Is it an Owl or a Hawk ??  Sam Hawk sliding glass doors at Ma'alaea * courtesy of Encyclopedia of Surfing

National Fresh Squeezed Juice Month * honing

National Caught in the Soup Month * clean up set

Think the classic straight ahead, never lets up, never look back, no room for error, and always on fast forward wave is Ma’alaea, on the southwest coast of Maui. Lived there a coupla times and even worked at the Ma’alaea Community Garden for a short bit, but unfortunately never got to surf the place.

Herbie Fletcher with the iconic shot @Ma'alaea Harbor * photo by Art Brewer * 1976 Surfer (Magazine) Cover

Hawaii and especially the North Shore are well known for what is referred to as pure, unsweetened Hawaiian juice. There is def a different feel under your board when surfing Hawaii. Speed thrills and when power and speed combine unto a near unmakeable wave, it really brings out the speed merchant in you. Speaking for myself, I was a virtual fish in my twenties when living and surfing on the North Shore, however when I went back in my forties, ‘twas a whole different ballgame/story, as I knew when I was overmatched (@Sunset) and best to surf somewhere smaller or to wait for another/quieter day.

And ditto for being caught inside, as there are few things more frightening than being (really) caught inside. You’re paddling like your life is on the line, and until the moment comes when you real eyes ‘tis inevitable, otherwise known as the beatdown. The first question is will I ever come up, and then “I can’t believe there is another even bigger/frothier one behind this one.” And then I’m getting dragged in and closer to the rocks, or I’ve been gashed on the reef and my leash won’t come off or is tangled on the reef/rocks below and I can’t move off the spot, or my board is still stuck on the coral from impact and I can’t move. If I can stand on the reef, there is the thought that every step I take will cut me, or that the current is dragging me out to sea or back into the impact zone. Or the worst, when I was the last one unknowingly left out in the lineup at Nusa Lembongan with the tide dropping, and fast, and finally went for a wave, only to be blown up off the wave and obliterated upon landing, losing a bootie and getting gashed hard.

for those of you following @home and not altogether familiar with the advent of a clean up set or the concept of being caught inside....  here is a brief intro. :)

Once upon a time recall spinning underwater at Pipeline and then my knees finally hit the reef, and I didn’t try to disengage, as was afraid one spin too many would have my head as the coral intercept instead. Also remember getting barn door barreled at triple overhead Laniakea, and with my housemates sitting in the pack, looking back nervously to see if I’m (ever) gonna surface after getting picked off and drubbed/swallowed whole by the gaping maw. Or being on the other end of the action, dropping in with your board like a missile shot out of a cannon, and then your friend’s mug pops out of the water right in front of your mach speed moving, nose of your surfboard, and you can’t move in any other direction. ‘Twas at Puerto Escondido, and the man in my sights was Zen Del Rio, who promptly exclaimed, “Banzai !!” and luckily enough safely submerged in the nick of time to avoid disaster.

There are the (rubber arm) days when it is just so good and yet you just don’t have anything left in the tank, and you have to go in for safety’s sake. Or when you just couldn’t muster the courage or were caught one paddle short of drop in, only to swing your board around to face an imminent bout with disaster, aka here comes another bop on the head/real time pummeling courtesy of Ma Ocean.

And can remember at least once, and prolly the first time I surfed “real” waves, getting safely back on top of the cliffs and actually kissing the ground we stood on. And lest I forget to mention the near inevitable case of the broken board, which in most every instance involves a case of a broken heart.

Congrats to the Wave Doc, Dr. Eric Pinczower, who after fifteen thousand surgeries mixed in with countless surf/ski trips to Tavarua/Fiji and Blackcomb/Whistler primarily, will call it a career as of today, January 31

Before the Storm by Remi Bertoche

honing * four of waves * surfer tarot

"Dead ahead” surfing leaves no room for indecision. Once you are committed there is no turning back. Adrenaline rush pumping waves with “line drive intensity” leave you in overdrive. Huge waves honing across outer reefs make for high performance and “experts only” surfing. “Ferocious spinning waves” demand “total concentration across razor sharp reefs, and over menacing rock ledges.” Waves come roaring out of the “deep blue,” one on top of, and after another, humping over and across the “groaning” reef. “Neptune’s chargers” are lined up, corduroy to the horizon, in an unending procession. “Freight trains” are focused, wrapping into the bay and onto the point. Stout waves call for sharp cuts and decisive bottom turns. It’s goin’ off and you find yourself caught up in the excitement, always driving hard down the line. Others are concerned about your safety, but you know there is no getting off the “wavy train.” Fine tuned athlete on fine tuned board, you have made the commitment and are ready to cash in on your beach break bonanza. The unbroken, but makeable walls, require the cleanest of lines.

