There really are no words tonight, as I rushed out of the shower and ran across the street to this
Internet cafe to put this one into the record books. No matter how exhausted and a bit sunburned I am,
I have to tell you all this.
But I don't know how to say it. Even when I was in the water I was trying to figure out how to say it.
But when you are out at solid 4 to 6 foot (Hawaiian) building towards a 10 foot advisory level with some 20 foot
faces feathering around on the outside reef, I'm having a hard time putting it all together. You can't think
about how much you miss your cat or your family. You can't think about if someone's going to rip
off stuff from your car. You can't think about your hotel room, what you are going to eat,
when you have to pee or anything else that is going on in your life. You have to be a true
waterman, a surfer, completely committed and focused to what you are doing right then and there. Because if
something else distracts you, you might as well just paddle in. Surf of today's magnitude - while not
gigantic by Hawaiian standards - requires one's full attention if you're just an average guy like me.
The best way to say it then, is that I surfed Sunset Beach at the size mentioned above, just about
equalling the largest surf I've ever been in in my life, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. I mean, it's really
that simple to say it. But it was so complex doing it.
The swell is coming out of the Northeast, which isn't very ideal for most breaks in Hawaii or
the North Shore specifically. However, with a true Hawaiian six foot swell in the water, there
are places that are bound to be breaking. Laniakea, where I surfed yesterday, was going off pretty
good. I stopped there again. There were over 100 guys out. Word had spread that yesterday it was
the spot to be, it stayed clean, glassy, and moderately crowded all day. And then today everyone and their grandmother
converged on that spot, and I drove away, because there's more to the North Shore than
that place, and I knew a couple of spots that warrented checking. So I could add riding them to my checklist
of places I have surfed while I am here.
I pulled directly into the parking lot at Sunset Beach and got a primo parking place. See, this also
trips me out. I seem to have a Hawaiian North Shore Parking Pass, just like I have a San Diego Surfing
Parking Pass. I'm just pulling up to these places at like 8 or 9 in the morning and whamo-boom,
I'm parked and looking and taking photos and making video. And checking. And assessing.
And watching. And asking people things. And checking in with the lifeguards. Who are very nice,
and who like talking to me because I know what I'm talking about. I'm not somebody concerned with
getting sunburned or getting caught by Goon Wash. I'm asking hardcore questions. And I've learned the Hawaiian
Wave Scale of Measurement, and it's much appreciated and welcomed by people who I ask. What I do is just
cut everything in half of what I think it is. Most of the time it's right.
Overnight we had some rain and a front came through and helped get rid of the oppressive heat
that we've been suffering through. God it's been awful. I've been forcing about 100 ounces of liquid
a day, sweating all the time. You have to get in the water at least once a day to stay cool,
and even out of the water, I wear my wet trunks and rash guard until they are bone dry - which only
takes about a half hour or less. Sometimes I wet them down again with fresh water to stay cool.
Along with the front and rain came bad NE winds. It chopped up the surf pretty badly. I was in my hotel
room in Waikiki and from about 10 p.m. onward, the wind was pretty hard core, and I knew it was going
to affect the North Shore because it was a NE wind. So instead of finding glass and no wind, I already
knew that it might have a lot of texture to it. And it did. Almost every spot north of Lanis was
really windblown and chopped and ripped out, even at about 9 a.m. Sunset was no exception, except there
was a sizeable crowd already on it, including Sunny Garcia, who was tearing the place apart, what I would
call some occasional triple overhead stormed out, disorganized surf (by my standards, cause that's how I judge personally,
and not for Hawaiian conversation). It was VERY unruly. It made my stomach turn over. Because it was pretty
big. I WAS queasy looking
at it. Made me dizzy. Rocky Rights and Lefts, Pipe, Backdoor, everything was pretty sketchy,
and between Sunset and Pipe there weren't that many people out! Seriously. Everyone was at Lanis. Literally
the entire surfing population of the North Shore was at Lanis today. Which was just fine with me!
Because I sat there on that wonderful sand in front of my rental. And watched. And looked at the clouds.
