Blind Leading the Blind

My friend calls me up and wants me to teach him how to surf. He's going on a trip to Hawaii in August with his girlfriend. When I hear that, I tell him he should just wait and go learn out there on the South Shore.

From what I understand, learning in Waikiki Beach is supposed to be super easy. There was once a friend of a friend who wanted to come out to surf. My friend said, "Yeah, he knows how to surf, he took lessons at Waikiki. He stood up, too." All he needed was for me to supply him a board.

I said, "Sure, tell him to come out. But I won't push him into waves." I pushed my friend because she was 5 feet nothing, weighed nothing, and was cutie. I don't mind pushing cute girls into waves. Pushing guys, well, that's another story. Unless that person is a good friend, it's not something I do.

This guy comes out, I loan him my magic board, and he doesn't get passed the break water. After 15 minutes, he's done. What do I do? I end up pushing this fool into whitewater so he can catch some belly rides. He can't even get up on a wave.

My friend, well, he had some pride and did his best to get to the outside. He didn't get too far before the waves pushed him back. I caught a wave in and then helped him out. He didn't stand at all, but got some belly rides. All in all, he got the feel of the wave pushing the board, nothing more than that. When he gets out to Waikiki, he'll have some fun and that's the most important part.

The Color of Jade

It wasn't quite as hot this week as it was last week, but the weather was still nice. Anyone still wearing a wetsuit was probably burning up inside. The water was nice and toasty. Too bad there were no waves to go along with the warm waters.

The crowds weren't as bad, probably due to the lack of a swell of any size. The parking lots had more than a few RVs outside of the RV area. Oh well.

I brought out my 7 footer, which I'm a bit out of shape for as well as unsuited to my laziness. Whatever waves I did catch, the rides were short. The high tide wasn't that high and I paddled out an hour after the peak of 3 feet something.

The water was a deep, deep green. Very enchanting color, but it won't ever be the blue that I associate with the Pacific. I hope that one day, someone is able to create a giant filter for the ocean so that maybe it turns the shade I envision.

Even though it appeared clean and the dolphins swimming around seems to reaffirm that notion, there was still some bacteria (obviously) in the water. My nose didn't completely drain. There's very little fluid left in the sinuses, but I still have the sexy voice, like I have a cold. Can't win them all.