Past few days have been fun size along the main reef. Calling it 4 feet Hawaiian on the sets.
Seeing some incredible surfing. Traveling pros surfing at a high level but from what I’ve seen the local boys have the place mastered. Just like any good spot, there’s a revolving door of locals taking shifts on the peak regulating the rotation and deep dropping, maximizing the wave’s potential.
Also, a handful of groms anywhere from 10 to 16 years old are just charging, girls too. Mostly local groms or traveling Aussies, but one grom from Smyrna is surfing well – cool to see some mainlanders with talent. All these kids are packing late drops and driving in tubes, just frothing.
Luckily the peaks get pretty vacant mid-day and opportunities present themselves. This is when it’s possible to get right in the mix for about an hour. The vibe calms down and everybody is more open to chatting a bit and sharing a few waves.
Learned something about tube riding from watching the top guys that I haven’t seen done with so much consistency before. With the stiff offshores, it’s just getting to your feet, hugging up high and tight, molding to the shape of the tube real high on the face – in a tiny tube for how big the wave is – and then as the ride progresses, drop down into the next section which usually throws top to bottom with more wiggle room. Back foot pinned far back to keep the nose up while pumping and preventing the foam ball from lifting the tail up and dumping you over the handlebars.
The reef on the inside in certain areas is shallow to the point that you can’t really duck dive. You just get kinda mopped up and have to keep your hands on top of your deck when you mini-duck dive just to get under the surface, not wrapped on the rail or you’ll smash your fingers on the rock.
Gearing up for the next swell… shoots
A.B.
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