And watched the lifeguards begin to post the high surf advisory flags on the beach. And watched guys
paddle out, only to come in 30 minutes later looking like they had just been tortured in a prison
camp or something. Everyone who went out was back on the beach in less than an hour. So that was telling
me something right there. So I kept watching. I took something to settle my nerves and my stomach.
Had a little more breakfast. Something to drink. Looked at the clouds and the sky and the mountain ranges
and the palm fronds and the flags on the poles on the beach. Then I took a nap on that pretty sand
for an hour. It just felt like the right thing to do. My last view before I went to sleep for a bit
was searching for Pipeline to the west.
When I woke up, what I saw was not unexpected, about 11:30 a.m. or so. The flags were wafting just
a little bit. The palm fronds had stop waving. The clouds had cleared from the mountains
behind Sunset. The lineup had emptied from about 40 or 50 to maybe 20. There were lots of open
spots in the pull off parking lot. The sideshore rip and pounding shorebreak had calmed down.
The tide had come up a bit. The sun came out and it was getting hot.
I opened the hatchback and pulled DP from it. Put a new leash on it. Made sure everything was right,
checked it twice. Put on my new black longsleeve rashguard because the sun is so harsh
here, and there was still wind. Except now, it was side off, and plumes of horsetails throwing
20 feet off the backs of the NE swell was grooming the surf. It was not like waking up from a dream,
it was like waking up INTO one.
Dude. I couldn't believe my eyes. The break had, in one hour, transformed into a semi-glassy,
makeable, side offshore, outside peak of perfection. But there was no more doubt
left in my mind. The wind switched, and I dove into the rip to go get it. I just knew something
was going to change. And everything did.
I'd be an idiot to say I wasn't scared out of my mind. And all of a sudden the Star Wars Cantina
music started playing in my head. Like this was some spaced out experience, or a testament to my
fear. I've wanted to surf this wave for my whole life. Sometimes I have often thought I was made
to surf this wave. I've felt that way for a very long time. And here I was, tuned in after a couple
of days of surfing, in the rip like so many other fabled Sunset Beach riders, being pulled to
my destiny.
I sat way wide for about 45 minutes, completely aware that the generous channel to the west
was a serious getaway safety zone. Completely aware that, there was little west in this swell,
and we all know what happens when there's west in a swell at Sunset. I wanted to avoid that fate.
And paddle by paddle, set by set, I worked over a little bit to the east. Watching men taking off on
waves so thick with so much water moving around that it was truely a sight to behold. It is one thing
to see photos and video. It's another to see a human being drop into this place, arms up in the air,
the wave roaring behind, spray flying off the back like, like, like a dream. Then the eight to
ten foot backs humping up and rolling toward the beach as the surfer either makes it or doesn't.
I followed every rider, watching to the ends of their rides. Where they ended up. Whether they took
off on a close out. Where they were on takeoff. How long it took them to get back out, if they
came back out. Everything. Everything. I was a Sunset Sponge, absorbing it all, for that 45 minutes. Then I
talked to a couple of approachable white guys. And one Hawaiian. Who was taking off on a red, 12 foot,
17 inch wide super duper pin tail. It was Owl Chapman, a Sunset Beach Icon. He seemed kinda stand-offish
and craggly kinda, but he talked to me for a bit. I told him I was a Sunset
Virgin and was a bit scared, very skilled, eager, had the desire to take off, and that I was ready to pop
my Sunset Cherry in a big way. That got a smile from a couple of the guys out and everyone agreed
that it was actually nice to see a guy who had never surfed the place before in the lineup. That
made me pretty confident, happy and I felt accepted in the group. This also helped break
some of the tension and anxiety I was still feeling. Sunset isn't no beach break, you know?
That's when Layne Beachly paddled over to me and asked me "If it really was my first time surfing
here?" and she was blushing a little bit about my comment of "Popping my Sunset Cherry." That statement
really caught the attention of everyone and everyone was smiling at the statement, as bold or
disgusting as it might have been! But people were into it, it got me noticed. It was kind of a light moment
in large surf - it lightened things up a bit. Very interesting. Layne was genuinely sincere and talked
to me a little bit about making the wave and taking off and told me that she lived just up the beach
at Sunset Point, and that she spends six months on the North Shore and six months back home
in Australia. She was really personable and really nice to me and it served to calm me down, relax my
nerves and give me confidence. As she talked she showed confidence in me, told me I had the
right board for the conditions and that I would get into a couple shortly.
