Maybe, it’s the fact that I’ve seen the true carnage that Teahupoo can deliver (see Jamie’s picture in http://surferscandy.com/jamiemoran/2009/08/17/the-boys-go-to-tahiti/), but the Billabong Pro in Tahiti is by far my favorite contest to watch.

All the surfers pretend they want to have the contest in the biggest Teahupoo possible. However, with just the thought of how ridiculous the wave can get, the top 34 start squirming around like a pre-teen girl about to witness her first Friday the 13th movie. And let’s be honest, some of them do look like pre-teen girls (ya hear me Julian Wilson).

And I’m actually pretty pumped Dane is sitting out of this one, which means we get to see Cory Lopez do what he does best. Although we’ve all been hating on Adriano since Brazil, there’s a chance Adriano might actually get the score, legitimately this time, if he tries pulling a floater out in massive Chopes.

Let the carnage begin!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Anyone aspiring to be a pro surfer should take this as a crushing wake up call. I hope you’ve been practicing your air reverses, because you’re going to need to be able to do about 3 on one wave every heat just to compete with these guys.

The brazilians showed in one on the most prestigious contests that they are no longer waiting in the background. As a group, they single handedly destroyed the contest.

Well let’s take a look at a video of the last day that could easily be a section in a film.

Click here to view the embedded video.

P.S. yes I know Kolohe only got a 7 with a stalefish air reverse.

So, I decided to break it down to some highlights:

1. Surfing 8 foot Log Cabins only with Jamie (yes, yes I mean Hawaiian)
2. Watching Slater from Off the Wall annihilate Backdoor at the Pipe Masters.
3. Living at Sunset with the crew (even if most of it was fighting!) haha
4. Walking to consistent Rocky’s every morning.
5. Listening to Gesler moan about the flu that he wouldn’t take care of
6. Foodland’s amazingly fresh sushi for most of my dinners
7. Snorkeling at Shark’s Cove, finding a turtle, and somehow petting it
8. Chris telling me that he was staying for 3 more months (on a trip that he was only prepared for 2 weeks)
9. Spending way passed my budget on a Turtle Bay visit with the gang.
10. Isabel (Ryan Miller’s 2 year old daughter) calling Jamie “that guy” for 2 weeks (even though Jamie was living with them)

… Traveling through Guidoville to get there = priceless.  (See Hawaii Part 1)

Watch out for those clean up sets at Logs!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Reminds me of the sunset at the Delaware River...

Some bad shredders

RIP Andy

So many to greet me upon my arrival home

Alex DePhillipo captures all the scenes I couldn’t:

December in Hawaii

In order to save a couple hundred bucks on airfare, I decided to fly out of JFK airport on a flight that left at 6 AM. The other plus was that it was with American Airlines, which just started a new policy that it will only charge $150 for a bag regardless of the amount of surfboards in the bag. From the stories nightmares I’ve heard about the airports in Hawaii charging up to $500 bucks for a board bag, I figured it would all make it worth the trip to JRK. However, after all the bull**** I had to deal with just to get to JFK made it pretty close to not worth it.

I decided to break this trip to Hawaii into a couple parts, since each part of the trip has its own story.

Since my flight was on a Saturday morning at 6 AM, no one was overly eager to volunteer and drive me. So, I had to rely on public transportation.

Step 1: Take 12:30 AM Amtrak train from 30^th street station in Philadelphia to Penn Station in New York.
I called earlier in the week to ensure that it would be possible to take my board bag on the train. The person said, “No problem. Just make sure to get there 30 minutes ahead of time.” So, I showed up to the train station at 11:30 PM just to ensure there would be no problems. The only thing the lady forgot to tell me was that the baggage area closes at 10:30 PM. I figured I would just try and force my bag onto the train until someone told me I couldn’t. Here I am dragging this huge board bag down the steps along with my luggage and a book bag, while everyone else has book bags or other small bags. A man that was traveling on the train suggested I talk to the conductor as soon as the train stops to pick us up. The conductor quickly said there was not enough room.  After a 10-minute plea and some fake tears, the man decided he would put it on. All it took was for him to open up the freight door and put a tag on it. As for there not being any room in this 25-foot long train for the bags, my bag was one of the only bags in this place. Thanks dude!

Step 2: Catch the Long Island Rail Road from Penn Station to Jamaica Station.

I did not think this would be that big of a deal, because it would be in the middle of the night/morning. I arrived at Penn Station around 1:30 AM. The checked baggage takes about 45 minutes to an hour for them to bring up the bags, which looked closed and I was sure I would not receive my bag. By the time I was able to catch the subway, it was 2:30 AM on a Friday night in Downtown Manhattan. Every drunk that had been at a bar was in the station and running around like idiots. The subway was absolutely packed, and I took up the whole pathway with my board bag.

