It’s just after 9:30am and I just got out of my hot, soothing shower, a luxury most of us take for granted here in the States. I was up at 5:30 am doing my mandatory slug hunt and intuitively knew that the surf was going to be good again! I hurried through my check finding 3 bastard slugs and then headed for the kitchen where an over steeped 100% Kona organic coffee was waiting for me in the French Press. My wetsuit and 6’ 4” rounded pintail surfboard were already in the bed of my truck eager to hit the surf. The 1.3 mile drive took about 3 mintues and by 6:00am I was in the water at Rocky Point. And oh what a morning! The surf was a solid 3-5’ traditional Hawaiian scale (6-10’ faces) and absolute sheet glass. For those of you rookies—sheet glass is water that is so smooth that it appears to be like glass—so smooth and perfect without a ripple on the face of the wave nor on the surface of the ocean. With only 3 of us out this is “Dawn Patrol” at its finest and today everyone is stoked. There are no bad vibes from overcrowding, there are only smiles, and each of us giving the other surfers waves—“You go Brah!”
The Spring surf on the North Shore of Oahu can be hit or miss but this Spring has been very, very good- lot of waves and a lot of days with no crowds. It does get crowded, but not at dawn and this is when I like to surf the best. Today was a 3 hour session that yielded about 20 waves for me. Not bad for a 55 year old “Geezer” that still tries to charge. The “kids” are stoked seeing guys like me out in the water riding short boards, and taking off “deep”. They are stoked because they know that someday they too will be the old guy out in the water, or so they hope. “True” surfers will always surf and this comes from the heart– not from the clothes or from the latest in sunglasses trends. I am as stoked at 55 as I was at 18! There is no better way to start your day than to surf good waves with a few friends. For me this is what life is all about. Everything else can wait—has to wait! There are just too many variables with surfing-swell, tide, wind, crowd, etc. so when the surf is good-you gotta go! Surfing is the sole of my existence and is almost pious to me. I have lived my entire life making surfing as a priority. I wish that I could give everyone the peace that I feel out in the water. I don’t think about anything bad, I just concentrate on the present, taking all that is offered to me and am thankful for each and every wave. And when I see the kids ripping and doing airs- I get even more stoked! Life is finding things like surfing where nothing can interfere, where you are protected and safe- a place where you find solace and peace of mind and become a better person because of it.