I told her thank you, and how beautiful the view was from the water, noticing that her bikini
matched her pink-railed board with Roxy stickers on it and stuff. So I was in the lineup with a couple
of long-time locals, a couple of legends/Icons, and six time women's WCT World Champion Layne
Beachly. Go figure. It was almost like all the pieces in the Sunset Puzzle were now put together. Good
vibe, good people, large surf verging on being perfect...
Then Mike, who has been surfing Sunset for over 15 years, paddled over to me and told me that I wanted
to be "over there" to get one, and he wanted to see me paddle in to one and get it. I was like, inside, saying,
damn, he wants me to go to the main peak. I was, admittedly, dodging sets. For those who know,
that's kinda out of character for me. But we're talking almost 20 foot faces and nearly as thick.
These waves were the most thick, triangular, aquamarine monsters I've ever seen. Some of the
largest backs - and just roaring when they broke, shooting water out the back and imploding on
itself.
Looking to the beach, down toward Rockies and Pipeline, with Mike taking me into the pit, Layne
watching and following close by and Owl catching every outside 8 foot (Hawaiian) bomb that came through (swell was building throughout
the day) on his red spear board, I was totally
entranced. It was just a dream. I felt a little bit cold, the wind nearly offshore now,
the water textured, but glassed out after a few waves pounded through the lineup. It was
surreal. These people, Hawaiians - Mike and Owl and Layne - escorted me and DP into the pit at Sunset Beach. My private guides.
This was unbelievable Aloah. It wasn't very crowded at all, either. I wasn't the only one to notice that
fact, or appreciate it. It was like everyone just up and left, and the whole break cleaned up for the lucky
few that waited out the morning sickness and storminess. People were making comments like these:
"Where is everybody?"
"This just doesn't happen."
"It looks like you have exactly the right board for this."
"This never happens, 6 to 8 foot Sunset with only X guys out. Unreal."
"Jordan, this one is you. You go on this one," says Mike. "You're in perfect position."
And it WAS true. This wave was bearing down on me from the outside. Like, dude, it was coming
RIGHT at me. It was a true set wave. You can see the sets coming a long way off. And Mike and Owl and Layne drew me into the
pit, put me there, and told me to take off. Can you believe that? You can't make that up.
Talk about Aloha, bruddah. They were there for me, and saw the look, the desire, the body,
the board, and decided it was my time. I didn't decide what wave I was going to take off on.
They made that decision for me. That was the unbelievable part about my first wave at Sunset.
Everybody is yelling, "GO! GO! GO!"
I hauled DP around to paddle for the largest wave that board has ever seen. I paddled so hard,
getting sucked up the face of this perfect peak, spray flying everywhere, raining up my face,
I could hear it all over my rash guard, coating the deck of DP with wetness. And then there is that moment.
That moment when you turn your head to the right in the garden hose spray and look down the line
and see this gigantic, heaving wall in front of you and your
heart is in every movement, your soul is so focused and you are not thinking about anything else
but catching this wave. And DP moves forward on it's own. And you think, this is IT. I give two more insurance paddles,
stand up, and hoots and hollars come from the shoulder. It's two of the other guys who heard me
say it was my first time surfing the place. And this is my first wave at Sunset Beach, materializing
from fantasy and magazine page photos into reality.
It reminded me very much of Todos Santos. As I stood up, I angled DP perfectly, not too steep,
not too straight, crouched down like a Hidden Tiger and Crouching Surfer, arms out at the waist,
and I'm hauling ass so fast it's unbelievable. DP is slicing through this wave like the sharpest knife
you can ever imagine. I'm flying down the line, pull up a bit high,
and realize you have to make the drop on this wave and not just hang high, so I angle DP straight
down the face and we actually go into this gigantic long, drawn out bottom turn, and I explode out
of my crouch and stand tall. Then head back up the face, the length of DP elevated in front of me, up
the face half way, and DP is just taking me where I need to be. The wave belongs to this board as well.
