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.

A PIECE OF PARADISE

FEWER TOURISTS-MORE LOCALS

    Around the northern point of Ohau, away from Waimea, the Pipeline and Turtle Bay lays stretches of undeveloped scenic beauty dotted by local communities of Kahuku, Laie and Hauula near Sacred Falls.

    The north shore appeals not only to surfers and fans, but those who like nature, country, local culture, agriculture and a very laid back mood.

   "Keep the country, country" is the call on signs and bumper stickers.  Here, as in communities close to nature, there is the tension between the way it is and the desire of developers. 
    I have preferred other Hawaiian Islands because of the heavy tourist development and building of Honolulu however the local and authentic feel of the North Shore and from here south to Hauula is delightfully pleasing. There is an easy accord between simplicity, balance and allowing the beauty of nature to be dominant. 
    The world has enough high rise condos, hotels and resorts. I'm with those who find favor in true local culture and perspective. Here it is country and it feels to this outsider that is how it should be.

 BATTLE IN PARADISE

 History looms in a strange juxtaposition on a point between Kawela and Turtle Bay. The beauty of paradise interrupted by an artifact of WWII.  The bunker stands at the tip of Protection Point.

 The fortification was one of many along the shoreline, protecting the Kahuku airfield that housed B-17 and B-24 aircraft.

  Here in paradise or on beaches and rises in modern Europe,  I am struck by the paradox and contradictory force of such beauty being the scene of historic and heroic battle.

 LOOK FAMILIAR?

    This banyan forest on the north shore has been a scene in many films and productions, the most recent being Hunger Games.

    Better that such paradise be the setting for only play war.  Were it that way everywhere, huh?

    See you down the trail.