surfing and wave sailing volume 2

Olaf Mitchell wrote:Christian,I never thought about it but it's done. Thanks for the link. It's always great to here from you here.

Lol, that picture is why I never bothered going to the North Shore..hehe

Photo: Olaf Mitchell

Photo: Olaf Mitchell

Photo: Olaf Mitchell

Photo: Olaf Mitchell

Photo Olaf Mitchell

We are in the middle of another an epic winter wave event here on the north shore of Maui.

We have also had three separate shark encounters lately.

The ocean has been in a unique mood.

Friday morning I addressed work things for a while and then I did my morning surf check and found glassy well over head waves in my back yard. When I paddled out at about 8:00 am there were a few standup guys already out but it wasn’t crowded. There was one dude that stood in the same line as me and just paddled for every wave. He was tall and very fit looking but he just kept missing waves that I could have caught.
I finally had to tell him that if he was going to paddle for waves he should make a point of getting them.
He was so close to my line that if I got a wave that he had already initiated and we both got it, I felt that we would be too close for safety.
I was still getting some great waves and the swell getting bigger and bigger.
After about an hour I was joined by my buddy Mark.
After two hours the waves were in the solid double overhead range and all the stand up guys had gone in except my buddy Mickey Eskimo.
With just the three of us out we cloud be selective and avoid the real bombs.
We had our pick of the sweet head and a half nuggets.
After three hours we had scored a bunch of waves and the sets were starting to get erratic and the frequency and size were impossible to calculate.
On one set, Mark took off on the first wave and I took the second. His held up all the way to the right channel while mine closed out after I made the drop and got one turn resulting in me being in a very bad place.
This set was one of the biggest of the session.
Mark got to see me take the next eight waves square on the head. All I could do is just take a breath and dive for the bottom and hope that my board made it.
We both agreed that we should paddle in soon but things settled down some and we kept getting waves and the wind was only just starting to pick up.
Most of the waves were silky smooth after the first wave of the set came through.
We paddled in after four solid hours and we were STOKED!
I walked back home and took an hour break and had lunch.
I was contemplating a second session but when I walked back over to the beach the waves had gotten a lot bigger and the sets were even more erratic. I’m talking ten foot Hawaiian that’s twenty foot plus faces and that just too big for me to paddle into.

The next day I checked the surf at my local break and it was just too big.
No one was out and except one team that was towing in at Noriega’s, my local break.
I loaded my board in the back of my truck and drove to Kanaha Beach Park where the scene was much mellower.
So I thought.

Kanaha breaks about a quarter mile off shore so it can be hard to judge the size from the beach even with binoculars.
I did notice that the left channel was occasionally closing out and that told me to use caution.
When I arrived at the line up every one had a sober look about them. I went about the business of surfing.
I wasn’t having much luck.
Then I saw this set out on the horizon and I started paddling out as fast and far as I could but it just wasn’t far enough. I made it over the first wave but the second was bigger I was paddling up a gigantic dead vertical wall water and as I got to the lip it broke!
I went over the falls and the force drove me straight to the reef. When I made it back to the surface by board was snapped but was still held together by the glass in top.
I took two more waves on the head and the pounding subsided. With razor sharp fiber glass still holding the two pieces together I made the long paddle back in.

I drove back home and got another board and drove back to Kanaha and paddled back out.
By the time I got back to the line up there were only three other surfers out and they were being very cautious.
I caught some really sweet left hander’s that were in the double over head size and realistically that was the limit of my comfort zone. The only problem was that in order to get those I had to sit a bit deeper than I wanted.
Three of those a major sets rolled through and pounded the living s..t out of me.
I didn’t feel like snapping another board that day so I paddled in and called it a day.

I spent the rest of the day watching the pros compete in the AWT wave sailing competition that was being held at Hookipa Beach Park right down the beach from my house.
There was soo much carnage and broken gear it was amazing. The best wave sailors in the world were getting creamed and washed on the rocks. What a show!

Quite a few of our gang gathered at my friend Tom’s beach house for a while that evening until the tsunami warning sirens went off and the police came around telling us that we had to evacuate the north shore and get to high ground.

We all went our separate ways.
I went home and grilled some dinner and then drove up country to the old abandoned Maui High School where most of my neighbors were hanging out.
It was just like a big block party. Everyone had brought a cooler full of refreshments and the festivities went on into the a.m.
I was very tired the next morning so I had a leisurely morning and then went wave sailing with good wind and mast high waves till nearly dark.

Photo: Olaf Mitchell

Photo: Karen Lang

Photo: Olaf Mitchell

My friend and neighbor Mechelle Crompton in Fiji

Thanks for the stories Olaf.... I can almost smell the reef.

We've had a pretty good run of waves here since Sandy. Getting colder by the day. Only 3 of us out this morning for the chilly DP (I wore my hood because of the wind)... long lefts at the pier. So much fun with alot of "lookers" up in the parking lot but only us out.

