18seconds in Hawaii – presented by Corona Extra.

For a bunch of haoles, we couldn’t have timed our trip to the rock more perfectly. We stepped off the plane and walked straight into 25-30 foot Waimea Bay – now being labelled the biggest day in five years. You know it’s proper, when Kelly, Ross Williams and Mason Ho couldn’t even punch through the shorebreak. It could have been bad timing on their behalf (maybe Mason was frothing too hard to get out there!), because there were already 20 guys out. Maybe it was a pulse in swell – around the same time, there were sets closing out the bay (this never happens). We’d just arrived, but pretty sure it was the latter.

Speaking of when we arrived, it was big enough for the Eddie, but with an eight hour window required above 25 foot, according to Quik Global events manager Troy Brooks, the forecasted swell was suppose to peak the night before and drop throughout the day, so the pin was pulled (rumoured insufficient funds was just that, a stinky rumour). According to the forecast, there wasn’t enough life in the swell for the full eight hour window required to run the event. But by the end of the day, 25-foot sets were stilling bombing through.

That night our accomo was rattling!

Next day – swell was still 15-foot and overloaded on the seven mile miracle. Nothing (except Waimea) was holding. By the afternoon it had settled into something remotely surfable at Pipe. Third reef was still breaking on the bombs. Second reef was washing through occasionally. It was raw and rugged, but a bunch of crew were onto it (including the Oakley boys we are staying with Chom Whits, Billy Stairmand and Seabass – Chom, aka Tom actually scored the wave of the night at Pipe on a throaty triple spit nugget – photo below – if you want to see the video check out the latest entry on Surfline for Wave of the Winter – highly recommended. He said he couldn’t see anything, he just tucked his head in and looked down at his board the whole time, feeling the spit hitting him before he made the exit!).

That’s enough from us now – we’ll let the photos below do the talking. Time to hit the couch and crack a stub!

Check back soon for more stuff from da rock!