repair, and we decide it's time to eat.  Alex, Kev, Shizzles, B-sauce and I climb into Kev's car and head to Ono's Hawaiian Seafood for poke.  This place used to only have three types of poke, but now they have about twelve.  Their prices haven't gotten too steep. 

Ono's Hawaiian Seafood - a MUST!!

After we eat, we head to Sandy's beach to body surf.  Body surfing is another art form the Hawaiians perfected.  It's so scary dropping in on an inch of water as a wave pummels you from behind.  I am apprehensive at making the drop since my shoulders are so sensitive.  I don't want to injure myself, so I don't push myself over the ledge.  But, the waves were really playful and fun this day, and I got a lot or practice in.  B-sauce, Alex, and Kev are all really great body surfers.  They're able to make the drop and get barreled constantly. 

On our way to Sandy's...

We head back to the Dojo after an hour or two of body surfing. 

It just so happens that the Honolulu marathon is happening while I am staying in Hawaii.  And, it just so happens that one of my child hood friends, Taiki, is running the Honolulu marathon.  We meet up for some dinner, where we eat at Izakaya Naru.  This place is one of my favorite places to eat when staying in Hawaii.  Every menu item is original and unique, and the specials change daily.  So, if you miss out on the cold noodles with yuzu or braised pork, you won't have a chance to have it the next day.  Taiki, B-sauce, Taiki's friend Ericka (?), Shizzles, and I gorge ourselves on deep fried pork spare ribs, taco rice, and golden slow cooked pork.  Taiki couldn't drink because he's been restricting himself for the marathon.  He has been training since August, and hasn't drank alcohol since Halloween. 

Slow cooked pork

"Taco" Rice - Spicy and Crispy!

Deeeeep fried pork spare ribs

"I can't wait to drink when this is over!" he says.

We eat tons of food and call it a night.

Alex was back home with his girlfriend, Cassandra, and he asks where I wanted to surf tomorrow. 

and the obligatory sunset view from the Dojo

"North shore is 3-5 feet tomorrow, right?"  I ask.

"Yea, but maybe West side will be less crowded?"

"Ok, let's go West side," I say.  

KK's Vacay: Landing in HNL and Arriving at the Dojo

Surf Report: 2 foot Diamondhead
Water: Warm
Atmosphere: Sunset over the hills
Winds: Calm

I landed in Honolulu, smiling from ear to ear.  I could smell the sweet scent of plumeria's carried by the warm ocean breeze.  The sound of buzzing planes and airport announcements muffled my air pressure popped ears, and I could feel the humidity on my skin perspiring into small packets of sweat.  I hunched over to grab my bag and swung it over my shoulder.  I brought the boys of the Dojo some cronuts as a gift from LA.

Earlier this morning, I had woken up at 530 in the morning to start my yoga routine.  I heated up hot water, sipped on it as I stretched my neck, shoulders, core, hips, legs, and ankles.  Pat was awake already since he had to go work early.  Mel was up and gave me a biiiig hug as we said our "See you rater" to each other.  Pat had convinced me last night to bring my boards to Hawaii.

"You sure you're not taking your boards to Hawaii?" he asked.

"Yea, I'll just buy one there, and sell it back," I said.  It was already 9:00 PM and I wanted to relax.  All my stuff was packed and ready to go.  I plopped down on my chair and opened Surfer Magazine.  The first article was the Editor's Note, which detailed the Editor's trip of a life time that he was supposed to take with GoPro CEO on the CEO's private jet.  Every thing was set, packed, and ready to go... and then his wife went into labor.  His first born son was born the night he was supposed to go to Indonesia with GoPro's CEO, so he had to stay behind, his quiver left in the back of the room gathering dust.  Instead of a 20 hour red-eye on a private jet, he had a two and a half month red eye that included burping, pooping, changing diapers, feeding, and cleaning.

The focus of the article came onto his quiver, where he said that he had been all over the world with his boards, and that these boards were still with him even when his son was born.

