Fade (Tongs)

Fade: a surfer's movement back into the most powerful section of the wave... a (usually) subtle angling back toward the whitewater so to position oneself deeper in the barrel or to wait for the wave to stand up more vertically as it moves over shallower reef/sand.

Since we've been staying on the 13th floor overlooking Tongs, I've had time to mind-surf, studying the wave from a broad vantage, trying to predict where the surfers should be to catch it and what they should do to stay on it. I could see a clear need to fade often else lose the wave on the mushy shoulder. With that in mind, I made the 5-minute paddle out. A couple of surfers soon rode in, leaving just me and a dude in boardshorts. I'm still not sure how folks surf with such minimal clothing, since my ribs have gotten lightly bruised despite due care, and there's good reason surf shirts are called rash guards. Still, in the even warmer waters of Nicaragua next month, I'm going to try surfing in only my allegedly wipe-out proof bikinis by Calavera and Ola Chica. We'll see if they live up to the claims.

One thing I like about Tongs, aside from it being walking distance from our condo, is that it's primarily a left, at least in the current conditions. Although there was much less wind than last time, it was still offshore and required more forward and downward push to get into and stay on the waves. I worked it for a bunch of fun rides, once scraping my foot on the reef at the end of one. I've lost the wobbles on the yellow board now and it's pretty fun.

The swell bumped up briefly to punchy shoulder-high, and I caught a very long ride to the inside, fading to stay with the power and make it through the flat sections. Woot! The bigger set was followed by a lull. Denis told me later that Diamond Head is notorious for such sneaker sets.

The other surfer left and I had the break to myself. Sweet. I rode a few more waves but the breeze was chilling me so I caught a series of three waves to get closer to shore before paddling in over the shallow reef. Stoked!

Surfline: Small South swell provides knee-waist occasional belly-chest high sets for the better spots in Town, inconsistent. Light ENE wind early, gradually increasing and veering NE through the day, becoming moderate. Partly to mostly cloudy skies. Buoy 51101: (Wave) SWELL: 6.6 ft at 13.8 s NNW 98 / WIND WAVE: 3.0 ft at 5.0 s N / WVHT: 7.2 ft / APD: 8.2 s / MWD: 342° (Met) WSPD: 16 kts / GST: 19 kts / WVHT: 7.2 ft / DPD: 14.0 s / WDIR: 10° / ATMP: 74.8° F / WTMP: 76.3° F. Tide: Falling from 0.5'.

Snorkeling with free dolphins yesterday. So cool.

Ketchup and Mustard (Haleiwa)

Amanda on her red fish

My buddy Amanda was on the north shore of Oahu with her boyfriend when Scott and I were on the south, and we wanted to meet up for a surf. I'd hoped to time our trip up to coincide with Carissa Moore's wildcard heat in the Van's World Cup of Surfing, but the contest website was abysmal and provided zero information on when that might be. We drove up today to see what we would see, taking the long route meandering the windward coast and stopping at Turtle Bay for lunch at Ola, our feet in the warm sand, looking at the ocean.

Just after we'd ordered, Amanda returned my voicemail. She had a short window to surf and we agreed to meet at protected Haleiwa since I didn't feel comfortable in overhead waves on the still slightly-tippy yellow board. (If I'd had my own surfboard, Emm or Rocket, I would totally have been down for her suggestion of catching inside waves at Chuns. Damn airline board fees!) So I could find her in the water, Amanda told me she'd be on a red fish. I said "we'll be like ketchup and mustard," looking at those condiments on the table.

Amanda's directions were good and I joined her on the inside, soon launching into my first ride. On the next wave, I was just about to pop up when I saw two large rocks exposed in my path. My brain screamed "Abort! Abort!" as I quickly pulled out of the wave. We moved away and outside of the exposed reef, and had to paddle frequently to stay clear of that danger zone.

It was good to surf with Amanda but she had to leave after I'd been there only about half an hour. Funny that we hadn't been able to meet up to surf for probably the last three years in NorCal but managed it, however briefly, several thousand miles away. I got many rides on waves up to chest high, weaving through surf schools and over one none-to-bright swimmer. The waves were mushy and I had to catch them near the peak or just broken. My best was a left with a shoulder. When it started to slow, I turned back to the peak for speed, then left again. Woot!

Sadly, I learned later that Carissa's World Cup heat had started shortly after my session ended a few miles to the south. Had I known, we would've dashed back up to Sunset Beach so I could cheer her in person. (Grrr, Vans! I'm never ever buying your shoes.)

Surfline: 4-7 ft shoulder high to 2 ft. overhead, fair to good conditions. Haleiwa looking much more manageable than yesterday as the winds and surf has dropped down. There are some fun waves rolling through but it is already looking pretty crowded....remember to share waves and show aloha. Sunny, highs 74 to 81. East winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent. Buoy 51101: (Wave) SWELL: 6.6 ft at 9.1 s E 97 / WIND WAVE: 4.9 ft at 5.0 s E / WVHT: 8.2 ft / APD: 6.6 s / MWD: 82° (Met) WSPD: 16 kts / GST: 19 kts / WVHT: 8.2 ft / DPD: 9.0 s / WDIR: 110° / ATMP: 74.8° F / WTMP: 76.8° F. Tide: Less than 0.5' and rising.

