OK, the surf gods were with me this week - four sessions in five days.
As soon as I got back from my spectacular Sunday session at Diamond
Head, I get a message that my brother is in town for about 24 hours
and wants to know if I want to surf. We set it up for dawn Monday -
Waikiki - 'Pops' - another new lineup for me.
The dawn was beautiful and calm - the wind is finally going down a
bit. There were only two other people out there, but we were all
spread out, so there was no real competition for the waves. The waves
were low (about waist high at best) and mostly 'rolling' -- good for
Jaz with his shortboard, a bit harder for me. My brother is still
coaching me, so he helped me find the 'bowl' a few times. We had no
spectacular rides, but great conversation.
Jaz reminded me that this was almost the same spot that we had first
tried board surfing 30 (!) years ago. My dad and my sister rented one
longboard, Jaz and I had the other. These were the *tanks* in those
days - maybe nine feet or more, and they seemed to be at least 3
inches thick. We were not out long before we actually caught a wave --
much to my surprise. Neither of us really had any idea of what we were
doing. I was in the front and was the first to see us dipping straight
forward ... nose down. I totally freaked. All I could imagine was that
80 pound monstrosity of a board plunging, shooting up into the air and
then coming down on my head. I dove off and down thru the water as far
as I could. When I surfaced, I saw my brother had grabbed the board
and kept it from flying too far. (He says I was so grateful that he
'saved my life' - he remembers thinking how he just didn't want to go
chasing after the thing if it took off on a wave by itself!!) Anyway,
I was pissed and scared and I pretty much gave up surfing totally from
that experience. My brother remembers it being a great day and the
beginning of his life-long obsession with surfing. Funny.
MamaJama Süs
