The winter season showed it’s face today on the North Shore of Oahu. The predicted swell lived up to the hype as Waimea Bay came to life. The large swells were maxing out most of the north shore surf breaks.
Unless you had a jet ski or some crazy kohones, Waimea Bay was one of the few “Surfeable” waves on offer. With wave heights ranging from 15-25 foot faces, it took some courage and confidence to charge these waves.
Some surfers, like myself, live for these sessions. The thrill of pushing your limits and experiencing a blood pumping adrenalin rush is why year after year surfers flock to Waimea Bay. When the high surf warnings are posted and surf forecasts are calling for 12-18 foot Hawaiian style surf, it’s time to wipe the dust off your big wave gun and get out a fresh bar of wax because it’s on!
Butterflies fill your stomach as you paddle out and get into position. The first big set that stacks on the horizon nearly provokes a heart attack as the pack paddles out in a flurry to greet the waves.
Once in position, 6 + guys swing there boards around towards shore and start paddling as hard as they can. An assortment of grunting noises can be heard, similar to a battle cry. If you don’t really want it, you better get the hell out of the way.
Throughout my two sessions today (check out photos here), I caught 3 amazing rides that got my heart going from the start looking straight down a 25 foot face. One wave really sticks out from my morning session, there was a big set coming in with at least two solid waves. I was sitting deep and the first one popped up and jacked right in front of me. At first I thought, “Not a good idea,” but Kalani Chapman and another respected local both let it drift by and I told myself, “I gotta go!”
I swung around and scratched hard, jumped to my feet and used every inch of my 9’11 as I glided straight down the face. Mid way down I prayed the nose of my board wouldn’t pearl and send me cartwheeling. That was the first test passed.After the steep drop, I had no angle to ride the wave face and went straight for shore.
This set me up perfectly for the “Rodeo,” something I look forward to every Waimea session. It happens when a massive wall of white water explodes (hopefully) right behind you just as you lose momentum from the high speed drop. This places you in a precarious situation because you have a huge mountain of water moving faster than you trying to gobble you up.
If the whitewater bucks you off you experience what it’s like to do underwater carwheels. On this particular wave, I thought my chances at the rodeo were slim. I assumed my rodeo stance and braced for impact. A sheet of water exploded over my head from behind. It looked as though I was watching a shower of white water come down in front of and on top of my head.
“Yeeehaaaw!” Somehow I survived round 1 and the pulse sent me accelerating again. Round 2 was much more mellow and the 3rd round did me in. At least now I was out of the impact zone and stoked! I started laughing at the silliness. The euphoric feeling, the adrenaline, the giddiness…It’s what we live for.
Despite the rumors of fewer big wave events this season, due to La Nina, big wave surfers across Oahu have already shaken off their pre-season jitters and washed away the dust accumulating on thier big wave guns.
Look for more uncontrollable outbursts of laughter, fist pumps, screams, and a variety of other claims to arise as the north shore winter season heats up.
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