notebook

Hawaii notebook: 12 January 2001
This is great, first I get my Arnette sunnies ripped on the plane, then first surf at Waimea 7foot plus, my leash broke and my brand new board got thrashed, snapped completely in half! Good side is the surf is 7-12 foot and rising, I bought the deal mountain bike for 68 bucks, and the surf is going off! Did I mention the surf?
A local guy (James Sarantis) took a picture of me and the board so if he sends it to me I will post it here.
Day2.
Surfed pipe, about thirty pro's out, got three waves, seems the average, Cam got wasted on the reef, not too bad tho'. The waves are great on the video's but soooo gnarly in the flesh! The bottom turn is the trick, you have to take it and it's fast.
Day3
No luck with the picture of the broken board, had a great day surfing off the wall 6-7ft again! Got some good ones then got a humungous lip on the head, this is heavy surf. Cam is surfing good Lowie is sleeping heaps and taking real bad video. Tomorrow is the day, wish I had a couple of weeks surfing these waves, but it's great anyway. Wish me luck.
Day 4-5
Well that did it, both me and Cam got knocked out, waves were good no excuses. Great competition great surf great venue. Now I'm afraid I will just have to free surf for 10 days, bummer!
Day 6
Me and Cam have been surfing the Wall, got some sick barrells and got spat out of a couple, amazing. The DK comp was run today along with the womens, 5-6 foot offshore at pipe. Mens open final tomorrow. The swell is set to increase to a 20 foot, North swell tho which is not good for pipe, it will be goin off at Waimea so we will have to go. I have been using one of Cams boards, in fact it is so 'used' I had to give him $20 U.S. for it. All the boards are looking pretty had it to be fair. Lowie is still the worst video guy, we call him Slowie now.
Day 7
Strange the pipe has dropped off so the comp has been postponed, running at a 3 foot max.
The Wall and backdoor were fun tho'.
Day 8
Today it was 20 foot and unrideable at pipe so postponed again. The Eddie Aikau big wave memorial challenge was held at Waimea for the surfers, Kelly Slater was surfing good.
. Looking back on the comp, Sean Virtue is ripping and Mike Stewart decided to compete, trying to win his money back I reckon :-) Jeff Hubbard did a 720 air reverse earlier in the week, unbelievable. This place has the HOTTEST chicks and they are real friendly!
Myself Cam and Lowie found a trivia game to play, this is a quote from Lowie reflecting on himself and his knowledge : "is it possible for dumb people to get any brainier?" He is a crack up!
Me and Cam went shopping and I scored some sausages for tea, 10 for $2.50, Cam found a pack of 10 for 99c he was stoked and paying me out, when we ate them I swear his were made out of cat meat! They were gross!
Day9
The swell is a little less nuts today, only (!) 18 foot and dropping so it looks like the comp is on for tomorrow the finishing rounds. It is pissing down with rain but warm, it gets real muggy in the evenings but is cold when you wake up in the mornings. Ryan Hardy did a 10 foot barrell this morning and came out to do a massive air reverse, I have it on video.
Cam has got an infection in his leg from his brush with the reef at Waimea, it looks a bit swollen he has nearly used up Lowie's and my first aid kits. I keep telling him to go to the doctor but he is too tight. Poor Cam :-)
Day10
Well think sick be sick, the cuts I got from falling off my bike (an ARS!) and sitting on my arse have come back to haunt me, the one on my ankle is infected and wont heal so it's the doctor for some drugs tomorrow. Felt like crap today but luckily the surf has dropped to 3 foot again so the comps off and I'm not missing much! There is always a good side to things I reckon. Imagine feeling crap when the surf is goin off! I suppose tomorrow it will be 30 foot and unrideable! Forcast is for 10 foot at pipe so fingers crossed
Day 11
Didn't need the doctor woke up feeling great.
6-8 foot at pipe got 4 waves in 4 hours, we are talking a packed line up! They were great waves though. Log cabins was the next stop 4 Foot wedge ramp, Ben Player was sitting real deep in the tubes, Kelly slater was out with no leash and ripping 6-8 foot tubes from second reef through to first reef. Good day in paradise.
