Around The World In 80 Waves

Get up early and enjoy putting a fresh coat of wax on the board. Decide to man up and a grow a pair so drink some ‘toughen up’ for breakfast so I can head for Pipeline having decided that I am indeed mentally ill enough and possibly good enough.

I meet two lovely surfer girls called Alexa and Anna whose home break is Vancouver Island in Canada who are also up for their first surf on the north shore. Like me they are used to surfing in thick wetsuits, so I don’t know who is more pleased by their being able to surf in bikinis, them or me.  I am in board shorts and a rash vest to stop me giving my chest weave an auto Brazilian on the hot wax. The water is gloriously warm and clear enough that you can see the large rocks you are surfing over.

It is my first surf on the North Shore, in the Pacific, and on a board I have never even got in the water before. Oh and I am paddling out 200m up the beach from Banzai Pipeline, so there is no chance of anything going wrong then! However I absolutely nail it from my first wave. There is a big fast drop down the face into the waves at the break I’m on which is known as Turkey Bay, massive bottom turn and then long snaking rights before leaping off so as not to get caught in the heavy shore break. I was expecting to be wobbly and a bit all over the show but it looks like this board and I were meant for each other. I’m shredding from my first ride. I cant believe I’m surfing the North Shore. I’m so stoked I could burst. A feeling that stays with me in the water as I catch a hatfull of waves over 4 hours. The wave are head high on the face maybe head and a half on the bigger sets towards the end of the day as the new swell arrives. The sun is shining, the water is warm and the girls and I are having a blast. I’m not even that bothered by my first Hawaian hold down which keeps me under water just long enough to be unomfortable after a big wipeout, as well as allowing me a closer look at the rocks I may end up getting bounced over.

Everything is good apart from one moment when I realise there is a big shadow coming up at me from under the water. I nearly soil myself only to see the one shadow turn into two massive turtles when they break the surface right next to me. They just want to say Aloha to welcome me to the islands and hang out with me for about five minutes, really having a good look at the British bloke on his new board before slowly but surely swimming off. Very cool.

I have waited over twenty years for this feeling and I am loving it. I’m just about as happy as I could be right now. 🙂