So this hit me hard.  I need to take my quiver.  It's MY QUIVER.  They are my boards.  So what if they're not made for Hawaiian waves?  They're YOURS.  Your babies.  They've gone up and down the coast of California.  Some have gone to Hawaii.  And you're going to not just Hawaii, but the NORTH SHORE.  The surf Mecca!  The proving grounds of all things surf related.  You have to take your boards.

"Hey, can I borrow your board bag, Patdeezy?" I asked.

"Yea, you can even take one of my boards if you want," he replied, with a relieved smile.

So, I packed my Neck Beard, my Channel Islands "Aloha" board, and one of Pat's Nezzy surfboards that he takes on his surf trips.  Last minute packing is not my thing, but this was necessary.  I had to take my boards!

United Airlines charged me $100 for the whole board bag.  No questions about how much did it weigh, or how many boards were in there.  The only question was, "Cash or credit?"

I did not have my celebratory beer at LAX though.  I just went to the gate and waited for my flight, listening to my music on my phone.

So, I land at HNL, and go to baggage claim.  I have to go to odd-sized baggage claim and while I was waiting, two surf pro looking guys come with their backpacks and guitar.  The shutters of the odd-sized baggage claim open, and two guys start lugging out surfboard bags full of expensive, valuable surfboards.  The two pro looking guys get their bags, and so does another guy waiting next to me.  Where was my bag?  I check the last bag... and it was this bag.  I forgot - this isn't YOUR surfboard bag... it's Patdeezy's.

I go to the rental car spot, and this Auntie helps me out.  She said, "Ok, so you have an economy size car, yea?  Are those your boards?  How many did you bring?"

"Three."

"Those won't fit.  Upgrade for an extra $10 a day to a mid-sized SUV.  You can have a Jeep!"

"Fiiiiine.  You sell icicles to Eskimos don't you?" I laugh with her.

We start joking back and forth and she says, "Oh my, I'm not supposed to be laughing like this!  I'm not even close to being done with work yet."

"What time you pau hana?" I asked.

"Ohhhh about five."

"Well, if you're laughing like this during the day, it can't be so bad until you're done right?  Unless you want to take work seriously like those guys."

"Oh them? Yea they are toooooo serious!" she said, gleaming towards her co-workers.  Her co-workers smile and wink.  "Ok, so go outside, and choose your car.  Have a nice day!"

I go outside with the sun blazing on me.  I really need some water, but I need to choose which car I want to rent.  There are mid-sized Jeeps, a Nissan, and then a SUBARU!  I immediately open the Subaru, check the seats, check the A/C, and was sold.  I bring the car around, pack my boards, ukulele, backpack, and bag.  I call Justin, aka B-Sauce, and let him know I'm on the way to the Dojo.

The Dojo.  B-Sauce, Shizzles, Alex, and Kev live there.  It's where I've stayed last trip.  It's where I met Fransauce years ago.  It's where it feels like home. There are Japanese style shouji windows, and a sliding door that resembles a traditional Japanese house.  I call B-Sauce, and he tells me he's biking running errands, and he will meet me at the Dojo in a few minutes.  "Aloha welcome back!" he adds.

Arriving at the Dojo, I schlep my luggage to the house.  I leave my board bag on the side of the garage area, and proceed upstairs.  I get a cold glass of water, and chug it down.  There's a new sofa in the living room, which will double as my bed for the next four days. 

I roll out on my foam roller and close my eyes... Wow, am I really in Hawaii in December?  It seems unreal... I breathe slowly, rolling out the kinks in my back and shoulders... Hawaii... in December...

"Oh SHIT! Klaude??"

I open my eyes, and it's Shizzles. 

"What's uuuuuup!! We were wondering when you were arriving!!" He gives me a big welcome back hug. 

"Yoooooo! Yea I just got in.  I love my new bed!" I tell him.

"Oh yea man.  I just got up from a nap."

"Oh nice... Hey have you ever had a Cronut?"

"What's a Cronut?"

Well, my friend, here you go!

Cronuts from DK's Donuts in Santa Monica

B-Sauce gets home, and we exchange our big manly hugs.  He gets down with the Cronuts too.  We then take a trip to the Kahala Mall and get some sushi at Kuru Kuru Sushi, a kaiten sushi place.  It's good, but the cash register girl was kinda rude... she just talks shit, trying to get attention or a reaction from the customers.  Not something you want to do to get repeat customers, for sure.