Offshore (Tongs)

Following an afternoon storm, the wind howled strong all last night. From our penthouse condo (it seems they didn't want to call it the 13th floor), I could see a surf break called Tongs (or Tonggs). There was no one out, but at least it was blowing offshore.

Later a few surfers had appeared and it seemed like it was it was only getting windier, so I succumbed to the pull of the ocean. Blocked by the high-rises for most of the long paddle out, the wind hit full force as I reached the lineup. Without wetsuit padding, I've often gotten bruised ribs surfing in warm water, but they felt OK. I think that's because I'm on a smaller board - a big longboard gets knocked into me harder than a shorter board - and because I now arch my back more when I paddle, like a real shortboarder. My bare knobby knees, however, continue to attract bruises.

Shallow water

Some kayakers were catching waves in the inside shallows and for a while I was the only surfer. Then a dude paddled out teaching a lesson, pointing out that my shortboard had more rocker than the beginner longboard his charge was trying to stay atop. The yellow board felt less tippy than yesterday; I'm getting more used to its narrowness.

I rode four or five gutless waves, fighting blinding spray and the offshore wind to get down the face for a brief ride before they petered out. I triangulated with a rock and a pink condo and paddled constantly to maintain position on the shifty peak as I was blown about, but got pushed to close too the rock and found my feet touching the reef while I sat on my board. Tongs breaks shallow, and Denis told me later than this gets especially hairy when it's big. That wasn't a concern today. It was good to get wet, and after a while every else went in, leaving me alone under the sun in the warm shallow sea.

Surfline: Small SSW swell continues. Look for mainly knee-waist high sets through the day, with occasional plus peaks at best breaks. Strong ENE wind 15-20kts. Buoy 51101: (Wave) SWELL: 7.9 ft at 12.9 s NNW 96 / WIND WAVE: 5.2 ft at 5.3 s E / WVHT: 9.5 ft / APD: 7.0 s / MWD: 344° (Met) WSPD: 19 kts / GST: 25 kts / WVHT: 9.5 ft / DPD: 13.0 s / WDIR: 90° / ATMP: 75.0° F / WTMP: 76.3° F. Tide: Falling from 0.5'.

Sexism in Margaritaville

When we had dinner at Jimmy Buffett's in Waikiki, I wasn't sure which restroom to use:

I am a surf rider...

...but I'm also a girl, though I don't hula.

Good thing they added the international symbols. But the sexism, grrr!

Canary in the Tropics (Diamond Head Cliffs)

We arrived on Oahu on Thanksgiving, and the day after I was first in the door at the surf shop to which Luke had consigned his 6'9" surfboard. He'd kindly offered to let me use it during our week on the island, since the airlines extort $200 to fly a board there and back.

After waxing it up, and getting a little lost when a lighthouse proved curiously hard to find, I met Denis at Diamond Head for my first warm-water surf. Mahalo to him for passing on his local knowledge of the entry point, the current, the nearby break names, etc. We surfed at Cliffs, in between the Lighthouse and Mansions.

The yellow board is narrower than any of mine and noticeably tippier side-to-side. Fortunately the waves were small and forgiving. I caught a few and fell before making a nice right. Denis was riding his wife's wide 8'6" while his 7'0" is in for ding repair, and offered to switch boards with me. But her board was a huge tanker and I quickly swapped back. The board was lacking a leash so I'd bought one, and sorely missed my XM Tangle-Free leash as the standard one kept catching between my toes and wrapping around my leg.

Still wobbly but slowly getting the hang of the yellow board, I rode a long whitewater right and then a left. The water was so clear and warm - ahh, nice! I love to feel the surfboard under my bare feet.

Surfline: 2-3 ft knee to waist high. Fair conditions. Small SSW swell trying to provide ride-able surf on southern shores today. The Cliffs and Lighthouse locations have semi-smooth open rights rolling in. Lighter trade winds will produce less choppy conditions for south east exposures. Partly sunny with a 50 percent chance of light showers. Highs 69 to 83. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Buoy 51101: (Wave) SWELL: 4.6 ft at 12.1 s NW 95 / WIND WAVE: 2.0 ft at 5.3 s ENE / WVHT: 5.2 ft / APD: 6.4 s / MWD: 319°(Met) WSPD: 14 kts / GST: 17 kts / WVHT: 5.2 ft / DPD: 12.0 s / WDIR: 10° / ATMP: 75.4° F / WTMP: 77.0° F. Tide: around 0.25'.

Skunked

I can't remember the last time I got skunked by conditions, but Church of Surf was cancelled this morning. After plans to surf "Rachel's Point" fell through, Luke and I checked the Jetty (slight breeze on messy short-period swell kicked up by strong southerly winds overnight) and Linda Mar (onshore wind driving pouring rain onto a few dozen intrepid surfers hunting closeouts). Rachel's may have been surfable, but I rather doubt it. With a passing storm front, conditions were variable and the predicted offshores did not appear. Sadly, Rocket stayed bagged after riding around in the car with me for and hour and a half.

It looks like I won't have another opportunity to surf NorCal before we leave for Oahu on Thanksgiving. I'll be unplugged for a week while we're on vacation, but tropical surf reports will follow on my return. Until then, Aloha!

Canoes, May '10