Cheers everybody..... oh and the Triple Crown/Haliewa show is on...all day today (Saturday) and most likely finish tommorrow...check it out.

http://vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com/reefhawaiianpro2012/live

heyun, Thanks for posting.
I am stoked that you guys have been getting good surf.
Sandy was not that kind to many folks.
We have been getting some dynamic conditions here on the north shore of Maui. Some of which I have decided to sit out in that I just didn't feel all that lucky.
Big surf and sketchy wind with wicked currents.
At this juncture of my life I try to choose my battles.
The first two days of this last swell I decided not to go in the water. Day one was completely out of control and was a monstrous mess. A few people tried and all were delivered a n economy sized can of woop ass.
The second day was doable but I just wasn't feeling the love.
I took my gear to the launch and watched for a few moments and then took it back home changed out of my wet suit( it was cool enough to wear a shorty) I then went back to the beach to watch the show.
I wasn't there very long when I noticed someone waving and signaling for help.
I walked over to get a closer look and noticed that it was my neighbor Geovanti.
The waves hitting the rocks were so violent that there was no way to help him so I directed him to swim with his gear the extreme back of the bay. I walked the jagged shore line and kept him company as he made his way.
The currents were favorable and he made good progress.
I had been in this situation a lot over the years and knew that there was only one place to come in and directed him to the spot.
When he got close enough to communicate he said that he had really screwed his knee up.
I swam out to him and had him stay in the water while I got his gear in through the rocks and sizable shore pound. Then I helped him in as best I could. I just told him to crawl and stay off the injured leg.
Once we were safely on the shore I had to figure out how to get him across the extremely rugged terrain.
Luck was with us in that I noticed a neighbor in her yard and told her that My friend was injured. She actually had some crutches and allowed us to cross her property.
I then sat Geo down in front of the neighbors house and walked the rugged beach back to my house and got my truck and went and picked him and his gear up and dropped him off at his place.

The next day I wave sailed some in large and very unique conditions with out penalty. It was fun in a strange sort of way.
BTW: The doctor said Geo won't have to have surgery but he will need to rest and rehab the knee before wave sailing again.

Photo: Olaf Mitchell

Rocky shore line in the back of the bay Photo: Olaf Mitchell

Olaf Mitchell wrote:heyun, Thanks for posting. I am stoked that you guys have been getting good surf. Sandy was not that kind to many folks. We have been getting some dynamic conditions here on the north shore of Maui. Some of which I have decided to sit out in that I just didn't feel all that lucky. Big surf and sketchy wind with wicked currents. At this juncture of my life I try to choose my battles. The first two days of this last swell I decided not to go in the water. Day one was completely out of control and was a monstrous mess. A few people tried and all were delivered a n economy sized can of woop ass. The second day was doable but I just wasn't feeling the love. I took my gear to the launch and watched for a few moments and then took it back home changed out of my wet suit( it was cool enough to wear a shorty) I then went back to the beach to watch the show. I wasn't there very long when I noticed someone waving and signaling for help. I walked over to get a closer look and noticed that it was my neighbor Geovanti. The waves hitting the rocks were so violent that there was no way to help him so I directed him to swim with his gear the extreme back of the bay. I walked the jagged shore line and kept him company as he made his way. The currents were favorable and he made good progress. I had been in this situation a lot over the years and knew that there was only one place to come in and directed him to the spot. When he got close enough to communicate he said that he had really screwed his knee up. I swam out to him and had him stay in the water while I got his gear in through the rocks and sizable shore pound. Then I helped him in as best I could. I just told him to crawl and stay off the injured leg. Once we were safely on the shore I had to figure out how to get him across the extremely rugged terrain. Luck was with us in that I noticed a neighbor in her yard and told her that My friend was injured. She actually had some crutches and allowed us to cross her property. I then sat Geo down in front of the neighbors house and walked the rugged beach back to my house and got my truck and went and picked him and his gear up and dropped him off at his place. The next day I wave sailed some in large and very unique conditions with out penalty. It was fun in a strange sort of way. BTW: The doctor said Geo won't have to have surgery but he will need to rest and rehab the knee before wave sailing again.

You know I must say, you have never posted on any rock climbing issues and you live on an island with no established climbing. That kind of begs the question, why do you post on here at all? Surely there are other forums more suited to your interests. Just curious, no harm. Maybe you should come over to Oahu and hit some sport. If you established a 5.12a FA in 2007, I would envision you could.

Other forums such as the "Other Sports" forum perhaps? lol

Plenty of climbers enjoy this thread, if you don't like it don't read it.

Olaf actually has posted in climbing forums here from time to time, and I wouldn't blame him for avoiding Oahu.... he was asked by a number of us to continue this thread, and I'm psyched he has.

Wow! I just got in from a delightful Thanksgiving surf session in my back yard!
I got one really sweet wave!
I got creamed on another one!
I missed a bunch because I was sitting a bit too far out.
There were only three of us in the line up.
It was me and a guy from Denmark and the other was from Brazil.
We saw a shark but he wasn't interested in us at all.
Aloha to everybody on Mountain Project!

Photo: Olaf Mitchell

20 kN wrote:That kind of begs the question, why do you post on here at all? Surely there are other forums more suited to your interests.

is there another(?) forum where climbers can share their passion about other high-risk adventures -bring it!!

Hau’oli La Ho’omakika’i Olaf! Thanks for giving so much of your time into d'ese thread/s :) ~Aloha!

It's my pleasure kirra!
Aloha Olaf