It has been F-L-A-T on the south shore. Don't think I have had a good session since October! I am not a happy surfer.

Soooooo ... just as Neal judges his summer by how many times he goes to Diamond Head, now I judge my winter. I actually went there twice this weekend. I did get a few rides, but they were those silly washed out waves that died after the first few seconds. The best thing was the crowd. That is what makes this place so interesting. People were in surprisingly good spirits for what we had to work with. But then, as I overheard some chatting, I could see it was more of an asylum from the Christmas madness than anything else.

As I bobbed I noted that at least half the crowd was female (both days) and there were quite a few newbies who looked stoked - even if they just wallowed inside on miniwaves. A couple of the outside break guys scooped up a coconut that was floating in. They tried using it as a football - one paddled out for a pass, then another challenged his buddies to see who could carry it the longest while on a wave. Funny! Wish I had my camera. Today I watched more wackiness as the boredom with the futless waves wore on: a couple of guys took to clowning on their longboards as the waves would slowly carry them in - dancing swirls and twirls to the applause and laughter of the crowd.

Oh well ... a small bump is due for the south shore this week; I plan to make the most of my time off. Who knows, I might even make the trek to surf the north shore again (if I can find a spot that doesn't have 25 foot faces!)

Mama Sus

... wishing Hawai'i sun-warmth to all you winter chilled ones ...