Aloha to North Shore’s Bob Kaleikau
Friday - March 14, 2008
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Aloha, surfers!
The marathon continues with Wednesday’s swell pushing in some advisory waves (15 feet crest to trough) for the North Shore. There are more below-advisory NW swells coming Sunday and Monday. We also see a shift in the South Pacific ... there’s a round robin of storms pushing up small to moderate south swells every few days for us waiting one week - or 5,000 miles - away.
So, as spring nears, town will rise and country will fall ... in relative terms.You see,the North Shore will still be much bigger overall, even though country is cooling down and town is heating up. The standards are literally and figuratively higher for the North Shore. This is why the high-surf advisory criteria for country is three times overhead (15-foot face) and town is just 3 feet overhead (8-foot face) - nearly half the size! This is also why everyone goes ballistic when town is “happening"at 4 feet and country is “not happening"at the same size.
One thing is not relative ... the experience of an absolute perfect Saturday evening.It was for the ceremony and paddle out at Ehukai for a friend, Bobbie Kaleikau. I’ll never forget the images and feelings. They are etched on the hearts and minds of all who attended that late March 8 afternoon.
It was the day after the new moon. The skies were clear with light cirrus. The winds were calm and the sea was glassy, yet breathing with life. There was a surreal WNW rolling in at 5 feet. I’d never seen Pipeline this perfect at this size. Sometimes not a drop of water was out of place. It was relatively friendly and inviting ... even the groms (and I) gave it a go. Everywhere you looked was a picture-perfect postcard. The energy was playful and sweet.
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And there we were, nearly 200 people hand-in-hand 100 yards off the shore right next to Pipeline in a glorious circle. This eternal moment was created soon after Tom Pohaku Stone spoke and chanted an amazing Moe Uhane (dream) he wrote. I must confess I’d never seen insights like this. The vision and wisdom were humbling and beautiful.
We were the lucky ones whose lives Bobbie made better just by being himself. He was there, too, sharing in the perfection. Nature was in rare form ... and you could see Bob smiling down.Pipeline sent more than a few spitting tubes our way for confirmation.
I wonder if while living here on earth he was aware just how much and how many others cared. With his incredibly inspiring love and friendship, it doesn’t feel like good-bye. Some souls live on inside us.
Please log onto SURFNEWSNETWORK.COM as I try to post Tom Stone’s tribute in the next few weeks ... along with, as always, all things surf.
GQ, dropping in 4 U!
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