1.05.2012

Big Wave Apprecitation


Every winter the North Shore of Oahu turns into surf heaven for travelers and pros from around the world.  The swells come up and down from November through February and competitions are held throughout the season at different breaks along the North Shore of the island.   No matter if contest is "going off" or not, there is always plenty to watch out there in the water, and when the surf gets big, we always want to head up there and find a spot to camp out for the day and watch those crazy talented boys and girls, and men and women do their thing!  Surfing is actually quite the spectator sport, there's a ton of crowd camaraderie, and when someone wipes out there is a collective thundering of "AWWWWWW, OHHHHHH, DAMNNNNNNNN".  Like when you watch whatever sport it is that you watch, and one of the athletes goes down from a rough tackle, or whatever...

Ok, I'm getting off track here...The point of this story is that the swell came up HUGE yesterday, and one of the most anticipated gatherings/contests of the season is in it's holding period right now.  The Quicksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau is a competition like no other surf contest.  It's really more of a memorial, a gathering, a celebration, than a contest...although there is a winner, and trophy's etc...

This contest is only run when the waves are 25ft or more, so some years the contest is a no go, the waves just don't get big enough.  We thought that yesterday might be the day, so we headed up north to check it out, turns out the forecast was that the swell was going down by the afternoon and wouldn't be around long enough to run the competition that day.  Actually it worked out great, we got a primo viewing spot at the top of the hill overlooking the action, had ourselves a little picnic and hung around with all the other onlookers.  In typical Hawaiian spirit, after a little while you find yourself becoming friends with the people sitting around you and sharing surf stories, and tales of other contests and big waves you've seen.  There were about 20ish people out there surfing the huge waves, it's so incredible to see these guys out there paddling for waves that are 3-4 times as big as they are...CRAZY!!!!!  It was such a beautiful, clear, and sunny day...
 
















Cheesy smiled greetings from Waimea Bay!

Also...
I am newly obsessed with Instagram...here are a few I posted from yesterday.



Somebody has a new appreciation for neon pink accessories.

First day out and about the island with my special privileges!



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