While it's no typical Hawaiian Winter by any means, January 2007 had some moments of glory. We had some fun surf New Years Day but a lot of hype over the next swell had everyone waiting for the Eddie on Jan 2. It was said to only have been 8 feet at Waimea that morning while Pipe was a perfect 10-12 but rising rapidly and totally out of control by midday, and then some sizable Waimea by late afternoon. The Bay broke a couple more half days, but that was about it and the conditions weren't too good for it either.
The men's competition had cleaner surf in the 10+ ft range for most of the event and dropping a notch for the final. Daniel Freitas won for the women's and Hawaii's own Jeff Hubbard for the men. Mike Stewart won the event on Maui. Bodyboarders ruled the North shore all month and are still here in droves, but they should be clearing out as the boys begin preparing for this year's Monster Pro and the line ups are extremely intense to say the least.
Mike Stewart
Though Pipe had a few free sessions reaching the 12 ft range and popping on the second reef most of the swells were disorganized and/ or wind blown; its been pretty frustrating and ever changing by the minute. Usually by the time January comes around, you don't mind the trying surf conditions because you've had your fill of big waves, but this year it's all we got so its creating a lot of anxiety for surfers.
Randal Paulson
Si Milosky
On January 11th, Joaquin Velilla was lost at sea. He went out for a late surf after the contest on a rising swell which was solid 12 ft on the sets by dark. No one saw what happened, but his board was found on the beach and his car still parked at Pipe late that night when his girlfriend Mariella came home from work and realized he had not returned. Sadly, the body was never found, but a beautiful service was held for him as a group of friends and family paddled out to Pipe and paid their respects. Joaquin and Mariella moved to the North shore from Puerto Rico several years back and have become respectable surfers and members of the community here. Joaquin's legacy will live forever and his friends will feel like he is always out there surfing with us. RIP Joaquin.
Pipeline, January 11th. RIP Joaquin Velilla
The Haleiwa International Surfing Event was presented by FreeSurf Magazine this year. They had some great waves and great surfing. Mason Ho won the Hard Rock Jr Pro at Sunset. Ace Kool's tow in event has Bank of Hawaii as a presenting sponsor this year. The west side threw their annual Makahiki Festival. Surf has been cleaner there on the big days this year.
Joel Centieo
Kekoa Bacalso
ESPN has been here filming something with Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Parko and a few others. Paparazzi photographers were also lurking around North shore beaches anxiously awaiting to expose the rumor that Cameron Diaz and Kelly Slater were having a fling. Daryl Hannah was also seen recently hanging with some pro skateboarder.
Kelly Slater
Rob Machado
The Turtle Bay Development Project was rumored to have gone back to court, so they haven't won yet. Meanwhile the traffic problem here on the North shore is still getting worse and worse.
North Shore Traffic
We had yet another tsunami threat this month from an 8.5 earthquake off the Kuril islands, however no significant tsunami occurred. Its been a bit chilly here for Hawaii this month, but the weather has been pretty nice for January.
Typical day at Waimea Bay - Last week of January 2007
Future surf forecasts are looking more promising for sizable surf, but not so good for conditions as this season's saga continues... stay tuned.
by Lane Davey
Humpback Whale at Pipe
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