Roger that Mr. Tate, no argument. Money is usually at the root of most machinations. There were/are a few things going on but even with the “missionaries” there was monetary aim and gain. I’m not speaking out against the Lord. I need Him in my life. Sharkcountry gave a great synopsis of Polynesian history. Love is the answer. Agreed. Thank You for that.
sorry to hear about it. I dont’ mind visiting my buddy off Tamarack, but the crowds can be a pain. I’ve been trying to hold onto my stoke through family and work overload lately. I was recently talking to another local sways poster from here and I mentioned, “Damn I haven’t been to sways in quite some time, but I need to make another 6’4”," so I coddled my browser to remember the link again. Here in Brevard County, Florida, it is not the kooks that will wear on your patience but the waves, or lack thereof. Luckily, there is a guy here recently that is working on 1000 days surfing straight, and he is a beacon in the world of surf starved stoke. It can be knee high sets, and he will find a spot that will hold for a 40 yard ride. He has a big smile and is always happy to get wet. So, it may take some changes in your normal routine, but I hope you can find your stoke again. Or you can always pray for hurricanes like we do. Maybe that will change up the lineup for you.
If making surfboards is your job and you are not enjoying it, then on top of that surfing is just not happening, it can be a really overwhelming situation. I worked in the television and corporate video world from Sept 1976 till May 2016. I loved TV when I started, but the last 3 years were tough. When I moved to Corporate Communications I was able to rekindle the flame and enjoyed the ride. Eventually the corporate side of things and the interoffice politics ate away all the joy I had doing something I really loved and felt that I was good at. Since retiring, I’ve found more pleasure in using my cameras, and have been taking out a small water camera when I surf. I catch a wave then sit on the inside waiting for people to catch waves. If I’m lucky, I get a few video clips before I drift all the way out. If not I’m back in the lineup and I didn’t even paddle. The pace of riding is slowed down quite a bit because I might miss a set or 2 shooting clips. It’s been great though, I don’t get worn out as much, and I don’t get upset at the snakes and aholes who are constantly trying to compete for the next wave. Plus the people know tht if they get me upset, I’ll never let them see a clip of themselves riding, and it may have been a really good ride.
Living on a small island with quite a few people makes it very hard to find uncrowded surf. We have kids from very young to college age all wanting to learn, add the tourists who are only around for a week or so, the guys who have been surfing long enough to think they are the locals, then add the really good surfers who can go anywhere and be in the top 5 percent out and you have a mix that can make things very frustrating.
Gotta find a way to bring the fun back. Crowds come and go like the changing weather. If surfing is in your blood, you won’t be able to stop, and the faces you know from decades ago will be there. If it isn’t you’ll move on and find something else to fill that void. Just seeing friends you’ve known for decades and talking can be a good thing.
As far as not enjoying making boards when you need the money, I really don’t have an answer. I walked away from good money when my head was getting messed up. You need to be happy or you’ll spend all your money trying to fix your health.
this guy never lost it for 94+ years
Reminds me of a day back in the '80’s. I was working for a painting contractor in Arroyo Grande… We had a short day one morning so I convinced him to run down to Rincon with me. He had not surfed in years. At one time it was a big part of his life. A business, wife and kids, "struggle for the legal tender etc. had crowded it out. He knew I was pretty avid, so he used to like to talk to me about it. Especially Monday mornings when I would come in after a weekend in Santa Cruz or Santa Barbara. I was surprised he was up for it. So off we went. Chest high Cove at the “Corner of the Sea”. I caught several waves and rode them thru the Cove kicking out at the foot path. It was a little crowded and I noticed that the Boss was struggling a bit and hasn’t caught a wave. I had loaned him a really nice 7’10 rounded pin single fin that a guy by the name of Steve Musinger from Cayucas had shaped for me. So I sat inside of him and told him to paddle in behind me. We took off together with me in front clearing the crowd of “snakes”. Once I saw that he had the wave to himself, I kicked out and just watched. He paddled back out with a big smile on his face. I think that was the only wave he got all morning and probably the last time he ever paddled out. If you can’t or won’t do it for yourself; there ain’t nobody gonna do it for you. Lowel
And his local spot was always crowded with tourists…
Mako, do yourself a favor and book a flight for LAX for 10/12 and come to the Big Sur campout.
I can pick you up from LAX.
Your stoke batteries WILL be recharged!
That is a great offer Chris. I will be coming out to California but it will probably be last week of October or first week of November. I have to plan around my boy’s school schedule. This year I may be bringing out both of my boys. My 11 year old goofy foot is progressing and is just about ready for a California trip. I gotta say my recent trips to California have made it very hard to get motivated to hassle with crowds to surf waist high junk back home. I paddled out yesterday at one of my home breaks with about 30 other people fighting for scraps like in this picture of my youngest from back in March.
