RIDING POWER

SEEING IS BELIEVING

    It's the look in their eyes or the tone of voice. When I talk with friends from elsewhere I can tell they just don't get surfing. 

    Maybe they are thinking of media "Hey Dude, gnarly man!" stereotypes, or they've never seen the extraordinary athleticism required.

    Tangling with 20 to 40 foot waves is serious business.

    An article in an Island paper detailed more than 120 serious spinal injures on Hawaiian surf beaches. Getting crushed in a wall of water like that pictured above can also kill you.

   The memorial near the famous Pipeline on Oahu's north shore pays tribute to those athletes killed there.

    Along with traditional surfers are boogie boarders, using flippers and a short board.  They too ride the wave and when successful, as seen below, flip up and over the roaring Pacific curl.

    On Oahu's North Shore we watched at the Banzai Pipeline, Sunset Beach and Waimea, three of the world's best surfing sites.
     I was surprised to see the scope and depth of the "surf culture" and joked about the traffic and jammed parking, "does anyone work up here?"

   At least some do, as professional surfers. Several "surf shacks" commercially owned homes housing professionals, sit along the Pipeline. 

    They compete, do product endorsement appearances and live only feet from some of the best surf in the world.

      A few of the pros are veteran champions.

  Followed by many young chargers

 During the winter on the north shore they are well observed

  Even watching can come with potential difficulty. The next two frames are a case in point.  I took the first shot at the end of the steps leading to the Pipeline. My friend Jim shot the second frame a day earlier when those rocks and stumps were being used by professionals shooting a competition. 

  The people above are unsuspecting of how quickly the beach can change.  The pros below will remember, and fishing for their gear.

Photo Courtesy of Jim Cahill

   So yea, it's exciting and the rides look thrilling, even appealing.  But this boomer knows his own limited abilities and respects the power of the sea.

    The best I can offer you are pictures, from a safe distance and my admiration for those who catch a wave.

   See you down the trail.

THE ORIGINS and A BIG OOPS

LEGENDARY BEAUTY

   At first sight, the trees take your attention as you enter
Waimea Valley considered a sacred ahupua'a, land that runs from mountain to sea.

   This wahi pana, place of kings and high priests, is a remarkable botanical garden. It is how this land was before development and commercialization.  It is a glimpse into origins.

    Common name for the tree above and below is Canon Ball.  Any questions?

   Deep canopy and lush forest enliven your imagination to

 ponder how Captain Cook's English sailors must have regarded this paradise when they landed here, looking for water.

  One begins to understand how natives of this land were shaped by the stunning beauty and richness of the natural order.

   Life here is rich, exotic and vibrant. One can sense how all of it is part of the same web.

   Hawaiians say the mana or life force and essence of those who lived and ruled in this valley remains. It is indeed an extraordinary place, and to this writer's mind a satisfying world away from Waikiki Beach on the other side of the island.

OOPS

    Oahu's north shore is legendary for big waves and big wave surfing.  Shortly after sunrise on a day when the waves were 30-40 foot, my friend Jim caught this series of shots of surfing photographers getting caught off guard.

 Photo by Jim Cahill

 Photo by Jim Cahill

   What a desperate moment, fishing for your gear!

 Photo by Jim Cahill

Photo by Jim Cahill

    

   Those are expensive cameras, lens and tripods to get soaked and in some cases lost.
    I was able to catch a shot of what may have been the safest camera platform of the morning

     The flight controller had this drone down at wave level, between swells and then rapidly got it out of harms way. It was a neat side show.
     The other good spot was high ground.

    The eyes of the two surfers, the veteran and the boy speak volumes about the big waves.

   See you down the trail.