Your wave is gonna knock you out, if you are not “on it.” There is a caution against overconfidence or an excess of boldness. Looks can be deceiving. She’s not very playful. Your lack of confidence in the wave and yourself, to hold up, only leaves you in an emotional tug o’ war. She is taut and perhaps too much of a good thing, and your only life line is nothing less than a tightrope. “Indecision’s buggin’ me,” but confusion don’t play. Your fear of over commitment is only your fear to reveal your true emotions. Others keep their distance despite being wont to help you. Never the scenic driver, you are manic and too driven, yet she’s way too racy, even for you. Never satisfied, and always needing more, disharmony is inevitable as you know her “waves aren’t makeable.” Her emotional swings find you “jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.” Inner misery follows as your dilemma is to be “stuffed or slammed?” It’s a bittersweet escape from the “survival surf” and her emotional upheaval. She packs a wallop.

original painting by Daryn McBride

Nonetheless, you “gotta keep on tuckin’ and go.” You’re on your own now and want to scream, but keeping your emotional composure is an imperative. “Should I hold my line or bail?” Look at things fair and square. “Not trusting in wave or woman?” Be mindful. Sometimes the “no go is the best go.” Take up the challenge and keep romantic encounters at bay. Know what you’re getting into. Even a “supercharger” can meet his match. Wait for things to mellow out. Is your “equipment honed to a T?” Are you in top shape? Speculation pays off. Make the money. Do you have the “necessary clarity?” Make the wave. Feel the stoke again. Set your rail and fly. Revel in her beauty and exhilaration. It’s revitalizing. “Being out on the ocean alone and having to make decisions regarding one’s survival,” is nothing short of “true grit.” Violate propriety. Sometimes you just gotta commit, and “do it.”

clean up set * nine of waves * surfer tarot

illustration by Alexandre Flores Torrano

Happiness in surfing comes down to a most simple equation for some. “Size” equals their “surf aphrodisiac” of choice. Their big wave passion desires “girth” and thickness. They long for the “freak set.” They have the discipline to wait outside, or to sit and stay inside despite an ominous horizon. Their patience is rewarded by the “next set.” They ride a “luxury liner” in pursuit of the “richest experience” available. They make a habit of being at the right place, and at the right time. The “imminent meeting” is a wish come true for the truly prepared. They are ecstatic and deserving as their pay off is of oceanic godsend and a “heat winner” orgasm. For them the “big wave is the moment of truth,” and treasured “moments of ultimate reality.” For others, the clean up set or wave is reminder of the necessary respect due our mother ocean, or notice served for “abilities exceeded.” She is “not to be taken lightly.” She gives us something to think about. Sitting all alone and outside, looking out over open ocean, we are in awe of her “mighty splendor,” as our solitude lends itself to a dream session and a most satisfying experience. With secret spot coming on, we sense a wish about to come true. As her deepwater quiet yields to the growing swell, we know she is to be savored as we sally about face. In turn our “big wave butterflies” are not without reason, as “ready or not,” we know there will be “just” reward for our rush of adrenalin. As “white maned, heavy shouldered, children of the wind,” we ready to match wits and talents with her “unpredictable element.” She leaves a spume on the surface while we flee underwater, holding onto boulders after our “Jacque Cousteau” descent. “Anaerobic” surfing builds up your lungs, and character. Others are caught off guard, but we were alert and tuned in. We were in our element, and felt her coming. We ride big waves for emotional release, and exit emotionally fulfilled at ride’s end, and at the end of our session. Our feeling of contentment resides in the completion of our harvest.

We are “addicted to size.” The “harvest” was more than we were ready for, and at least “twice what was expected.” With expectations exceeded, we were emotionally “overcome,” as things were just too much to handle. With no style and riding a “very vile surf barge,” we were “bowled over” and “taken out just before our moment of glory.” The “white elephants” looming outside were “colossus inconvenience” at best, and left us for worse, “feeling trampled,” and “sucking suds.” All we wanted was to get back up and back in to shore, but the “board busters” were overly physical and out of hand. It was oppressive. “Unarmed” and undergunned, we were under siege and left disoriented. We were so close, yet so far under, and with board lost “asunder.” What first looked good, turned out not so great. We needed a parting of the sea, or at least the waves, but all we got was an “amorphous mass of chaos.” Out all alone at dusk, it was nothing but us and “endless clean up sets,” the one after another. We thought of sharks and got “jumped” by bull kelp that “goes bump in the twilight.” We were afraid and on the edge of fear, as our “panic zone” paddle only left us uptight and wondering what more could be waiting in store? Everything had closed out and we were “caught inside,” and about to lose it. We were overachievers and literally, in over our heads. Our lost position had been cause for alarm and “opportunity wasted.” Unshared resources went for naught, and we went for a swim. Not enough board and with leash too short, we were “puffers” and without our “lungs.” We asked ourselves, “watermen or waterlogged?”

Bide your time outside and underwater. Have patience and learn humility. Sit outside and wait your turn. Good things take time. Pay more attention. Now is not the time for cherry pickin’. Show greater respect. Be in position, not an imposition. Keep your bearings. Be prepared for what’s coming your way. Think of your physical well being. Be emotionally prepared to submerge or merge. Make a wish and test your limits. “Cultivate your wave garden.” And careful what you wish for. You just may get it. Stop and regroup before you decide to “shut hole,” and take on that rogue wave. Know when to go in and call it a day. Otherwise, walk back up the beach, paddle out alongside the jetty, and catch the rip current out. Be resilient and offer up the least amount of “resistance.” Turn turtle and trust that the turbulence will dissipate, and that this too will pass. Smile and take your “pummeling,” and paddle back out to the channel. It’s part of the “complete” experience, as surrender is part and parcel to the “process of self realization.” Be at ease. The “soul surfer knows he is at one with the ocean,” and knows she has more to offer than you ever dreamed possible.” Celebrate “her majesty,” and acknowledge the ride.