Paddle power is back!
I got a call from a friend of mine today from the North Shore of Oahu. He was standing on a 3-story beach house where he was doing construction. There were a few guys surfing a well known tow-in spot in front of him and he was giving me the play by play. ”One of them just took off he’s higher than I am on this house! Whoa, they are all paddling! There’s no skis!” Whoa is right. How cool is that. Paddle power is coming back into vogue with all this swell around. Seems the old school hellman were just waiting to come out of the wood work. A big gun and your own power. There’s something to be said for the whole waterman process of getting out into the ocean, stroking into a monster and making it back in on your own.
I received this press release from the Billabong XXL today (see below). It describes what is being claimed as one of the biggest paddle-in waves ever at Waimea. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like anyone got another angle than this side view. I sure hope one turns up because a front view of this would really put it in perspective. Anyway, It is a monster and worth big congrats to Shane and Mark for an impressive display of bravado!
The photo here is of Kohl Christensen earlier that day (front view). Kohl is one of the paddle guys. He can usually be found in the gnarliest places when the surf is big. I’ve seen him as a little spec on the horizon out at Himilayas as I drove by Lanis on many a large swell. Sometimes he is by himself. I was stoked to see him in the Eddie. Now that I think about it, it was probably Kohl that was out paddling that tow-in spot my buddy was telling me about. Cool.
NEWPORT BEACH, CA — (January 8, 2010) — The promise of the El Nino winter appears to have delivered for big wave surfers, as many long-standing records are ready to fall in this year’s Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards presented by Monster Energy. And more than ever before, the Monster Paddle category (just for surfers who catch their waves without any jet ski assistance) has taken center stage as the elite of the sport refocus on this elemental man-against-the-sea tradition. Visual evidence of these landmark performances can be viewed at the event website at www.BillabongXXL.com.
While huge swells have blasted nearly every coastline of the planet in recent months, it has been the Hawaiian Islands which have had the most mind-bending proof of the power of the current El Nino weather phenomenon. December 7-8, 2009 saw one of the biggest swells in modern history batter the northern shores of the entire Hawaiian Chain, followed by another extraordinary day of outer reef waves on Christmas. From these historic moments of oceanic grandeur have come images which show several top big wave surfers paddling into what may well be the biggest waves ever caught by human power in the long history of the sport.
Among these superlative rides is a massive dark wall caught by Shane Dorian and Mark Healey which closed out the legendary Waimea Bay on Oahu on December 7. Also up for consideration is another mammoth peak at Waimea ridden by Chile’s Ramon Navarro which earned the South American hero a perfect score in the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau event on December 8. And more recently, grainy, documentary photos have arrived depicting Garrett McNamara paddling into a distant peak at Outer Log Cabins, a rarely-seen outer reef far off the North Shore shoreline, previously only the domain of tow-in surfers with jet-powered watercraft.
All are likely to figure prominently as finalists for the Monster Paddle Award to be given out at the tenth annual Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards to be held in California in late April. A panel of big wave surfing and photography experts will analyze the available images and by interpreting the known sizes of the surfers and their surfboards, calculate reliable height estimates for the face of each wave. One will emerge as the Monster Paddle winner and will receive $15,000 out of the total event purse of $130,000.
The current world record for a paddle-in wave belongs to Taylor Knox of San Diego, California who rode a wave measured at 52 feet at Todos Santos Island off of Ensenada, Mexico during the last major El Nino episode in 1998. Many experts are expecting an update to the Guinness Book of World Records once this winter’s measurements are complete.
Dorian and Healey are veterans of decades of big wave hunting and both concur that their shared ride at Waimea was easily the biggest either had ever caught. “I’d been waiting 15 years for that wave,” said Dorian, of Kona, on the Big Island. “That wave, we could see it from when it was like two or three minutes away from breaking, we could see the wave coming in, everybody’s screaming on the beach and yelling and stuff… When the wave finally came in, it was SO big. The thing was a MONSTER. We both put our heads down and started paddling and somehow we both caught it.
“I was going no matter what,” Dorian added. “And I know Mark felt the same way. It was just fun. A party wave — a wave of that size, and it was for sure the biggest wave I’ve ever paddled into, and to do it with my real good friend, it was very….memorable.”
Mark Healey has lived down the road from Waimea all his life and has been one of its most dedicated practitioners. But he’d never seen waves like this.
“That was the biggest day I’ve ever had at Waimea,” said Healey. “And that wave in particular was definitely by far bigger than anything I’ve ever caught out there, for sure.”