And back down the face to race this 20 foot wall to make sure I have the speed to beat it. I had extra. That board is soooooo
AMAZING! Some people said I should not have brought it with me on this trip, why bother, with all the
trouble I had stuffing it into the board bag. Well let me tell you all something. I stuffed that board
it into a nearly triple overhead wave at Sunset. The equipment was perfect.
And it's not a closeout. And I enter into the inside bowl, where it's not bowling, but it's holding
lots of great face. A few more trips up to half face and back dropping down into oblivion
again for racing speed, and before I realize it, I've kicked out in the channel 150 yards away on my first Sunset
Beach wave and made it ALL THE WAY THROUGH. You know what my first thought was
when I was paddling back out? About how easy that just was. And that I've got to get me some
more of those!!! Whoo-Hoooo! You know you are surfing when you are shaking when
you're paddling back out.
Mike greeted me after my adreneline filled paddleback. He's all smiles. But not bigger than mine.
"Well?" he says. "That was one of the really good ones, almost the best one to come through
all morning. That was a great wave."
Layne: "Look at that smile! You're glowing."
I say nothing. I don't have to. I have proven myself to them, and to myself, that I have done it,
that I could do it, and that I can do it again and again and again. Which I did. That first wave
set me on fire. I stayed in the pit. I stalked everything. I had five more waves. Only one
was smaller, I chased one to the inside and it was a short ride. But I still liked it. I liked all of it.
Unbelievable. Unimaginable. Unfathomable. The smile across my face did wonders for my anxiety, which had
been holding me back. But now, just forget it. I was sitting on the outside. I replaced Owl because
he went in. And every bomb that came in I either went for or got. People were really enjoying seeing this,
smiling at me. I was in this...........groove. Sunset Groove. Whatever dude. They let me take off
on anything I wanted and anything that came my way. It was pretty unbelievable. My session went on for four more hours,
six waves total.
Layne stayed out almost the whole time I was out, and I kept telling her how beautiful the view
was, and how nice everything looked up at Sunset Point. She agreed wholeheartedly, told me she had
a house over there, and that Sunset is one of her most favorite waves. I told her how long I have
wanted to ride the place - like my whole life - and she seemed really interested in that, and in keeping
up our small talk between our rides. We held small talk almost
all afternoon. Like I said earlier, talking to her, her giving me advice and pointing out lineup
markers and stuff to me, pushing me in to more waves - she was a really fantastic person to be
around, so helpful. Her confidence rubbed off all over me and just relaxed me to no end.
On my last wave, it shut down a little bit and I straightened out. One of the Hawaiian guys lost his
board in the impact zone and I asked him if he was okay and did he need any help. He said he got hit by a big one and lost
the board on the inside paddling back out. I asked him if he was alright again, and he said he was fine,
and begain the swim in. The only time I needed my leash, or when it got used, was now. A couple of waves
came in behind me and I had to ditch the board and swim under and was scared for the first time
in a couple of hours. But the leash held, I hauled the board back in, paddled hard, duck dived
through a massive barrel and paddled for the huge channel, and paddled in to
a portion of the beach to the west, right in front of the lifeguards, that I had pre-determined to be
the best part of the beach to land on. I made it through the shorebreak with the greatest of ease,
and just stood on the beach stunned, dumbfounded, freaked, and so at peace with myself that I can't really
describe it. The dream really did come true.
I stood next to the high surf advisory flags and just...stood there.
"No way, no, no way did that just happen. No no no. Six waves, five hours, no way. Yeah, right. Can you say perfect?
Not a wipeout, not a hold down, not a broken board or leash, no swim, nothing. It was so perfect,
everything. Holding DP under my arm, dripping 78 degree Hawaiian
water. In disbelief. I don't know if I'll ever get over this. I could write and write and write. But I think
I'll just relish it for the rest of my life, or possibly go back tomorrow. Ha.
Can you see that in my face? The fear in the before picture. The elation in the after ones???
When Owl and Mike and Layne set me up, there were them, me, and three other guys out. But please don't
tell anyone that. They made me swear to it. Their disbelief of that fact was as large as mine,
standing on that beautiful beach, Sunset Beach, Oahu, Hawaii, November 19th, 2006. And when I got
back to my hotel, I was like, what the HELL! I've only been here two days. I'm just trippin'!!!
- Cliff
