Mmmmmm Maaaauuuuiiii. Got some good days in at the Bay last time I was over there. Malama Honolua for me til I get back, k?
I grew up surfing the bay. Best wave in all of Hawaii on a North west swell. If anybody tells you different ,then they never got to surf Honolua on a perfect 10 to 12 ft day,...on a North West Swell of course. It was Honolua Bay that I watched a young Aussie named Nat Young tear up the place, making David Nuuhiwa look like a grommet. It was Honolua Bay where I met and became friends with former world Champ Shaun Tomsan & Lightning Bolt Shaper numero uno then, Tom Parrish. Tom had snapped his favorite board on the first day at Honolua. He had met me that day thru a mutual friend,and at the end of the day I had pack Tom's trusty 7'8" rounded pintail, now in two pieces in my VW van. Tom make a long story short, I put Tom's board back together overnight. We became pretty darn good friends as a result of it. So anytime Tom would come to Maui he's swap houses with Gerry Lopez for a week or so. While here Tom would use Gerry's shaping room up at Gerry Olinda house. The Gerry would use Tom's Pupukea Heights home and do the exact same thing ,shape away the week. When Tom Parrish first started coming to Maui, He'd drive down from Olinda to go surf. As our friendship bloomed I offered my place for him to store his boards,and in kind he told me to feel free to use any of his boards anytime to go surf. Tom was also the Quiksilver Rep for Hawaii at the time. Because of his style(big heart), he never forgot what I did for him by repairing his board overnight. He gave me Quiksilver shorts on a regular basis. I was actually the first Maui surfer with Quiksilver shorts. Everybody back then was wearing Hang 10, or Birdwell,or Katin board shorts. Snap instead string tie, and they felt right too! Damn, I still remember my first pair of quiksilver shorts too! They were two shades of blue! lol
When ever the North shore is closing out, and there is a NW swell,...everybody goes to Maui to surf Honolua Bay Here is a good story for you smokers. While surfing Honolua Bay one day with Shaun Tomsan upon coming back to the car . We dried off and had a chat about our just finished session. Shaun had a board bag like no other board bag I had ever seen. It was all black leather, and had slots to hold three boards at once. Real cool I tell you, and on the outside of it in white paint it said Shaum Tomsan ,South African Springbok. So there was no mistaking Shaun's board bag. This day instead of parking on the cliffs at Honolua. I took the dirt road into the mouth of the bay. Had a real nice jungle feel to it. Here there was only about five cars instead of fifty. Anyway Shaun and I go surf. So he leaves this beautiful board bag on the ground next to the car. Upon his return ,we are drying off putting away our stuff, and getting ready to go back Lahaina. Shaun lifts his board bag, then I hear "What is this Puna". While we were surfing, a Shaun Tomsan admirer came up and left and ounce of buds under his board bag. Well, Shaun's a pro surfer. He needs that in his life about as much as I REALLY NEED THAT! Shaun,doesn't smoke. But he doesn't hold it against anyone who does. So Shaun's gift quickly became my gift in a matter of seconds! Ah, the old surf days! I got endless surf stories from those days too. I use to have Super 8MM of Mark Richard surfing Honolua Bay. I've never seen anybody cutback into the tube like Mark Richard. But Shaun got barreled like I've never seen before! Plus his ability to kick out while in the barrel was simply amazing!
ps If you haven't noticed my avatar is down. The Rollitup police said it was inappropriate for a marijuana social network? So they took it down for me! FUCKING ASSHOLES But they will allow blood & gore avatars?