The wave was so large it closed out all the way across the Bay, not allowing the surfers the opportunity to kick out over the top of the wave as usual, and forcing them to straighten out and take the endless tons of whitewater on their heads. But for Healey, a renowned freediver with the ability to hold his breath for over five minutes, it was a fun experience. The longtime friends surfaced unharmed right next to each other, hooting with excitement.
“We were pretty stoked,” said Healey. ”Big waves are different, there’s a lot of brotherhood involved, stuff like that. I’d rather have had Shane catch that wave than ride it alone. It was cool to share a wave like that with a friend, and someone I look up to.”
McNamara, another North Shore stalwart, likes his own chances in the Monster Paddle derby. A past winner of the XXL Paddle crown in 2007 for a huge wave at Northern California’s Maverick’s, “GMac” reckons his Outer Logs Christmas present was several notches larger. “I don’t know how big it was,” McNamara said. “But I do know it felt at least ten feet bigger than anything I’ve ever paddled into. The Mavs wave a few years back was small compared to it….”
Remarkably, there may be much, much more to come. This week the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center issued an alert confirming that the current El Nino episode had intensified in the last 30 days from “moderate” to “strong,” adding that the condition would exert a “significant influence on the global weather and climate in the coming months.” And for surfers in the North Pacific basin, that means more enormous waves. According to Surfline.com, major new swell events are lining up in the coming days, impacting the Hawaiian Islands around Monday and the West Coast around Wednesday of next week.
Big ups to Shane
Who is one of the best all around surfers in the world today? Kelly? Well, ofcourse. Mick after his second world title? Yes. Joel’s surgical cuts even after his world title collapse? Sure, the argument could be made…and there are many others. But I’m all about looking a little deeper and beyond the ASP tour. Just on the other side of the hype you will find Shane Dorian. Same as he ever was.
While on my recent trip to Hawaii, I couldn’t help but notice him. If you were there you couldn’t either. He was dropping in on the best waves of the day at Waimea the week it was breaking (not just during the Eddie). Then you could find him getting one of the best waves during the Pipe Masters a few days later. And let’s not forget the waves he has been charging in Teahupoo the past few years! Freaking brilliant. Is he just a big wave guy? No way. Check out September Sessions and remind yourself that he has been ripping perfect Indonesian waves back when Kelly had hair!
Is he the best all around surfer of his time? You be the judge, but I will tell you it is hard to argue with his performances over the years and most recently on the North Shore. I wanted to use this space to give Shane his props and show you this cool photo of him hiding out in the frame, away from the limelight, doing his thing. Well done Shane.
Waimea Bay (warm up?)
At any other time this would be really good Waimea Bay, but with all the hype of the next swell, it seems everyone is overlooking today’s good surf. I say this was a great day- sunny, light variable winds and some incredible surfing!
Above are 21 unforgettable moments from the session.
Here are ALL THE WAIMEA PHOTOS.
Here’s a quick video of a Waimea set wave.
Valentine’s Waimea is back
There have been several requests for last season’s Waimea Bay session on Valentine’s Day (February 14, 2008). I have reposted this gallery and made your photos available one last time. If you want your photos, please order them as soon as you can or they may be gone forever. The gallery is huge- over 1300 photos! Which means it takes a lot of room on the server. As soon as new sessions come in old sessions like this one will disappear. Every week I get someone saying ‘oh man, I forgot to order my photos…do you still have them?’ Most of the time I have to say, “Sorry, bro..they are gone…” Don’t let this happen to you! Ok, enough said.
This photo I took on that day at Waimea. It was shot from over on the rocks on the west side of the bay towards Alligators. I love the way the sun is lighting up the wave. It may not look like it, but that wave is HUGE. It was so perfect I was actually thinking- ‘if I could just get into the wave I could make it!’ I mind surfed it while shooting the bay in the other direction. This is another photo that may make my print section of the site, which is coming someday – I promise!
Happy Holidays everyone!
Perfect Surf update
Looks like the week of perfect surf will continue with more on the way. Wow. I gotta admit to being a little tired and surfed/photo’d out. Although yesterday was a little on the mixed up side, Waimea had a few in the morning and here is a shot to prove it. That’s Andrew Marr just playing around. He’s the most surf stoked guy around and the bigger it gets the more excited he gets. You can literally hear him giggling out loud in the lineup when a monster set comes. I love that.