Kuru Kuru Sushi

We then bust out the ping pong table, and play for a few games. 

Ping Pong Tournament

Fransauce got off work around 4:30PM, so he stopped by in his work clothes.  We hang out, and he asks, "Do you wanna surf?"

"Yea! Let's get wet."

So, we head to Diamondhead as the sun was setting. 

It was a shitty day, maybe two feet and mushy at Diamondhead.  We made the trek down the donkey path... the donkey path that I missed so much... We paddle out as small waves roll in, and I paddle.  My shoulders aren't in Hawaii shape.  I can barely keep up with Francis.  My shoulders are burning already, and we're not even half way to the line up. 

Francis, changing with no towel <3

I duck dive.  THUNK.  Crap, did I just hit my board on the reef?  Is it too shallow right here? 

I check my nose of the board, it's fine.  Fins are fine too. 

I catch maybe two waves on my shortboard, and we head back in as it was getting dark.  As we get changed, I notice a gash on the bottom of my board.  FUCK!!

We get back to the Dojo and Alex comes home.  We didn't get to see each other last time I was here since he was training for the Coast Guard, but now he's returned, so we give each other big hugs.  I show him my board and he said he'll fix it tomorrow and it will be done by the end of tomorrow.

"Do you wanna go canoe surfing tomorrow?" Alex asks.

"Hell yea, I always wanted to!"

"Ok, we'll go tomorrow then." 

26th Street Before I Leave for HI 120113

Surf report: mushy 1-3 feet
Winds: light off shore
Water: cool
Atmosphere: sunny

Joyce joins me for a local surf session today. We show up late today because I was up late last night, hosting a few of my boys that I used to coach. One of said boys left his car lights on and so his battery went dead. We had a mission to find jumper cables and finally got a pair, only to find out my car was too advanced for jumper cables. We tried my roommates car and hers was too advanced too. So we had to call another friend to bring his car to jump start his car. Finally we got the car running at 1:30 in the morning.

Surf this day was really mushy and weak. Joyce was apprehensive at first but once she got out she realized the waves were super mushy and forgiving. "Klaude this is the first time I'm surfing in December when it's this cold!" she said.

I don't remember too many significant rides this day... Like I said it was gutless surf. Joyce had fun though, and so sometimes that's all that matters - when your friends have fun, you have fun.

We depart the ocean by 10:30 and get our respective days started. I had to clean the house since I am leaving for Hawaii on Wednesday. In fact I am typing this on my iPhone on the plane since I don't feel like reading my books right now.

This is my first vacation since June of 2012. This is also my first time returning to the North Shore since October of 2008 when I got my ass kicked by the true power of waves. It was also the time I caught the biggest wave of my life thus far - a solid ten footer on the face going left at Pidley's right by Chuns reef.

I hope to catch some waves this winter, and watch the Pipeline Masters live from the beach!!

Wish me luck. And hope that I don't do anything stupid. Hahahaha

I plan to jump out of an airplane this trip so we will see how that goes.

Mahalos Mother Ocean!!!!

Journey to C-Street with CC 113013

Surf report: 1-3 feet
Winds: off shore then to on shore
Water: cold
Atmosphere sunny

CC joined me on the journey up north this day. I was trying to surf on the day after thanksgiving but the waves were too big and closing out. There was absolutely no shape and therefore no reward for the risk. I watched the surf for twenty minutes and opted not to surf since the waves just weren't holding shape. Instead I went to physical therapy and strengthened my shoulder and then went to work.

So I was itching to get out to surf on Saturday. I had to surf since I missed out on the boys surfing together on thanksgiving day and since I didn't surf Friday either. I had to get out of LA in order to get some sort of rippable wave at a pointbreak.

The drive north was pretty easy. CC and I caught up in life, love, and our kids that we teach. We had our heart to heart that was way past due. We talk the whole way, with a small detour to a gas station so she could poop. She said she doesn't poop in the morning and so that was her first poop. I am proud to say that she beat me on speed of pooping. I heard her flushing as I was still wiping my butt. We both dropped off the kids in the swimming pool and continued our journey to California Street.

