The Child

Can you remember the last El Nino year? When I was growing up, I always heard of the swell of 69'. If you had surfed in the decade following that year, it was the milestone. Then in 1983, the next El Nino hit with a vengeance, the big surf and a new extreme sport of big wave surfing was born. I remember seeing all the surf mags at that time and was amazed. In 1986 another El Nino year, I paddled out in my first big surf at 17. Ten years later I was on the North Shore playing chess at Pipeline watching the "condition black" You could not see the outer reefs break. I sometimes think to myself, too many people have not paid their dues in the big surf. With more and more kiteboarders going into the surf without the slightest knowledge of conditions, I feel concern. I just saw a forecast for next Tuesday and I saw 40 feet at 16 seconds. That is twice as big as my earlier video post "Rainbow Wave". I just hope all these "watermen" know what they are doing. Good Luck