Friday, December 17, 2010

The Circus moves on...





I think the North shore winter is a bit like a circus. Or maybe a zoo. It's a flurry of contests, pro surfers, photographers, parties and waves. Then just as quickly as it started it's done. The final of the Pipe Masters ran yesterday in clean average size waves. Frenchman Jeremy Flores won, then the crowd dispersed and the contest structures were dismantled. I'm on a flight back to Kauai tonight and I'm really looking forward to doing some laundry, sleeping for a long time and surfing some uncrowded waves. Thank you Oahu once again for blessing me with great opportunities and a really awesome time! Aloha XoXoXo

p.s. How many people can you fit in a hot tub?


Friday, December 10, 2010

A hard day at the office...



Some pictures from the first day of the pipe contest. Hard work.... :)




Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Surf waves, not peoples faces!




I'll start this post with a nice and easy picture to look at. Try and make up for whats coming next! I'm going to share a story about what happened to me almost 5 weeks ago. I was in San Diego hanging around my old stomping grounds visiting some friends. I went to surf around Encinitas at a break I have been at many times. It was crowded and maybe a bit over head. I waited half an hour for my first wave. I took off, so did the guy next to me but I was deeper. He saw me and went to kick out. But instead he busted a fat top turn, lost his board and the last thing I saw was it flying towards me. I felt a thunk and when I surfaced there was a giant lump protruding from my face. My inner angry Australian was unleashed and I started yelling at the guy. He paddled off without ever seeing if I needed help. Unfortunately this happened JUST after halloween. I have a pretty epic shiner and it still looks like someone punched me in the face. It was hurting and after the swelling went down there was a lump and an indented line left. I finally went to the doctor a few days ago and it turns out I broke my zygomatic arch. I know it can be a circus out there and we all want out waves but lets all try and be considerate of each others safety. If someone looks like they might need it, paddle over and offer them some help :)


Friday, December 3, 2010

Work and Play




Another year has passed since my last winter visit to the North Shore of Oahu. Every time I drive along the bend looking over Waimea Bay I get a little knot in my stomach. I can't help but feel I have finally arrived at the holy grail of surfing, the home of the big waves and professional surfing world. As always I am unprepared with only a mere 5'10 epoxy board as my quiver and nowhere to stay.





But the travel gods are smiling. I have been here a bit over a week now and things are going well. I am sleeping on the floor in the house of some very lovely Norwegian friends. My photographer/friend Dave has been keeping me busy with lots of work and I have landed my first real journalism job with Womens Surf Style Magazine. I'm surviving (barely) on the 5'10 board too, paddling like a crazy lady against the wind into some decent sized waves. Here are some pics from my past week...