When we arrived, there was no free parking. In fact the tide was so high that the free parking area had no waves breaking. Some of the waves were breaking on the shore. There were only long boarders out. Bummer.

We drove further up to first point and saw that there were more waves and more people here. But hey there were waves! Gotta paddle out here then.

I put on my new booties I got from quiksilver. They have a little wiggle room but fit my foot perfectly. CC did not bring her booties.

We walk down and start stretching on the sand. Older surfers walk by smiling at CC and her curvaceous body, bending every which way and not.

We both paddle out and sit outside the peak. We keep seeing rides from the peak and inch our way closer.

I catch a warm up wave close out. I had no where to go but straight.

CC is managing her own area, so I continue to inch my way closer to the peak. Of course it's more packed over on the peak, but this is the take off zone. I have to pit myself against the other dogs in order to catch a wave at a pointbreak.

My first wave is a right and I got to pump down the line. It ran ahead of me and so I wasn't too overjoyed about the wave, but I got a few good pumps in.

I started to get more aggressively friendly towards the others. I hoot them in to waves, smile when we make eye contact, and compliment them on their rides. I like to do this because surfing at most spots seem to be taken too seriously and people are afraid of smiling. So, why not be the change you want to see in the world? I want to see more people hooting each other into waves, I want to hear more compliments being given to each fellow surfer, and I definitely want to see more smiles in the line up!!

I take off on some waves where people are in my way but I know I can make it around them. I take off on an angle and pump immediately down the face. The guys on the inside are wide eyed, deer-in-the-headlights shocked but are relieved once they see me pump away from them.

There were a lot of groms out today with their dad's pushing them into waves. Of course I hooted these kids! They need to know that surfing is a unifying activity. Not a sport that takes and takes and never gives anything back.

CC's wave:

I caught one of the first waves of the set and was paddling back out when I see a person with a blue board paddling against another surfer. The surfer on the blue board gets in, and immediately takes the high line in a sweeping pump up the face. Then she goes down on the face and straightens out. CC! She had an amazing first pump that made the other surfer back out of the wave.

I complimented her on the wave but I didn't have to - she was ECSTATIC. She couldn't stop smiling and her twinkle in her eye was out shining the sun! The best part of the wave? That I saw it. There is no other joy than sharing the experience with someone besides yourself.

Dais and I had a conversation before on how joy is something that should be shared with someone. If you got to surf perfect waves all by yourself, would you truly be happy? Or will you start to wish someone was around to share this? If a surfer catches the longest barrel of their life but no one is there to see it, was the wave really ridden at all?

Therefore, sharing that experience of a wave ride is the best feeling ever.

My ride of the day came from a small right. I was able to pump down the line and reach the open face. I carved a cut back and stayed on top of my board. The wave flattened out so I couldn't continue riding it but I was stoked. The best part? CC saw it too.

Dais made his way towards us! We said our hello's and he kept paddling until a wave just popped up and he took off. He made another surfer back out on the wave as he made his way down the line until the wave closed out. We hooted him for his ride.

Khang didn't join us until later. He waited out the back for the sets. By this time the water was starting to get choppy from the winds and CC and I were getting hungry. We took our last waves in and waves bye to dais and khang.

We both high fived each other when we got out.

We went to breakfast paradise afterwards and recounted our waves today.

I've noticed that my pop ups going left are weak and slow. No doubt because my left arm is still weak. I have to work on it more.

Mahalos Mother Ocean!!!  And mahalos for CC on coming out!!

Getting back into shape 112413

I don't quite remember too much about this day, except that it was small, gutless, and cold.  I paddled out with Joyce, and she is a gnarly snowboarder turned surfer, and she hates the "big" stuff.  "Big" stuff meaning anything above 2 feet. 

So, it was so small today that I paddled from my Mons Pubis spot to the lifeguard tower, twice.  Joyce's friend Helen came out too, and they both caught some nice waves. 

I still found myself unable to muscle my way into waves like i used to.  So, I must keep on truckin along.

Mahalos Mother Ocean!!