Outer reefs, big boys' playground

This winter, I got to experience some outer reefs on a ery good day, the day I enjoyed was the day the spots weren't fully on fire. when it braks full potential ( like these photos ) it is too big for me, I would be way in the channel looking at the big boys ripping way deep and far back , dropping in on some huge bombers.
There are many days that I didn't go out because I knew I didn't belong there and even though I would have enjoyed watching from the channel, I know they enjoyed having that spot with only the people who deserve to be there and no kooks getting in their way.
As much as I was frustrated with my lack f skills and being chicken, I was so stiked to see the boys charging and thier eyes get totally lit up with adrenalin and highest level of high. it was so inspiring!

I think Now I know how big I can handle when I have sup board that drags me in the watr for ever( not big) . it is sad but true, and I sure hope maybe next year I can handle just a little bit bigger and powerful waves , but not this year.
But how lucky I am to have all these guys who charges right in front of you and make it look so good and make you want to feel what they feel soooo bad! They are my huge inspirations.
when it gets big like that , line up has no arguments, no sup, surf,kite windsurf classes, it is all love and happiness and everyone respect each other and take turns ( becaue there are plenty of waves and a lot fewer people than usual)
Just for that reason, I would love to get better and feel comfortable being out there so no one is going to give me stink eyes or see people yelling at each other.

This winter is the one to remember!

Epic Lanes with Kona wind

2010!

Big X'mas Present!

never ending glassy waves!

King's arrival

As weather forecast was calling for high surf warning, huge waves were breaking when we woke up. we walked out to the point of Hanalei Bay at dawn, there were already many people looking out to see the big waves.
Bob who moved here 5 years ago, told us to come and see king's reef. I had heard about the reef from Laird as he had told me that he wanted to ride that waves someday and it would be a lot bigger than Jaws and a lot few in between. It only break every several years or so.
So it was very exciting to actually see what Laird was talking about.

The whole ocean looked angry . and it didn't look like they would accept any human to get close. Just watching the waves makes you feel so small and powerless .
I heard that Laird flew to Maui and rode waves there ( since the wind wasn't good for Hanalei and waves were messy and too big)
This swell offered amazing waves everywhere Waimea was big enough to hold The Eddie, historical big wave paddle in contest . Jaws was going off , and Honolua was perfect!
Me, I had hard time finding small enough waves but all around the Kauai island had wrap around, even the southside had beautiful waves, so I had fun riding small beak breaks.

Kauai, the Garden Island

Spending 10 days in Kauai、I felt like it was time warp 20 years back. Maui has changed so much over the years and I expected Kauai to be the same. I have been there 20 years ago but I didn't think it would be as mellow or laid back any more.But everywhere we went, I felt filled with aloha and mana , people were friendly and helpful as well. And the surf was amazing.

During the stay, surf forecast was calling for one of the biggest swell of the season. I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to play in the water because it would be too big. ( Kauai is known for the heavy surf) but there are so many different spots and if you look for it, there were plenty of uncrowded places.( this was the view from the place we stayed!)
People in Kauai try really really hard to keep this old hawaii feeling of the island. They don't want to be lik e"MAUI" where it has lost many of the beauty and aloha, they want to keep their home as it is and don't get it developped. When super ferry started , so many people on Maui were against it but still police and county could control the people and get the ferry running. In Kauai, people united and surfers and kayakkers stayed in the water at the harbor and blocked the ferry from anchoring, it was dangerous but there were so many of them that they couldn't control and ferry eventually had to leave and go back to Oahu without anchoring. that is the difference between Maui and Kauai.Sure it has some developments but people try harder here, it seems. even in Hanalei, main town is still small and houses are lowkey, even on ocean front, ( they must have strict regulation on what they can build) and all the condominiums and hotels are at Princeville, outskirts of the town and you hve to get out of town to go there which totalluy separates the two. I think that was a brilliant idea.
I got to see some of my old friends I haven't seen and surfed with them. got to experience some of the heavy reef breaks and got humbled. got to enjoy real fun clean waves with handful of friendly locals. SUP, regular surf, even tried shortboard which I never do on Maui ( shortboard spots are always crowded)
I totally felt like I could live here , sure it may not get as windy as maui and kiting is merginal but I would surf a lot more here since there are so many uncrowded spots . I got to know Andrew's parents and we all had such a wonderful time! Thanks to John and Kate for taking me for their family trip!
Everyday was amazing experience and I cannot wait to go back there again already!

Great early season!

Well, this Nov was crazy, I looked back my record and there was not even one day that didn't have descent size waves, most of the days were epic conditions!
I felt like in this month, I already had more good waves than I had in a whole last winter!I sure hope this last like this till the end of the winter , it would make me a very strong rider, and will get used to big waves, but maybe also make me a very poor as well since I end up focusing on going out in the water and get after it too much.

Dec is so far looking even better, some no wind days but that means great glassy surf for surfing and they are calling for HUGE Surf around 7th.
I am plannning to go to Kauia around then and I don't know where to go or what to do there , I sure hope I don't end up just watching good surfers rip huge waves all day everyday and not being able to do anything because the surf is too big and good for me.