Day 12
4-5 foot into the quarter finals. Suprised at the quality today, some guys are really ripping but watching Andre Botha in his heat he only got three waves and out of that just one ARS. Hubb is surfing well, the top picks of the day have to be Ben Player and Tamega. Surf set to go to 15 foot late tomorrow. Had a great surf at Kaikai (? spelling) 4 foot and clean, Cam took some good video. Cam's leg is good and he reckons he will be back surfing tomorrow. Had a dusk surf at log cabins, awesome 4-5 foot and Cam using backlight and night shot on the camera, looks cool. My bike is still at the beach, Cam lost one of the keys to the lock last week and I lost the other today, have to go early in the morning and deal to the lock, that is if the bike is still there! Feels strange that it is dark at six pm and NZ is still light until nine, gets dark quick here
Day13
No comp today as the waves are around 20 foot at pipe and a bit unrideable, they are moving the pipe to wests side! KL'S beach. tomorrow. Cameron surfed today.....great, we sat looking at Waimea Bay at 15 to 20 foot with a heavy lip. good laxative. Anyway we went out, what a day! the surfers were saying good one brah' and these are locals! I suppose they respect (talk to) anyone who is stupid enough to go out. This day is the day that is Hawaii for me, big waves and good people. If you come up from a wave that is drowning you and you hear a lot of whistling.......GO cos there is a bigger set coming in.!!!! The guys sit on the outside and all whistle to give a warning, cool. Feeling good here but miss mum's steak and kidney pie!
Day14
Andrew Lester is THE MAN, he is pipe champ for 2001. Too far away for me to get there tho, it's like a full mission, about 5 bus changes and the hike from nam. I wonder if it,s the first time the pipe comp has had the final somewhere else? Would Andrew have won if it was at pipe? So many questions so much surf, so little time.
Me Cam and lowie surfed pipe about 8-10 foot, as usual heaps of people out, I was sitting deep at 3rd reef then a 15 foot set come in and washes me into shore! This happened THREE times, I was over it, went to log cabins and had great surfs on a 5foot dredging shorey.
Well I am all suited and booted ready for the party at a night club in Honolulu, Cam and Lowie have got a couple of 40 ounce 5.8 percent flagons of beer so I am the official navigator for the busses on the way home.
Day15
To be fair last night wasn't the worst night of my life, but it was real close. Cam and Lowie had their fill and the fun began. The party was in a night club in Honolulu and we got there a bit early, the place was gay, I mean really gay! We were going to party in a gay bar! Then every one arrived and there was 100 bodyboarders ten chicks and a ....I can't go on.
Went for a surf at pipe, 8 foot, got my longest ever barrell followed closely by my biggest ever smashing, did a reef check. Back door was having the odd good one and I scored some mean tubes, then I was going in and a huge lip landed behind me and blew me off my board!. Then it was off to Log cabins, 5 foot shorey but good, Cam got some great video, his hands were quite steady.
Day 16
Got dressed this morning, usual rash shirt, boardies etc. then felt soooooo tired, thought, sod it and went back to bed. Cam and Lowie went to log cabins. I woke up at 1 pm! Then we went back to Log Cabins and it was 3 foot , had some good waves, Then got thrashed by a set and was skidding along the bottom, it was sand, then wap! Got my knee on the reef! I will say to you it is sore! Two days left in paradise, it is raining and the surf is zero, I have a bung knee....it is time, it is time.
Day 17
It is really hard to sleep here, it was raining last night and really muggy, it cools down after midnight but going to sleep that late makes it tough to get up for the dawny. I suppose eating 5 kg's of the chilli from hell washed down with a sack of nachos may not help. And I thought I had scored the move by grabbing the top bunk. I did not take into account Cams bowels and hot gas rising, nuff said. The surf has dropped away heaps, we took a look at pipe it was around four foot but because it is the weekend there were 200 guys in the line. We flagged it and went to log cabins, that was only 2 foot but really fun, Cameron got a really good barrel that I caught on video. I think my body needs this small stuff, I put iodine on all my cuts, I look like a Dalmatian dog!! We went out before dusk to Kaiki, 3 foot shorey but again real fun, in fact it has been a fun type day. We will definitely be up for the dawny tomorrow, then back here to hose out the room, pack the bags and off to pipe for a final burst.
Day18
Went to pipe and surfed a couple of waves at backdoor, it was 2 foot! about 6 guys out. As my luck had it a surfer dropped in on me and crumbled the barell, I got into the white wash thinking I could push through, over the falls I go an land on my bad knee on the reef. So will not be back after the clean up. (sob!) Still it's 2 foot and dropping it is time to go. I shall drag my broken and bandaged spotty body home. Fly out 11:30 pm local time.Trying to get a ride to the airport (cheap) and away to Raratonga, no stop there unfortunately. We have to jump plane at Auckland cos the stupid flight goes to Sydney and they said we can't get off!! Yeah Right.

Well I really enjoyed doing that. Maybe the Greymouth comp end of the month, could do it again.
Thanks for reading.
Later John