Howzit North Shore! The East side of the Island of Oahu experienced a mega-swell in late November which began to appear on Thursday, Nov. 20 and which peaked on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21 and 22. It then slowly began to decline, but the surf was still up on the East shores into the following week. As I write this on the day before Thanksgiving 2003... there is still some residual swell and great surf all up and down the East shore as the south-west winds have kicked in making the conditions over there perfect with light offshore breezes and many good breaks showing what they are made of, all the way from Kahuku to Makapuu. As the peak of the swell raged past the #1 buoy it measured in at 20 feet/17seconds at midnight on Friday night. While driving up the East side during the days that followed the initial swell, I noticed that large amounts of sand and debris had been deposited all across the roadways from Kualoa all the way to Laie everywhere that the road fronts the beach. Many sections of the Eastside roads were closed during the peak of the swell. Meanwhile, on the Big Friday, two Tow-Teams including Garrett McNamara and Ikaika Kalama along with Greg Quinn and Ron Barron tackled 20 foot Sandy Beach lefts breaking from Outside Full Point Sandys all the way to the Blowhole. Garrett launched from Hawaii Kai and Ron launched from Kaneohe. Either way, its a long way! On Saturday, Sandy Beach was PADDLE surfed by lifeguard Edmund Pestana and several other Hard-Core Surfers. The rest of the East side was pretty much closed out on Friday, but on Saturday it had become more manageable. Eric Fisher and I met Waimea Bay Big Wave Rider Clark Abbey in Kaneohe, and he told us of the spot 3 miles outside the Heeia Kea Boat Harbor on Kaneohe Bay Drive. We launched from there. WAY outside it was huge, with rights out of the east and lefts out of the north meeting and sometimes closing out in the middle of the channel at the #2 Buoy, which is the furthest one out and marks the outside channel as it heads towards the horizon far outside and to the north of the Pyramid Rock Point end of Kaneohe Marine Base. Whew! What a wave! The right was LONG. There was a lot of water moving around on the lefts as the Marine Base Jet-Ski Lifeguard Team trained there in epic surf. Lucky for Clark that they were out there, as he eventually lost his board while towing-in with Gregg Quinn and it was like looking for a needle in a haystack finding it! A Brazilian tow-team headed up by my friend Edison also made a brief appearance. All in all, we rode it alone until dark after re-fueling twice. What an adventure!

Back in the real world, the VANS Triple Crown of Surfing has been moving right along. The Roxy Pro for the women finished up on Nov. 21st at Haleiwa, with Peruvian Sofia Mulanovich taking 1st place. Waianae girl Melanie Bartels took 2nd and as a result finished #1 on the 2003 WQS series for the women. Maria TitaTavares of Brazil took 3rd and Samantha Cornish of Australia was 4th. Carissa Moore, an 11 year old 6th grader at Punahou school was the youngest ever to surf in a Triple Crown contest. She was eliminated in the quarters, but made a good showing and won $700, which she donated to help shark attack victim and fellow amateur surf competitor Bethany Hamilton of Kauai. The next day, Nov. 22nd, Australian Troy Brooks won the VANS Hawaiian Pro and took an early lead as Triple Crown Champ contender. Armando Daltro of Brazil got 2nd, Jake Paterson of Australia got 3rd and Neco Padaratz of Brazil was 4th. Padaratz sealed his WQS final leadership for 2003 with this contest. The top Hawaii finishers were Andy and Bruce Irons receiving 7th and 9th respectively. Next stop at this writing is the Rip Curl Cup for the men. A full wrap-up of all the events in the new year 2004. Speaking of Wrap-ups, the VANS Hawaiian Pro Wrap-up party at Breakers in Haleiwa went off on Saturday, Nov. 22nd. Matty Liu knows how to promote party events. I wonder who taught him how to do it?Ace Cool?

I got to see the finals of the Turtle Bay Resort Womens Pro and Keala Kennelly of Kauai dominated, won the event and maintained her momentum going into the final event which will be the Billabong Pro at Honolua Bay on Maui. She is currently the WCT ratings leader for 2003. Hawaiian Megan Abubo got 2nd and ensured her return to the WCT tour next year. Peruvian Sofia Mulanovich got 3rd and Australian Rebecca Woods took 4th.

Still up as we sit down for Thanksgiving Turkey is the Billabong Pro for the women and the Rip Curl Cup and the XBOX Pipe Masters for the men. World Champ and Triple Crown Champ reports for the women and men in 2004. Have a great Christmas and New Year! Aloha... Ace Cool!