So the galleries are now posted from yesterday’s session Waimea- check them out! One of the highlights at the beginning of the gallery is my friend Ian working one into the inside along the rocks to try to make it through the shorebreak only to find himself catching the wave into a gnarly sand wedge (and I am not talking about golf!). I know from experience how much sand he would have in his wetsuit after that pummeling!
Today I shot some cool photos from a secret lookout point, which I will share later and, then, in the afternoon, I went for a swim on the Ehukai sandbar which had some little thumpers. It was a spectacular day for surfing over here in Hawaii. Perfect weather and great surf.
I had my camera all packed and jumped in the water when I realized I hadn’t tightened the bottom screws! I immediately got out and luckily didn’t drown any gear. I usually have a mental checklist, but I was so amped to get in the beautiful water I just completely forgot! It was that nice a day!
good night. let’s do it again tomorrow.
Eddie Opening ceremony
I went to the Eddie Opening ceremony this afternoon- begrudgingly! Why? Because Pipe was off it’s head, mental, insane, whatever you want to call it. I experimented all day with different angles and lenses and have some cool shots to show for it, but you’ll have to wait to see them.
For now I give you a shot of Bruce Irons from the Eddie Opening ceremony. Remember, he won the last Eddie a few years back with an epic drop out the back leading to a inside shorebreak. He pulled into the shorebreak knowing he would get clobbered (and he did), but he also sealed his victory with that ride and shorepound antics. It was pretty cool to watch.
I like the ceremony and the vibe, but I feel like they miss a few of the Bay regulars in the invitations. It is a long list and I won’t go naming names, but there are men (and women) that show up every swell and dedicate their lives to the place. I wish somehow they were more recognized.
Anyhow, today was also cool because there were waves at the Bay while the ceremony was going on- that is a first that I can recall. It wasn’t big, but there were some sets. It should come up even more tonight and I plan on dawning it to see what is happening.
If you are looking for the Rocky Point Gallery from December 3, 2008 (yesterday), it is up and loaded, so check it out. Alrighty, it is late and I am tired…zzzzzz
Waimea Bay
Does this Waimea charger make his air drop? You will have to wait and see when the galleries load. This might take awhile because there are 1,200 photos! Ridiculous? Yes. Way too many photos, but I just couldn’t help myself. Waimea was good. Not great or epic, but just really good (BTW, I think people use ‘epic’ way too much, if it is always epic then, what, do I have to say ‘Really Epic’ or exclaim ‘nah bro, you don’t understand it was REALLY EPIC’- I’m not good at that stuff). Waimea was good and I took a lot of shots. If you were out between noon and dark I have a shot of you. Dig it.
I started the day at Pipe just waiting for the swell to build- and it did. There were some huge outside reef sets at Pipe, but it was a bit out of control in the late morning with the occasional perfect tube. Shane Dorian got the best one I have seen in awhile and I got a great sequence of it.
I chatted up fellow photographer Vince Cavataio who I always see around when the waves are good. Dude, was taking photos of the North Shore before most of the guys shooting Pipe today were even born. I could see a lot of people looking at the guy and thinking he is some tourist with this little camera and writing him off, but you gotta check out his website for some of his incredible wave shots or just perve some of the beautiful models he shoots. Unreal.
At 11:30 I crusied by Sunset and saw a few sets wash through and decided to make my way to my favorite wave- Waimea. Sunset would have been great late in the day, I am sure of it, but I really like Waimea. You may even find me there later in the week. I hear it is going to be EPIC!
New Galleries posted!
We got your Galleries – Pipe, Sunset, and even Waimea right here! Let’s start with the epic day at Pipe which was on ‘Black Friday’ shopping day. I couldn’t think of a better place to be than at Pipe going off while the rest of the US is in WalMart! ha ha…This gallery includes the Aamion Goodwin wipeout, but if you don’t want to wade through all the photos and just see the sequence of Aamion Goodwin and his wipeout click here.
You will notice that these photos have been slightly processed where as the main Pipe gallery has not. If you buy prints, we always process them before sending them out for final print. We can also process your downloads upon request, but some of you like to do this yourself so we give you the choice. We can also do different types of process and examples are coming soon, but for now here is the ‘Nostalgic’ look to give you an idea.
The following day (Saturday- November 29) was pretty blown out and not as big as expected, but I did manage to click a few pros and regular guys ripping up Sunset Beach before the contest. It started raining and I usually would have packed it in, but as I drove by Waimea there were a few small sets. I am obsessed with Waimea and will shoot it whenever it breaks so I decided to go uphill to try to make it look bigger. It didn’t really work..as the rain settled in and I got wet and muddy shooting Waimea from the Heiau.