Best comment about my board bag came from someone stumbling around: “what are you guys a bunch of baseball players?” My best response was to look around (I was sitting by myself) then I looked at him perplexed and respond with a “really?”

After some guy vomited in the corner of the train half way through the ride, I finally arrived at Jamaica Station.

Step 3: Take the Air Tran from Jamaica Station to JFK Airport.

The Air Tran was the easiest part, and it had a lot of room for my board bag to finally fit comfortably. I arrived at JFK airport at 3:00 AM. There were no lines, which was nice. I then sat at the airport for about 3 hours waiting for my flight. Since the whole airport was basically closed, I relied on the videos on my laptop. Watched the first Wall Street for the first time, and it was pretty good except Charlie Sheen’s acting was pretty awful.

Step 4: JFK to San Francisco.

30-minute layover.

Step 5: San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Those flights are brutal, because the flight time is like 30 minutes, so pointless.

Step 6: Los Angeles to Honolulu.

AHHH after a 30-hour mission, I finally made it to Hawaii. Would have gone to Bali if I knew it was going to take me that long!

Let it Begin!

The train life

Hello? Anyone there?

Made some friends on the way

Surfing meets the city

Coors Light in a paper bag on the subway. Classy!

Uh sir, that is not a toilet...

Ahhh JFK is so close

Now that is luxury living

Some crazy clouds and mountains

LAX has holiday spirit

Whether it’s the awful surf (although it was surprisingly good this year), the 14 year olds running around, or the crazy amount of crap  promotions (sometimes just spray painting kids) being handed out from the sponsors, Virginia Beach always creates memories for me. This year was no different.

Other than the surfing contest, the thing that stuck out the most this year was Fox’s freestyle motocross demo. The video quality is pretty bad, but cut me a break it’s from a phone!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Some more photos:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Looks like waves today and tomorrow!

Click here to view the embedded video.

It all started that Tuesday a month ago when the swell finally picked up. I remember the day, because I was in school. It just seems like you can always recall dates when you relate them to what class you were missing. I was missing a Business Ethics class (reallllll interesting). Back to the surfing…. I was surfing off of 2nd street jetty. I was the only one on that side of the jetty, because it was almost all death close outs. The sandbar was real close to be firing right there. But, there was an end section that kept closing every wave out. The double ups were providing some fun close out barrels though. The sun started to go down, and I finally started to make it out of a couple good barrels. Then, I came up from one and realized that my board had buckled around the nose. Everyone who has buckled a board can remember that feeling of coming up only to realize the board is finally buckled. Well it finally happened to me (probably way later than it should have). I was kinda asking for it.

I was too far out in the lineup to try and paddle in, so I figured I would just go ahead and catch one in and just go straight. After waiting 10 minutes, I saw one that looked like it was going to bowl up perfectly. So, I went for it, and I pulled in. Thinking I could make it was a poor choice, because it closed out. When I came up, the board was broken completely in half. With the surf still pumping, I ran back to grab my back up. I decided I should try and surf the less closing out 1st street side of the jetty. The decision wasn’t any better. With only 10 minutes of light left, I broke my second board. All it took was a drop in and a go over the falls. I came up, and the other half of the board was already on its way in to the sand.

This all happened in the first half of the swell. The next morning was when it was supposed to be pumping. Due to my laziness of not ordering boards periodically throughout the winter, I was going to surf the rest of the swell on old yellow. Somehow, old yellow made another swell. (knocking on wood). Let this post be a reminder to consistently have back ups, because you never know when that shocker of a session is going to come. For me, it only took one- 2 hour session.

The Aftermath

Whether it’s the fact that I almost always have some sort of work due everyday or that the curriculum moves so fast, I rarely have a chance to skip classes, unless it’s pumping. So, I try to be smart as I can and force my school weeks into 2 days a week. By doing this, I put a lot of marbles hoping there’s swell the other 5 days of the week and not Tuesday or Thursday. It has worked out for the past year and a half. However, this spring seems to have outsmarted me. This spring has been pretty rough waves wise, at least for me. It seems as though every swell has come on either a Tuesday or Thursday. But, I’ve been able to get my surf on with no one else out, because people either got it good the day before or after me.

I can’t be too upset though. Like Andrew Gesler said, Gloves are off! My favorite water temperature in New Jersey is coming soon. Although I love going anywhere tropical and there’s nothing like wearing trunk in the clear blue, I seem to always find the short-arm season in New Jersey the best. Call me crazy. My fingers are crossed hoping that Mother Nature changes her cycle and brings me waves any day other than Tuesday or Thursday.

Surfline's forecasts seem like this week after week

New Jersey lovin'