Jan

13

"High surf advisory remains in effect for north and west facing shores. Surf along north facing shores will be 15 to 17 feet, with occasional sets to 22 feet through Saturday," said the surf report. The waves were big and so after the market closed I looked at the surf spots from my house to see which ones were breaking best with the least surfers. Honokohau National Park looked best. Paddling out the quarter mile out to the break, a guy yells out to me and says, "Aren't you James?" This was funny because the only time I see this guy is out in the ocean. There was just this other guy, me, and this guy on a stand up surf board with a paddle, which is a new thing.

The guy's name was Jack. Jack, being on the stand up board, could see better because he was standing. While we were out, he saw a shark cruising by. Honokohau is the sharks' favorite place to go to eat the fish guts the fisherman throw out.

We don't freak out, and here's why. For one, they usually cruise on the ledge just outside the surf since they can't handle the big waves. Second, they are usually just cruising through for food and looking for weak wounded fish or blood. They won't mess with an adult guy paddling a board aggressively and flying along the surface of the big waves at 25 miles an hour over the water. Even still, I kept a good look out under my feet, which were dangling in the water. It's a good thing to know the risks and to know the predators in the area when you are the prey not the hunter. The trick (I've heard) is to punch them hard, right in the nose to make them go away if they charge at you. So despite the threat, the waves were nice, the weather was nice and it was a good day.


Comments

Name

Email

Website

Speak your mind

Archives

Resources & Links

Search