Honolua Bay

It should be noted that this was originally written as a letter to the editor of the Maui Times.

I am fired up!

I scored super clean, uncrowded, pumping Honolua Bay this past Tuesday. It was solid 4 to 5 and the west-northwest provided a perfect direction for those 180-degree wrapping sets that Honolua is known for. The only thing missing was an offshore breeze to provide that reputable Honolua Bay funnel. However, I won't complain about a windless day on Maui. We literally surfed from dawn to dusk and watched a full moon rise over The Valley Isle.

At 15-years-old, Honolua Bay is the first place I ever paddled a surfboard. It was a 9'6" singe fin Bruno that my Dad had acquired second hand a few months earlier. The bay was windy, grey, and a fickle foot at best. As the first set approached I turned to paddle out over the intimidating moving mound of water. The log smacked me in the face as the wave rolled under my belly, causing my nose to bleed. After that, I wasn't too eager to turn and paddle into a wave with the taste of my own blood in the back of my throat. So, I sat on the shoulder in front of the cave and watched my late father hang five on some puny peelers. We were the only two out.

Regardless of the rocky introduction, surfing and I get along just fine these days. And that session in the bay solidified my love, respect, and obsession I have for the act of waveriding, the ocean, and Honolua Bay itself. Twelve years after my first surfing experience, at 27-years-old, my stoke is alive and well. I owe it all to Honolua Bay.

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