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OAHU: ON THE HUNT

01/04/2022
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OAHU: ON THE HUNT

Goya OG’s, Marcilio Browne and Francisco Goya, go on the hunt in Oahu, chasing one of autumn’s first swells in Hawaii; they give us the lowdown on their trip to a fabled secret spot. 

WORDS – Marcilio Browne and Francisco Goya // PHOTOS – Fish Bowl Diaries  


MARCILIO BROWNE 

The conditions were firing on Maui so we knew it must have been working good in Oahu too. We knew also that Kai Lenny and Ricardo had gone as well, so that was another reminder ha ha. We finished sailing at Ho’okipa late Friday, then I texted Scotty Carvill as soon as we were done to ask for a report. After discussing it with Fran’, we decided to go at about 9 P.M. that night and leave on the first flight out the next morning. I packed 1 board, 2 sails, 1 boom and 2 masts … pretty easy, one bag! There was not much logistics, we got off the flight, got a rental car, grabbed food and went straight to the beach pretty much.

HIGH QUALITY 

We went to a spot I have sailed 3 or 4 times before. The locals are friends of ours so they were very welcoming as usual, it was a really great vibe! It’s a high quality wave, but also with a lot of consequence, very hollow and easy to break gear. The wind is not like Maui, a lot lighter and gustier, it’s not an easy spot but it’s such a good wave. The highlights of the session were riding those waves with just a few friends, as well as seeing guys like Carvill, Craig Yester, Steve Villager and JB …  a really great crew of guys; I was stoked to see them all ag

HIGHLIGHTS 

Other highlights were watching everyone having fun and catching good waves. Kai had 2 amazing ones, going fast and perfect timing; Ricardo had a sick air taka planing out of it; Fran had some really good sets, riding with his usual super fluid style. It was also incredible to see Craig and Steve, both in their late 50s, sailing those difficult conditions for so many hours and ripping, which really impressed me. 

Funniest moment was seeing how relaxed Fran was with our timing to catch the flight on the way back… ha ha! I was convinced we were going to miss the flight, but he went full ‘contest mode’ on the drive back and made sure we got there just in time. Sofie from photographers Fish Bowl Diaries was nearly ripping her husband Paul’s arm off in the back seat as Fran went thought the corners ha ha.

FRANCISCO GOYA  

We were shooting the new gear later than normal this year with all the things going on in the world, so our schedules had to be rewritten one more time, but ended up coinciding with the first swell of the season. We shot for a few days on Maui until this bigger swell hit and was closing out at Ho’okipa, that is when we heard from Kai and Ricardo that Oahu was firing.  

Scott Carvill told us the winds would not be ideal and we knew that the sandbanks would still be adjusting being the first swell, you can see this on the green waves, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Plus Keith Teboul said that we should go, so I didn’t need another second to think about it. 

LOGISTICS 

It was the lightest and fastest I have ever packed – one sail, one board, one mast / boom / extension / base / harness, and the clothes I was wearing. As we were travelling within the state of Hawaii, we didn’t need any testing. Southwest Airlines were amazing, they welcomed us all with smiles and didn’t even want to charge us for the gear! We hired a minivan as we were travelling with Sofie & Paul from Fish Bowl Diaries and we didn’t even want to waste a minute tying gear down onto the roof and just put it all inside! We left Kahului at 8 A.M. and we were on the road in Oahu with breakfast before 11 A.M. 

DREAM BREAK 

Last time that I windsurfed on Oahu was back when we started Quatro in the 90s. I only rode one wave back then and had been thinking about that wave since then – was it just a great wave or if it was just like that every time. It turned out that it was actually that good on every wave, really a dream break!  

This is the spot that I grew up looking at pictures of, where windsurfing started to mix with surfing, thanks to people like Mark Angulo and Rush Randle. 

LOCAL CREW 

Craig Yester and Steve Villager, the local rippers who welcomed us, had Surf & Sail in Haleiwa, one of the first wave sailing shops in the world. They have been scoring this place since the early 80s, so probably they have scored the best conditions out of anybody in the history of the sport. I can’t describe the level of happiness these two have, they have not only been riding the best wave on the planet for decades, but they have also been best friends since then. They are inspiring in so many ways. I just can’t wait to ride with them again. The local crew are really friendly, but still, like everywhere, it is important to be respectful, keep mellow, give plenty of room and if in doubt, go for the next wave. 

RIDE FAST  

You have to be careful as the end of the wave hasn’t much water anywhere and the wind can be patchy. In the gusts you can waterstart, but otherwise you need an uphaul and a board you can float on. In the ultra light winds, so many waves went unridden; still, it was probably one of the best sessions of my life. I can only compare it to Cabo Verde and clean north swells at Ho’okipa. The offshore winds held the faces up longer, so you could just go later and deeper. You could ride with your eyes shut, but you needed to ride fast, like there is no tomorrow, and then the wave welcomes you. Braw was throwing buckets, taking wave sailing to the next level, Ricardo did the biggest aerial I have ever seen, and Kai got the set of the day and maxed it as if it was 4 foot.

It’s hard to describe how good it was, but it was definitely one of my best 5 sessions ever, welcomed by and riding with the happiest crew, and the only low point was having to leave as I had a trip to Hood River booked. But at least I had spent the day sailing with friends as much as possible, until we packed up for home and were the last to board the last flight back to Maui. 

 

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