When I woke up today I thought it had finally cleaned up, but it is still all mixed up and stormy looking although the conditions are glassy and the wind light. What we really need is some trade to clean it up and I am waiting for that to happen as I type…I may just make one more run up to the North Shore to see if it turns on…I hope so!
Swell gossip…
It was flat today and it has been small lately. Everyone is playing the waiting game. Seems like a great time to gossip about upcoming swells. At the moment we have good reason. Looks like a nice couple of storms are brewing and this weekend could be epic, but it is still just a forecast. A lot can change in the next 24 hours. I actually heard the word ‘Waimea’ more than once the last few days and have been giddy ever since. I love shooting the place. I think it is one of the most incredible big wave arenas in the world.
Just in time for all of this is my new ‘Surf Links’ section on the homepage (down there in the lower right). The chart above was taken from the link ‘North Pacific Surf WAVE MODEL’. It comes from the Storm Surf website which is a great resource, but a bit of a work to navigate. Anyway, I like the colors and the way the chart plays out these scenarios. I gotta admit I get pretty excited watching the whole thing spin out the swell.
You will notice the very first link is Pat Caldwell’s Oahu forecast. I consider these words surf forecast gospel. Check out what he says about this weekend. “Outlook through Sunday Nov 30: a large northwest swell is expected to push surf heights to the advisory level when it arrives Friday. It will likely exceed the warning level of 25 feet for north facing shores, and possibly the warning level of 20 feet along exposed west facing shores for the weekend.” Wow, that sounds good to me!
There are other cool links there as well. Got a favorite of your own? Send it to me and I will post it if it is better than some of the others. I want to have a complete collection while here in Hawaii, so I can be informed and get as much info as possible. That is not to say I won’t gossip a little.
Sharks Sighted at Waimea Bay!
Seems the ‘man in the grey suit’ has been seen around the Bay lately. I have never seen this sign before and it made for a shameless photo op. That’s me and my little boy who just turned 1 year old! All we really need is one big pumping swell to clear them out!
Looks like we will be getting more larger waves about midweek just in time for the Haleiwa contest. I saw them setting up the scaffolding today which signals the start of the Triple Crown. Haleiwa is a great place to watch the event, so grab a beach towel and come join the fun. Event should get underway as the waiting period starts and the swell rises on Wednesday.
Goodbye, old friend…
The old Sickshots site is going to be trashed starting tomorrow (it is so large it may take all weekend). There has been plenty of warning for you to get your SickShots, so please don’t come crying to me about “dude, I forgot to order my photo!” Sorry, it’s time to move on. You’ve only had 6 months!
Having said that, I have waited so long for all of you because I hate trashing your memories. Some people come back months or years later and ask about photos. There have been some epic moments over the years and I thank you for letting me be a part of them. Waimea, Padang Padang and the Mentawais come to mind right away. These are my favorite places to shoot and I have fond memories of every single session I have ever shot at these places. Maybe I will have to reload some of the better sessions on the new site? Hmm…that’s a good idea. Now if I just had time.
I was feeling kind of sentimental looking at the old site. I remember building it during a surf charter aboard the ‘Pelagic‘ in the Mentawais several years ago. After shooting all day, uploading heaps of photos and then showing the guests a slideshow, I would stay up until the wee hours of the night and listen to Gansta rap and bust it out. I finished the entire thing in 5 nights. The new version of Sickshots took 5 weeks with help from two programmers- and it is still not finished! The truth that no site is ever finished. There is always something you can do better or want to add. Completion of websites is an elusive goal for sure.
Some of you have criticized the new site because it lacks the simplicity of the old site. I get it. I guess I got bored with the old look and wanted to bring some new features. A good example is the automation of the buying process so you can now get your photos right away. It is also more of a signature site for my work. I decided not to become a free for all site with a lot of photographers contributing. I just wanted to do my thing and keep it simple. The old ‘SickShot of the day’ is now on the blog and I haven’t changed it lately because I haven’t shot much surf in the past few weeks. When I am in Hawaii starting in November, expect that to blow up everyday!
I like the new site and know it can improve, still looking at the old one I can’t help but feel some sort of passing..RIP my old friend. Here’s to all the epic sessions that you held on your server and here’s to you my loyal fans and supporters and special thanks to all of you that bought photos over the years from that site.
Hey, this is not the end of SickShots, but the start of a new era. Welcome aboard!
Cheers!
