3.1.07 & 3.2.07

3.2.07

Dave’s little apartment is SICK. So simple..clean, and the view of the north shore is great! Instead of getting up pre dawn, I slept till 7, mosied out of bed, got my shtuff together, and headed out. Here’s the best part of the morning. A typical bachelor in Hawaii does not eat breakfast at home. They go to the gas station or 7-11 to get some morning grindz. So we stroll in to 7-ll, get some breakfast plates (which were good) some water, and a bar of surf wax. David was already standing in line near the front. There were two checkers working their own register. Since we were together, and paying together, I just threw my stuff with his, threw down some cash, and waited for the lady to ring us up and get us going. Meanwhile this conversation ensued..

The next guy in line – “Bra, what, you don’t have to wait in line”
Dave – “Bra, we’re together”
That guy – “So…you don’t have to wait in line”
David – “Bra, we’re together”
That guy – “Well I was in front of him”
David – “I was in front of you”
That guy - …
David - …

It was almost fight time or this guy. Heaven forbid two people pay together. Hmmmm. This guy was struggling!!! So we drove to Lani’s equipped with a beefier board, and jockeyed for position once again. There were a handful to good waves snagged.

Here’s the view of the north shore, looking south.

The first reason why I’m here was the state wrestling tournament, and it has begun. Several kids I once coached have qualified and are wrestling quite well. At the end of Friday’s round there are 5 of 8 still in the tournament. I’m back at Chris’ house for the eve. No surf, only semifinals in the morning!

Aloha

3.1.06. Dawn Partrol on North Shore

This morning Chris and I awoke at 5:30 to take the hour long drive up the North shore, or the country. Traffic had already started at around 6, so it took just a little longer than expected to get there. We surfed Pupukea, about 100 yards north of Pipeline. This stretch of beach is far and away the most popular and sought after surf spot in the world. By the time we paddled out, there were about 10 people in the water, within 30 minutes, there were about 30 people in the water. Surfing in a crowd is not fun. When your all by yourself, you get the pick of the litter…waves roll in, and you paddle where you want, when you want. You actually get to pick and choose. Now, when 30 people jump in the water, and try to surf the same wave, you can imagine there is quite a bit of jockeying for position, though there is a surfing etiquette that is usually followed that lets the guy closest to the breaking part of the wave have priority. Anyway, The larger sets were about shoulder to a foot or two overhead. A good size! Google some pictures from pipeline and that should give you the idea that this was a smaller day. It was nice. There was one bad part…I was riding a 7’2”… 7 freaking foot 2. Are you kidding me? I eat boards bigger than that for breakfast. This was like a paperweight compared to what I’m used to riding. I was afraid the board might get lost in the water or something. I mean, I ride longboards for the most part, and this board had only about ¼ of the float ability of what I’m used to. So in regards to the board, it could have been much better! But I do believe there is nothing better than Dawn Patrol any day of the week. The rest of the day was spent visiting with old Pacific Wrestling Alumni at a local restaurant just north of Honolulu. There were around 20 people in all, including two former women's wrestlers at Pacific. Lots of new introductions were made, and to stick with the age old saying….good times were had by all!!

Pictured are…Jon Small, Poncie Raguindin, Old Coach Mike Clock, Kurtis Saiki, Billy Veninciano – The Moloka’i Connection

With a late night drive back to the north shore with David, The stage was set for another great day…Surf in the morning!!!