This is what I really need:
Her Majesty Queen Lilio was quoted as saying in disbelief that she didn’t understand how fellow Christians could treat her so badly. And had faith that they would see the error of their ways. But greed corrupts. The Great and last Queen of the Sovereign Monarchy of Hawaii was the true Christ-like example. Lowel
Not me! When it comes to Hawaiian history I only know what I’ve read. I have a higher opinion of Cooke than most after reading a 1500 page biography of his incredible life. Beyond that only the things my Hapa cousins from Kalihi have told me. Her Majesty preferred the English to the greedy missionaries. Just take a look at the flag.
Didn’t mean to hijack this pitiful thread.
“If you can’t or won’t do it for yourself; there ain’t nobody gonna do it for you.”
This is the last sentence of your story about your coworker. The same coworker that couldn’t get a wave by himself, so somebody (you) did it for them. Am I reading this right?
aloha GT much aloha your way too
that song is very special to me
we beat the seniors with thar “stone eating song”
and I studied kauikeaouli (kamehameha 3 the boy king) when I was at his namesake
I also treasure my time at Princeville where I feel a special connection as it was a favorite vacation spot of his too.
we still have wood from that tree that sat infront of that palace that they cut down and threw away
only I will ever know the meaning of the pieces i use in my different crafts including boards i make
I am greatful for what I have been given and always will be
i love just sitting in the lineup perhaps too much sometime
one day at a time
its the greatest lesson i’ve learned from those much more enlightened than me
one day at a time
It’s a constant battle. I recently stopped surfing my usual spot because a few of the younger guys decided I get “too many waves”, which is bull, I sit outside and wait a lot, not on a longboard or paddle boat, but yeah I do get some of the set waves when they come. So they’ve been burning me every chance they get, and mouthing off trying to start trouble. Anyway, the drama spoils my fun, I’ve been hitting some other spots lately and having a blast. Three waves in the morning before work and I’m good for the day. Surfing is just fun time, if you take it too serious you miss the point. Be safe, have fun, loan a leash, share some wax, give a hoot.
Last Sunday I ran from my regular spot , as If I had taken some bad acid, and stepped into the bizarro world of pasty white inlanders escaping the heat. I recognized no one and no vehicles on the walk there or back.
I only caught 3 waves, surfing a much less consistent less quality section of beach nearby the main peak, by myself, until the end. One guy paddled on the shoulder forever trying to drop in on my wave, Oblivious to my presence. I was taking the wave in, already over it, watching with amusement as this guy windmilled on a 9 footer teetering on the edge of actually catching my wave. I was angling to merely reduce the distance I had to walk to escape this whole convouluted weekend beach scene, and the guy finally did catch the wave, eventually made it to his feet, only then noticing me, and fell, the board shooting right at me as if aimed to decapitate, if I were closer.
I never Jog. I hate jogging, But I could not get out of there and away from there fast enough. It was that unsettling anxious feeling like when something was beginning to go wrong on an acid trip and one either centered their mind and flew with it, or freaked out and thought they were an orange that everybody was trying to peel.
I might have to hibernate from the masses this holiday weekend to keep my stoke alive from the last swell. Too many Humans, who are too self absorbed, self important, shallow and greedy, make this guy way too angry, and I do not like being angry. It is the opposite of what I enter the ocean for.
Huck, one of the fun things I like to do is to ride behind. If someone decides to take off on me I do my best to be right behind them. If they make it easy for me to keep going I encourage them to keep going. If they try to squeeze me off the wave, or don’t give me any space to ride, I sometimes have a hard time not running them over.
We make our boards, fixing them is not a problem.
I got a pretty intense stomach flu on Monday and took quite a beating. Pretty much took me out for 2 days. Much better today compared to Monday. Hope to get water time either today or tomorrow. Don’t matter what or where, I just need the salt water on me. A guy my daughter knows created a clothing line for fun called Salt Water Heals. His day job is teaching at Kamehameha Schools, where my kids are 5th generation graduates.
Greg, Kaulana Na Pua is probably one of the most popular and revered songs here. It was written when Queen Liliuokalani was imprisoned in her own home by US forces. It brings both tears and joy to most of Kanaka. Quite a few of the people in that video are friends of my brother and I. A lot of them went to the same school we did, The Kamehameha Schools.
I think this is the 1st video these people did. It was written in english and my 100 percent Hawaiian classmate John Keale translated it to Hawaiian. John was born on Ni’ihau, and lived on Ni’ihau and Kaua’i. Ni’ihau is a private island and only people born there are allowed go there. The locals are almost all 100 percent Hawaiian, and try to live a sustainable life. They are starting to feel the impact of people coming from other islands by boat for their fish resource. Being the furthest west, the island is also magnet for seaborne waste.
Mako seems like you’re heading back to finding your stoke. If you ever get to Oahu, let me know. I will be happy to take you around and surf. Maybe some of the Swaylocks gang can get together again. It seems like we’ve lost a quite a few, but they’re still very active builders and surfers. Maybe we’re just getting old, a lot of them have hit 60 already. No time for BS or drama.
Seems like most people live for the winter swells. I live on the south side, so I live for the summer swells. Luckily we’ve been having small surf all lately, in the past we could have months of flat ocean on the south side. I think the climate change has affected the surf too.