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 PSI on the North Shore
North Shore, Hawaii
Driving into the North Shore with three guys who had never been there before was like seeing the place for the first time. They were kids in a candy store with images from the surf magazines all dancing in their heads. Shawn was the youngest and most excited, having been locked into the marines for four years. Everything to him was a new experience. He had only been surfing for five months and he loves everything about surfing. The early morning checks, putting on the wetsuit and waxing up his board. Heck he went from the military to working for a motorized surfboard company. To arrive on the North Shore was the ultimate adventure for him. I told him if he could paddle out in some solid surf after only five months, even I would be impressed. Then you had Todd and Dave, very appreciative of the situation before them. Beautiful waves and beautiful girls. We also knew we would have three Jetboards waiting at Sunset for us. This was a rush.
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As we came up over the hill and could see the lines of Haleiwa, we knew we had arrived. This was Bob's territory as he had lived here for many years. You could see his excitement grow as he pointed out one surf spot after another. Bob is the senior leader of the group, but he lights up like a kid when it comes to surfing and Jesus Christ. As soon as we arrived in Haleiwa, we stopped and Bob picked up a brand new Dick Brewer thruster. This was a sweet board at 7'2" and enough thickness to paddle in nicely to these North Shore bombs. I asked how big of waves he was planning on surfing. He just smiled and loaded up his new stick. Just as I had felt so comfortable surfing Honolua Bay, Bob paddled out to Rocky Point just as if he was still living on the beach and this was his backyard. He caught many waves and often the larger sets. I also had some great surf sessions at Rocky's until I was looking at catching my last wave in for the day and see this guy paddles out with an spray painted helmet and a crazed look in his eye. The vibe in the lineup changed immediately and took on a much serious tone. I figured it was definitely time to go in, so as I worked my way into the inside, I look and see this same guy "shoulder hopping" another. They begin bumping rails, pushing each other and the guy with the helmet isn't even looking at me paddling off to the shoulder out of the way. Needless to say, he runs over the tail of my board. What a waste. I later find out from a local, it was Crazy Joe and he is a phsyco. But the local said, "don't worry, he can fix your board. He does ding repair." I bet he does. What a racket! |
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| We spent the first two nights at the Turtle Bay Hilton. This is the bomb with incredible ocean view rooms and its own surf break out front. When I thought we couldn't do any better, we moved over to the Sunset House Thanks to Mike Slattery of High Surf Rescue we were set up in an incredible house out on the point at Sunset and looking right into Velzyland and Phantoms. Mike's company makes our rescue sleds.
It was apparent right from the get go this house would be the center of all our activities. The band Fishbone came by to check the boards. We made plans to have them come down from LA to ride the boards. You know they must have them in their next video. A longtime friend of Bob's, Fast Eddie lived two doors down and his son, Makua Rothman came by to scope the latest innovation in big wave surfing. He popped in his latest DVD and it was sick. He is going to be an incredible Jetboarder. Sunny Garcia also came by to check the activity. |
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| We awoke to surf moving through Phantoms on the outside reefs in the 12' to 15' range. Not huge, but definitely a good warm-up. On to Phantoms... |
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| Other chapters in this series include:
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