December 10th, 2007, was a day to remember. The concept was simple; get the top ASP pros out stand-up surfing at Makaha, while at the same time giving back to the community. The tricky part was the timing; the day had to be a "lay day" of the Pipe Masters, still provide enough waves at Makaha for a fun time, and have good enough weather to make it all worthwhile. Long story short, Dec. 10 was the first ever C4 Waterman's Day.
With the help of Jodi and Liam Wilmott, we managed to get surfers Mick Fanning, Mark Occhilupo, Pancho Sullivan, Luke Egan, Myles Padaca, Rob Machado, Luke Stedman, Jake Paterson, Richie Lovett, Bonga Perkins, Duane Desoto and a bunch of good friends to accept the C4 Waterman's Day invitation.
Brian Keaulana arranged everything at Makaha Beach, and myself and Dave Parmenter brought out all the toys. At one point, 25 stand up surfers were in the lineup having a blast.
There was no real format...just a day of fun in playful Mahaka surf, away from the hectic scene on the North Shore. The weather was as perfect as we wished--a welcome change, since the weather had been nasty the whole week before. As Jodi Wilmott writes in her press release,"Makaha Beach was as good as the Garden of Eden. After over a week of onshore winds, torrential rain and muddied waters on the famous 7-mile strip of the North Shore, true paradise was found seven miles to the west, over the Waianae mountain range where torquoise, glassy water reflected a wide, blue sky on the 'forgotten coast'."
At the end of the day, all the donations from Quiksilver, O'Neill, Billabong, Vans, Reef, Roxy, Da Hui, Insight, Rip Curl, Blue Planet, and Boardworks were given to Makaha Elementary School, where the children had been collecting credits for good behavior. Vice Principal Lynn Okamura wrote, "Aloha, friends at C4 Waterman! Mahalo again for dropping off the donations from your surf event to Makaha Elementary School."
Watch the video! It's worth a million words.
Aloha,
Todd Bradley
For more on Waterman's Day see www.c4waterman.com. Photos by Allen Mozo of MozoPhoto.com
