Been surfing it since just after high school (22 years), mostly by myself. Maybe one or two times a year, I’ll share the lineup. It’s a small, but very very powerful, hollow wave. Doesn’t hold much more than 3 or 4 feet overhead. Can be head high and really good. It comes out of deep water and just dredges down a reef shelf, either offering a very thick round barrel, which can be quite long, or one of the most rippable waves you’ll ever surf. It’s not hidden, and there are regularly surfed waves nearby, but you can’t really see me out there from any of the nearby lineups. It’s virtually immune to all but the strongest winds, so I surf it pretty much no matter what the wind is doing, and it still barrels hard.
Every time I go out there, I get at least a couple of very round gnarly barrels, and scores of very fast rippable doubleup walls. It’s so concave and quick that the shorter your board, the easier it is to make the drop. It’s shallow and the reef is sharp, with more wana than most places have. I’ve stepped on one really badly before. It’s pretty far out and has a very very spooky feel to it. I’ve seen monk seals and lots of honu out there before.
My friends can’t believe I surf it alone all the time, but I ride it alone beacuse I know how good it is, and because very few other people surf it. If it’s good, I go out, alone or not, cause it’s just too damn good to pass up.
The area is mostly undeveloped and the coastline wild and beautiful. It looks like a mess from the beach and you can’t really see how good it is until you’ve mad the long paddle out and are reaching the lineup. As long as the swell direction and size are right (fairly broad working reanges on both) and the winds aren’t too strong, whatever their direction, it’s on.
This spot has consistently produced some of my funnest sessions, nearly every time I paddle out there, dozens of times a year. Because I’m always alone out there, I’m constantly trying to get others to try it, and while I have created some devotees over the years, most of them don’t surf much anymore.
So there I was again today. My friend had passed on it, cause of the way it looks and the paddle, so we surfed something bigger and crappier. Once I’d dropped him off, I beelined it back to my spot. Two hours later, standing on the hill above the beach, no one else around, smiling and almost more relaxed than humanly possible, I drank in the gorgeous scenery and watched the now empty lineup heaving and barfing like it always does.
22 years and it is no more crowded than when I was just out of high school. Seems like the place exists just for me. Without a doubt I appreciate the place more than anyone else. No one else even comes close to surfing it as much as I do, and she almost never disappoints. Makes me feel like a grom again. Pure stoke. What crowds? What pros? What kooks? What vibes? What weak, shitty surf? I forget all of that when the places is on.
There’s still places like that out there. I have mine, some of you have yours. Blissed out in Paradise