Happy Thanks Giving Day indeed!

Waves came down quite a bit from yesterday but still closing out sets were coming at Hookipa and Lanes, there were lull in between and it was windy enough so I went out and found surprisingly good wind! it was a bit stormy because if onshore wind all day yesterday but towards the end it got cleaned and between big monster sets, I could find some waves that was fully makable and can go down the line and those small ones was still pretty big!
Hookipa wasn't working very good , I saw 2 windsurfers out for a short while but then they were gone . it would have been the great time to hit Hookipa all to yourself but there were reason good windsurfers were not out, I guess, waves were almost looking better at Lanes. and the channel had so much water moving and bouncy that it was scary to be around.
I was on 7m but fully powered and wishing someone would come out . By the time I came in after couple hours of riding, the guys came back from checking all the spot downthe coast( and not finding good conditions anywhere) so I told them it is very good here, They went out and had a blast!
After a big Thanks giving feast on the water, I had huge dinner prepared by the boys who live with me! they cooked the whole turley, made about 10 pounds of mashed potatoes etc. I ate till I literally dropped ! What a great Thanks Giving Day!

I shouldn't say this but I am almost ready for junk condition so I can rest... alomost!

Huge swell but ruined by onshore wind

Today is the biggest day of the season but it is only Nov. who knows how many and how big we are going to get this winter, I have a very good feeling about this winter! we already have more swells than we had all last winter !
Anyways, Hookipa was totally closing out. no surfers were out . it was very west and channel was totally closing out but west swell has big lulls and I can see there are some opening t get out . This is about the biggest size I would consider going out ( on a good wind day)
If the wind was good and strong, I would have gone straight to kite beach and tried to hit right at 11am to avoid the crowd but report says no wind down there.
It was a bit more onshore than yesterday at Lanes too , which means probably straight onshore down the coast and that is not good. So I decided to wait and see if the wind direction changes and get stronger.
Sometimes it is not good to come to the beach so early, you get so amped up that you convince yourself that it is ridable.
Deep inside, I knew it was too light and too big and too onshore, I felt like I had to go out and see how it is. First I tried with 7m but as soon as I launched my kite, I knew it was way too small so I pumped up 9m which I would never use in a big surf, but somehow I convinced myself that I used it enough times in Baja that I should be Ok.
As I went out with 9m huge sets totally closed out across the ocean and I was underpowered with even my 9m, I knew then that noone ( including me) was going to make it today. way too onshore and too light. Even if I somehow make it out, I would only ended up getting caught by whitewater behind and get totally munched and destroyed if not killed.
I went back and force for a while playing it safe inside and felt good about giving up.
Kitebeach was the same, it is usually more onshore and lighter when Lanes get like this.I still had too much adrenalin in me that I had to get rid of so I drove all the way to west side. When it is onshire on the northshore, sometimes west side gets windy. when I arrived S turn, I saw 2 windsurfers floating outside, waves looked pretty good like head high. at one point, it must have been windy but it started raining and wind was shut down.
I found Andrew and Sean at the park so we went out surfing there just to get wet. It was a bit too windy for my standup paddle but it was fun anyways.
I heard Honolua was all time, ( like this photo by Hiro) and Paige was ripping it up.　She is the best local bigwave surfer for sure and I am so proud of her being such a solid surfer and young and super cool person! She sure deserves more publicity and sponsors.

Matt Combs on Maui

MAUI NO KAOI!

I was planning to stay in Baja till mid Nov, but the forecast od Maui was looking sick, big north swell for more than a week with good wind, I started feeling anxious , then I found out one of the guys who was staying at the beach was leaving and heading North.”IfI get a ride with him, I can make it back to Maui in time for this swell" I thought about it for couple days and last minute, the day before he was leaving、I decide to go back to Maui and hop on his van.
So I made it back on 29th at night , as I drove back to Haiku, I could see the thick white lines at Hookipa, indicating the waves are up.
I couldn't wake up early enough to catch early Standuo session at Kanaha the next morning. but was ready to go right at 11am at Lanes.
it was great condition and the condition got better and better every day.There was a day that waves were pretty big and most people didn't go out, the wind was gusty and offshore, too. I felt very much of a chicken that day but going out on that day made me feel more confident and relaxed on other days when the wind was steadier and waves smaller.

Waves continued and we received swell after swell for 8 -9 consecutive days. well in fact, the waves are still here , just a bit smaller.Maui is known for waves and wind but even this place don't get this good for this long very often. this is very special and rare. It sure was worth it for me to come back in time and this week really made me reconfirm that Maui sure is NOKAOI!

