It's been a while since we had some decent surf on the north shore--just mixed up junk since I got here in November. So it doesn't take all that much to get me excited to surf Kanaha. Yesterday was messy, fairly big (some sets were solid DOH) and ridiculously shifty. I took off on the first nice wave I saw in the middle and got it right on the head. Buggah jacked like crazy and fell on me. I was in the rinse cycle a very long time, over the falls at least once, maybe twice. Kind of freaked me out since it was the first big Maui wave I've been in for nearly two years (missed last year) and I thought I had this place dialed.

I paddled over to the right side and stuck close to the channel, though that didn't offer any shelter from the occasional bombs. There weren't many people out--Loch Eggers, a couple of decent SUP surfers I don't know, and one prone longboarder. It looked like hell from the beach but really wasn't that bad. I finally started getting a few nice sized ones. Bart de Swart showed up and started surfing the same area I was in. Nice to have some company. I edged closer to the middle a few times and caught a couple of bigger waves. Long rides once I was in, but tricky to find the peak without getting creamed. Loch was making it look easy, but I'd already been schooled.

My knee served warning on a couple of steepish drops, and finally wobbled a bit and left me staggering around in a big one that wasn't about to put up with those shenanigans. I face-planted and got thoroughly rolled. I took a couple of more smaller wave just to reassert dominance over my knee, and headed in.

This morning the surf was a lot smaller, and a bit more orderly, but the wind was blowing Kona (offshore). Nice for cleaning up the faces, but the currents were whacked and when I rode waves to the edge of the lagoon it was like going off the pavement onto a rutted cane road at speed. Still, the faces were getting held up by the wind and it was easy money to get into a lot of waves. Free ride back out too. Then I got the stupid idea of trying a left even though they looked like closeout city. Yeah, bad idea. Not only did I get rolled halfway down the wave, I couldn't get back out over the shallow reef section. One shoulder-high breaking wave after another, ten seconds apart. Sheesh. Took forever to punch through all that. Once I got back out I discovered that the wind--which I expected to lay down (Surflines said so!) was up quite a bit, and I was getting blown back out of waves even if I was standing on the nose right in the pocket. So that sucked. I finally gave up and quit. When I looked back out I saw that only Junya and Chris P (both foiling) were still out, except for one longboarder and a SUP paddler way down towards kite beach. And then they came in too, so I didn't feel like such a wuss.

Tomorrow it's gonna be 35 feet. Yes, 35 feet, maybe 37. So I'll probably be hiding on the west side, hoping for some wrap. I just need to get through Peahi corners and Paia before all the tourists start milling around. Supposed to be a serious North wind as well, so we might get a Maui Biathalon--surf the morning, downwind in the afternoon. Fingers crossed.

I enjoyed that story! I saw the swell was supposed to build crazy big there while watching Pipe Master. When I visited Maui around 2000 (my only trip ever there) we stayed in Kanaha (wife and kid)! Some oceanfront condo w/a view of the break. I brought a 7'0" mini gun and 7'4" funshape. Surfed em both just about everyday. Never hit the break at Kanaha though. I would love to revisit and sup this time.

Cook, you're thinking of Kahala, on the west side, overlooking either S-turns or Little Makaha. Kanaha is a beach park near the airport on the north shore. You were probably on the west side. There isn't a hotel at Kanaha.

Our big-ass swell didn't really show up. I guess it was big enough for Peahi to break, there were still cars there when I went by tonight. I should have tried to surf today, but I didn't. I did a downwinder on the south side instead.

Oops, I meant Kahana. A few more consonants and a few less vowels would make Hawaii a lot easier. Sometimes I turn on Google maps just to laugh at the pronunciation.

Yeah, there's a standing "agreement" not to sup surf at Honolua. Hookipa middles too, though it's somewhat disregarded since Lanes is fair game as is the flats between middles (greentrees) and Pavillions.

That board is a 14'. Used to be hanging at Hawaiian Surf and Sport. Lenny was trying to sell it for some ridiculous price. Laird used it on some really big days at Lanes (the west end of Ho'okipa) and he could get that thing into waves easily despite high wind. No idea how he did that. He blew it one time and the board hit him on the cheek. When I ran into him a day later he looked like Popeye.