After weeks of nothing, a swell in the very beginning of the month reminded us just how good town can get. Though we didn't get the expected 6 footers they were predicting, we did get per-fect Ala Moana Bowls from the middle which had some 4 foot waves that just spun down the reef so perfectly; it reminded me why I really don't need to go anywhere else. That swell lasted a few days and then some allowing surfers to feed their hungry souls.
Then once again another swell predicted to be in the high surf advisory range for south shores had surfers in a stitch since rumors had surfaced that surf breaks would be closed due to a performance by the Thunderbirds. Turned out that surfers who were inside the one mile mark were okay so those who werent scared away scored.
The 2-3 ft rising swell coincided right with the performance which went down directly above us. It was about as up close and personal as you could get to the fighter planes which had 3 shows that week and the swell managed to produce 2-4 ft with one freak 6 ft set one evening.
Right after that the Northshore got some windy waves and then some perfectly clean little north swells at Lanis that seemed to appeal to the whole island. Stand up paddle surfers, super long longboarders and a few stubborn shortboarders duked it out that week. Shortly after the news and all surf reports claimed the first swell of the season would hit the Northshore and nothing came except a lot of people at daybreak. Then there was another swell which was a little bigger and then finally we got a little swell that graced us with glassy conditions and some solid 4 ft waves. The Billabong Jr Pro scored that swell at Sunset Point which was catching the NW swell better than anywhere else. After that another 2-3 ft swell came with gusty wind.
A lot of guys have been holding it down at Goats in between flat spells, but I can't imagine with the strong winds that it has been much good.
Though weve had some waves this month which would be of high standard by most surfers around the globe, we certainly do not have that feeling that winter is here or summer is over, but more that we are just getting our gills wet and waiting to hear that rumble we all know so well, it means swell.
Da friends of Jeannie Chesser who has Merkel Cel cancer put on a fundraiser which brought surfers from all over the islands including a video of pros who couldn't make it. It included a si-lent auction, Djs, a cool band with kids who surf Ala Moana and several surfing celebrities. Word has it, the event was sucessful but you can also donate to:
Da Friends of Jeannie Chesser:
First Hawaiian Bank, 1348 Hunakai St.
Honolulu, HI 96816
We still see Jeannie paddling out to the line up everyday and ripping despite her treat-ments. At the fundraiser they were issuing a sticker in her name which appropriately states "Keep Surfing."
Another fundraiser will be held next month October 20th, at Paradise Park from 4:30-6:30.
Jamie O' Brien had a serious injury from an eel which bit his hand while diving for shells, but he should be back in the water soon.
Banzai Betty Depolito has a new show on the Ocean channel called Wahine Blue which features women's watersports. It is on Thursday's and Sundays.
Local surfer Kirk Fritz turned me on to a cool new little video/photo camera for watersports.It is a tiny little 3 megapixel camera in a waterhousing that is sold with a wrist band so you can use it while surfing. check it out at goprocamera.com. Here is a photo he took of me with the tiny camera at Ala Moana Bowls.
Violent protests continue to thrive against the Superferry especially on Kauai. The ferry was finally released to go back to Kauai, but the voyage was cancelled once again after Lingle gave a speech on the Garden Isle to share its benefits. She was constantly booed and heckled throughout the speech by protesters who seemed to be the majority. Surfrider has been advocating some of the protests and Surfers are backing them because they never produced an environmental statement.
A 5 point solution process to help the Northshore's houseless was release in this months Northshore Newspaper.(1)Immediate Safe Zone, (2)Emergency Shelter, (3)Transitional Shelter, (4)Healthy Hawaiian Community and (5)Affordable Housing are the five points that were laid out and discussed by the community board. Ron Valenciana who opened his once a month church 3 years ago to serve their needs is leading the campaign with the assistance of Carol Philips and others. Its great to see people getting active.
Hawaiian musician and minister; Butch Helemano, is teaching a Hawaiian language and culture class here on the Northshore Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:00. It's amazing; the first night I learned the meaning behind words we use all the time like kama'aina, haole, and have a whole new understanding for the word aloha.
SambaDa, an afro funk band will be holding a concert on the Northshore at Waimea Falls Park at the end of the month with a few guests. Reef is sponsoring the first leg of the Triple Crown this month at Haleiwa Beach Park. The Hawaiian Tropic Pagent is underway at Turtle Bay. The 4th annual Girlfest gallery is open from Sept 7- Oct 6 and the actual event runs from Nov 9-18. President Bush came through the islands on his way to Australia this month meanwhile Hawaiian raised Barrack Obama who is running for Presidency in 2008 has been getting some promo from local media in Hawaii.
Finally, the best news is that the number of stand up paddle surfers aka "stand up comedians" have decreased immensely since the waves came up a little bit which is giving us regular guys a little bit of hope that we might make it through the winter without getting our heads chopped off by this new, old? idea of surfing.
Lane Davey
