"Has this been the weirdest summer ...... or what?!" (so said the 'River Rat' of Kaua'i)
So go the conversations about Hawai'i's summer swells. We did get some juicy swells in early April -- we were all psyched ... saying that this was the
sign of a great summer ahead. We are still waiting. This is not to say that it has been completely flat. We did have a couple of small south swells last
month and even had some people catching some small north shore waves last week. It has just been weird.
Then again, perhaps I am being a bit too subjective -- my buddies are writing wildly happy surf reports (in between the frustrated jonesin' ones!) It has just
been a really weird summer for me. In June I surfed through a lightning storm -- and later found out that wasn't such a good idea. (Hey, lightning is
rarer than snow storms in Hawai'i! We don't know about those things!) Then there was the embarrassing moment I realized I, too, could have 'wave rage'
(OK, the waves were not really worth fighting over, but it had been a looonnnnnggg time between swells -- it brought out the worst in everyone ... and I
just grumbled loudly -- no blows!) Then there was the day I got mysteriously bumped by what felt like the cold nose of a big dog. I didn't stop to identify
the creature -- I had already heard that my buddies had seen a 'small tiger' out there the weekend before. (Longboarders can call a four foot shark
'small'; bodyboarders don't.) Then two weeks ago, there was my own private viewing of The Shark -- a beautiful sweeping silhouette in a wave not ten
yards out from me. I should have been more afraid, I guess; I just felt awe.
This week I have been grounded by family matters -- my very pregnant daughter has been in labor for two days (we are still waiting as I write). The cool
thing is she is doing a homebirth -- in a tub. Imagine coming into the world with a duck dive! I'm looking forward to the new little surfer.
So ... meanwhile, I am paddling out to this new break, the Pacificwaveriders.com . I wave at old friends, nod to the new ones -- send good buddy Glenda
the local eyebrow salute -- and hope I will be welcomed into the lineup. (At least they don't have to worry about me snaking any waves!) Hopefully, my
future columns will be more upbeat and full of surf stories. I think one is sure to be: I will be meeting up with online surfer friends on Saturday -- three of the
coolest, sweetest, surfingest guys on the alt.surfing newsgroup ... and we will all have our cameras! I look forward to sharing our adventures here.
Malama Pono,
Mama Süs
