First Surf At Pipeline This Winter

First surf at pipeline this winter and there were about 8 guys out. The vibe in the water was mellow.

Riding a 6’9″ Matt Biolos shape for Shea Lopez I got used at a local surf shop the night before and spray painted orange (so Jessica could spot me in the lineup) and because the board was sunned and yellowed.

I was playing the shoulder because the peak was above my current pay grade (15-20ft on the peak, 8-10 feet on the shoulder – front of the wave size).

Catching a few, working my way up, watching the locals, which waves to catch, what part of the wave they drop in on, how to line up with objects on the shore, etc.

Then everybody all at once went to the beach within 5 or 10 minutes. I was frothing thinking it was cool because I had no pressure and could move around the lineup freely.

Well, the reason everybody went in I found out was that when the wind changed direction slightly, the current that comes from the sandbar on the beach at Ehukai turned into a river in a matter of minutes and was sweeping me towards the main peak and Off The Wall where I’m gonna have some interesting negotiations with the set waves.

Paddling against the rip back towards the channel I’m starting to realize I might be forced to snag one from the main peak to make it to the beach. By this time it’s all lumpy, bumpy, stepped up with ribs in the face from the rip.

It wasn’t bad but I felt like only a rookie would pull a move like this and remember hoping that the lifeguards did not venture out there to check on me.

After about 10 minutes of constant paddling against the rip, I was able to snag a medium size wave and get to the beach without making a scene.

Lesson learned.

If your dreams don’t scare you, you’re not dreaming big enough.

Mahalos,

A.B.