He`e Nalu

We've had good surf this trip. Nothing huge, but fun-sized waves almost all the time. Last week started with a surf report that called for "diminishing 2-4' surf" on the South Shore. The next day the report was for "diminishing 2-4, occ 5' surf". That was followed by "diminishing 3-5' surf" and then "diminishing 4-7' surf".

I had a really nice session at the peak of the swell out at Tonggs. The tide was high, the waves were clean, the 5 people in the line-up were very friendly, and the waves were pumping. I caught a couple of really nice set waves - big drops, but not much shoulder.

Sue, Fred, and I paddled out after the swell had dropped off a few days later. I was on the boogie board with the camera, ready to capture their best efforts. You'll notice, however, that there are no pictures on the page. When I turned the camera on, it told me I should charge it soon, and then shut off. A pity since Sue actually paddled into a nice wave and stood up - the first wave she's caught all on her own!

Zippy's!!

For Dan's last lunch on the island we wen hele up Kapahulu to Zippy's. I think it may be the first plate lunch we've had this trip, a rather amazing statistic given everyone's love of meat, rice, and macaroni salad. But I guess it's a testament to how well we're eating at home, that we haven't been going out that much.

Chris and I each had a Kalua Pig plate, Dan and Sue each had the Mahimahi sandwich, and Fred and Clay each had a Hawaiian Plate. Afterwards, it was napples for everyone! Apparently Napolean's bakery is discontinuing the napples, so we may have picked up some of the last on the island. Good timing I guess.

Aloha e Bruce!

One of these people is dressed for the airport, can you guess which one?

Yes, here we are putting Bruce on a bus for his trip home. Dan and I rode along to see him off. The group decided to keep Dan until Bruce pays us the $7.00 he owes. ;-)

Mahalo nui loa e ka`u aikäne. E hui hou mai ana.

He`e Nalu

Surfing. Capitalism has made surfing into big business. Corporations are selling a lifestyle. Part of that is telling you how you should dress, what music you should listen to, and what board you should ride. It's that last that always amazes me; not that some corporation would make a business of it, but that any surfer would fall for it.

'He`e Nalu' translates to 'Wave Sliding'. There's no mention of equipment. It's all about riding the wave. A waterman in Hawai`i is comfortable on a variety of equipment, choosing the board, if any, to fit the prevailing conditions or mood.

Put some surfers together in a house that has various water toys in the backyard and eventually they'll have ridden all of them. We've already been out on the surfboards and the boogie boards. Yesterday Bruce and Dan christened the two-person kayak. We watched them paddle out to Tonggs from the wall. They had a pretty good rhythm and were outside in pretty short order. They caught a couple of nice waves and Sue captured a part of one on video from shore.

This morning they decided to do it again, paddling out into slightly larger conditions on a slightly lower tide. Amazing what a difference those changes can make. They caught one wave and were paddling back out when a large set started to roll through. They cleared the first two, barely, and then, in what can only be described as a re-enactment of the Andrea Gail's final scene in The Perfect Storm, did an amazing back flip in 8 feet of whitewater. We watched from shore as the kayak, upside down and presumably unoccupied, caught three waves in a row. Eventually they managed to swim to their watercraft, right it, and paddle in. There were some cuts and scrapes and a broken paddle (we'll replace it, Amelia), but they were still smiling.

Maybe if we get a high surf advisory we'll finally get to take those inner tubes out. ;-)

Getting caught up

A number of little things have been going on...

• Steve has left for the Big Island.
• Fred has arrived on island (and has already been out surfing and attended a spin class)
• Sue and I went over to the driving range at Ala Wai golf course - $10 for two large buckets of balls and two club rentals!
• I took Sue out for a surf lesson. Unfortunately the conditions weren't great for it - the tide was high and the surf was cranking, so we couldn't go outside and the waves weren't really breaking inside. But still, being out in the surf with Ku`uipo makes for a great day.