6:30AM I was in the line-up already with no chance to catch a set. The wind was just too light.
Sets were coming in and I was just making it over the tops of the waves by centimeters. I was paddling my windsurf gear like a surfer but only going about at ¼ of the speed or less. I was paddling right next to all the pro surfers who were looking at me thinking I was completely nuts.
7:00AM After many close calls and getting slammed by the big sets while I was dog-paddling in the water with my gear I decided to try and sit on the jet ski for a bit like I had done at Teauhpoo years past. The current was starting to suck out and there was no way I could stay in the line-up by myself.
So the game began. Myself and some of the best big wave surfers on the planet all sat next to each other in the line-up, taking turns to catch the bomb sets.
When it was my turn I would jump off the ski and try and pump my way onto the face of the wave. With the current running out and the huge walls of water shadowing the wind it was extremely difficult to get onto one of the bomb sets. I tried this for 1 hour with no luck.
You have to have nerves of steel to do this because you just never know what’s behind the next wave. Surfers can paddle quickly to get out of the way but I am stuck like a led weight hanging on to my gear, literally as a life preserver.