Back to Maui

Baja is good but I was checking the web forecast of Maui and it looked like it was going to be epic condition for over a week. that red fireball looking was a good indicator that maui will have some big NW swell in 5 days or so.
I was bummed that I would miss it but then , I realized that our camp neighbour Cliff is leaving and going up north in couple days.
All of a sudden it came to my mind that if I get a ride with him. I may be able to catch those good conditions on Maui.
I didn'T have much complains being in Baja but some special days on Maui is so special.
I started checking the tickets, etc and waited till the last minute and finallyb decided the night before the day Cliff was taking off that I will catch a ride with him.

So even though I was going to meet up with my good friend Kremer, and was looking forward to see all my friend who would be down south at The Wall, Conejo, and La Ventana, I had to give up seeing them this time and chose the big surf back home.

Well, after all I am so glad I did it, because the conditons on Maui turned out to be better than I expected and kept getting better and better for over 10 days!
This is when I feel lucky I live here, it is not always like this!

Simple life at the beach

(pat and Rob drinking beer at the end of the day )
What I love the most in Baja is how simple every day is and you don't have to deal with crowd in the water.
Every day we wake up before dawn, and I would get coffee and walk to the point to check out surf, and then watch sunrise.
if the surf is good and glassy, I would take my board and go out till it gets windy.but this trip we didn't have as many glassy days as I was hoping. Still I had handful of days that were very memorable fun with noone around or just couple others. That is a big treat for someone like me who is always worry about the crowd on Maui.

If it is a good condition, I have trouble finding time to eat because as soon as I get outof water, I would want to set up my kite gear and go back out. but usually I would eat a little , go for a stroll and talk stories with neighbor campers and then go kiting in the afternoon.
between kiting and surfing, I have time to walk along the beach to pick up shells, read books, make jewelry, sitting by the camp site, cook some good meals and getting to know new neighbors who are as much of freaks as I am and always have interesting stories. camping in the dirt with no water, electricity, no stores for months just to get some good riding reqires some paticular characters, I think.
It's not everyone's dream trip that is for sure but for us who keep coming back here, this place has everything we love, quality surf, no crowd, clear sky, beautiful sunrise and sunset ,handful of good fun people .
I just love the simplicity being here!

Epic condition!

It was already windy when we woke up and waves were up!
I was super excited and ready to go but Kevin said it may switch to Santa Ana wind so I waited for a while.
Santa Ana is the wind coming from the land and it is known to get super strong like 50 knots straight offshore. I would not want to be out in the ocean if that happens.
I waited for a while and try to cook up some clams I picked yesterday so I can get my mind off from the waves and think about something else.
Around 9 or 10 , first guys who went out was little Bendt, the waves were triple of his height and wind side off , he was using tiny sail. he caught the first wave which was one of the biggest wave of the day and stuck the huge aerial! the whole beach screamed and yelled and hooted at him! the waves looked like it was from Cabo Verde! it looked perfect!
Anyway, soon after he caught that wave, Kevin came out and I assume that is a good sign that I don't have t worry about Santa Ana so I started setting my gear.
By the time I went out the wind mellowed out a bit and I was a bit under on my 4m and waves came down as the tide changed as well but still it was super fun day !
I hope we have waves like today every day but then my body will be fallen apart!

Rob's school bus

After having a blast for a whole week with ripping girls and cool guys from Japan, I was supposed to move into my friend Rob's school bus, He was supposed to be here long time ago but he had some things he had to take care of and didn't come in time to meet all my girl friends . he sure missed out.
Anyway Solo Sports was nice enough to let me stay at their camp till rob showed up. He arrived at night and stayed near the Chili bowl point and came by the Solo Sports in the morning.
It was nice to see him again. last time I saw him was last year in Baja.
He has kited a lot since then and then moved to Alaska for the whole summer to work and now he is set in Baja for the whole winter again.
HIs school bus is his house on wheels and he spends more time in the bus than anywhere .
It is a super cool set up , simple but got everything he needs. and he has a cat called Marty. Marty.
Anyways, it's nice to hang with Rob and Marty again and soon enough, my best buddy from AK , Kremer will show up so we can cause troubles and get rob mad at us.
This is Rob'S first time in San carlos, nd he is excited to get lots of kiting in the waves. Well, looks like he is going to kite today already.

Most girls they had in Solo sports history!

Usually Baja doesn't attract too many girls, no real bathroom or Shower, no hotels, no shopping. but there are some wind/wave freaks in feminine shapes as well and this time I brought bunch of them.

I think having this much girls brighten up the atomosphere of the Camp which is already pretty cheerful with bunch of happy campers who gets to surf/ kite / eat and drink all you want without having any work.
GIrls inspired other guests and boys by charging everything all day long, some girls stayed longer than anybody and caugh more waves than anyone. One girls kept standup paddling for 8 hours straight.
They were trying to learn new sports as well. and then supporting each other by cheering !
Some of them were windsurfers, some don't windsurf but surf, some are new to surfing, but everyone had passion for outdoors and they all enjoyed meeting new cool people and all the beauty of nature Baja offered us.I cannot wait to bring many girls here again, and I am sure guys enjoyed having this many girls on the beach as well, it was unheard of in Solo Sports history! what a fun week we had!