Going Solo
Friday - January 27, 2006
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A surfer speculates his solo flight plan — destination: Stoke
at Waimea Bay
Aloha, Wave Warriors!
We have a new BIG one arriving ... it’ll be a “WNW” above high surf advisory levels. High surf is defined as anything 15 feet “crest to trough” or higher. If you hear locals calling the surf 8-10 feet or so you know it’s pretty big - at or above 15 feet in the face. This can be pictured as a wave breaking over three times as high as an average-height surfer. That’s enough to get any surfer’s blood and adrenaline flowing ... That’s enough for a high “stoke” advisory, too!
So be ready to have your own stoke and adrenaline going - from the beach as you watch the Monster Energy Pipeline Pro. First day of its holding period is Friday, Jan. 27. Now, I really shouldn’t be “calling it” - that’s the contest director’s job, Reid Inouye. He has the first and last word. But I just can’t help myself. What great timing! Pipe loves a BIG west-angled swell ... one that you can see coming from your left (Kaena Point). It makes those fat barrels reel down the Banzai Reef - perfect for tube riding! Now don’t worry if I’m wrong, there’s plenty time to finish this three-day Monster event. We have till Feb. 10. I’ll be talking to Reid first thing every morning to know if it’s a go. Within a few minutes you can, too. Just call 596-surf, 596-wave or 638-rush ... or log on to the new SURFNEWSNETWORK.COM - cams, reports, weather and all. Stoked!
There’s always a lot of “circus” surrounding surfing. In the mags, on TV or on your PC ... you usually see “packs” in the water and on the beach. It’s all a part of our culture of hype and, hey, surfing is a helluva lot of fun so a lot of people do it. But most of us don’t do it for the hype. Not even the pros. In fact, many are drawn to surfing for its solo and soul feeling. Surfers are drawn into the water as if called back to nature. It’s so simple and beautiful just being out there! I know so many, including myself, who go alone all the time. It’s not that we don’t have plenty surf buddies to go with. We do. But it’s like a relationship ... the best kind are formed one-on-one. It’s that one-on-one with nature and riding a single wave ... alone. Now every surfer knows that feeling. We will even fight for it. I guess it’s instinctual ... a need to have something for yourself. It’s food for the mind and soul. In fact, I’m feeling it right now ... I’m getting hungry! The best sessions are spontaneous. Load the board in and go ... Oh, wait, I’m not done yet!
Some more hype: Get ready for the Pipeline Body Surfing Classic. It’s going to be one day only, and last year was epic. Todd Sells won it in perfect 6- to 8-foot Pipe. Its holding period runs the same as the Monster Energy - Jan. 27- Feb. 10! Todd beat out 10-time bodyboard champ Mike Stewart, who’s in a league of his own and usually wins it. Imagine riding Pipe with nothing but a pair of fins! These guys are true watermen - many are lifeguards; all are worthy of your presence on “the day.” You know who to call.
The girls are gonna get their chance too! In March we witness the 2006 T&C Women’s Pipeline Championships. It’s the second annual for the first stand-alone women’s event at the Pipe. SNN’s very own Banzai Betty is the director/pioneer for what may someday be huge in retrospect. The ladies are literally busting down the door. Let’s just open it for them. I’ll keep you in the looping news barrel. Right here ... next MidWeek on the weekend.
I’m GQ, dropping in 4 U!
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