Report on a recent swell by Giampaolo Cammarota
Not all of you know that I write a monthly article for an Italian
windsurfing magazine, and that every week my surf/windsurf reports
from Maui are published on an Italian web page. So, I’m quite used to writing these kinds of reports. But this will be the first official one written in English.
As Laird Hamilton told me when I interviewed him, “Every time you start
something new you are a beginner and I like that feeling. It’s
too easy to do only what you’re good at.” Well said Laird! Let’s do this report in English. . . .
During the weekend of April 17-18 a deep storm started spinning around 60
degrees south latitude — in the southern hemisphere — and 150 degrees west
longitude. It had a wide fetch of extreme force winds pointed toward Hawaii
(roughly at 20N, 160W). It blew for a couple of days, then the winds shifted to a point east of Hawaii for a few more days. The width
of the fetch and the angular spreading of the waves during their long
journey made for some great waves in Hawaii for a whole week.
Southern hemisphere storms mean big swell up north
At right is a copy of the weather map for the South Pacific on April 19, the peak of the storm. If you’re not a meteorology freak (as I proudly am), just know that the more circles you see around a letter L in a weather map, the stronger the winds are in that place. And in that map there’s a fairly impressive amount of circles. That low pressure system, in fact, was down to 944 millibars and that’s really low. Being on a ship around there must not have been too much fun.
Thursday 4/22
First day of the swell. I surfed Lahaina Breakwall with the 9‘, Mala ramp
with the 6’10” and Launiupoko at sunset with the 10’4”. I confess that I got a little confused on the take off timing and the turning technique,
but I managed to have fun in all sessions. Breakwall was head high with
35 people on the peak. Ten to 15 people at Mala, almost
nobody at Launiupoko. The last session was clearly the best. Also because at
sunset the water magically acquired the smoothness of oil and an incredibly
deep and intense blue color.
Friday 4/23
I had to work all day. And that was good, because I needed to recover from
yesterday. Tomorrow it’s gonna be big and I better take some rest.
Saturday 4/24
I surfed Mala ramp in the morning with the 10’4”, just to warm up. I love
getting in the water at Mala. The inside of the reef is like an aquarium.
The water is crystal clear and delightfully warm. Actually, it’s damn shallow
too, and I got a few reef scratches under my right arm that will keep me company for at least a week. Waves were shoulder-to-head high and there were not too many people. A lot of fun.
Right after that session, I decided to take advantage of the good mileage
performance of my faithful Escort and drove about 40 miles all the way to
Dumps. Most of my friends on the island don’t like to drive too much to go
surfing. It’s because they didn’t grow up as a desperate windsurfer in
Naples (Italy), as I did. The number of times in which I jumped in the car
and drove hundreds of miles looking for wind and not finding it, is
countless. You guys don’t know what it means driving three hours in the rain and getting there just before the wind dies down. In comparison, driving 40
miles from Lahaina to Dumps, admiring the ocean on the side of the
highway (spotting the whales if it’s the season), listening to
some good reggae low frequency vibes out of my car subwoofer, is a
blessing! The conditions at Dumps were excellent. I got so stoked
by that session that, once home, I wrote the following email to some
friends:
“What is it that makes surfing so enjoyable? So enjoyable that I can dream with my eyes open about the great rides I had today and the ones I’m gonna have tomorrow? I can’t really tell, but that’s the way it is. It’s a drug … good kind, though. The more you do it, the better you get and the more you feel emotions that it’s just impossible to describe. I surfed Dumps in the afternoon. I caught at least 10 waves. And 10 waves at Dumps are a lot! Because every single one is a delight. It’s a spiritual experience. It’s pure stoke. I did damn good for a guy who grew up in Naples and started surfing at 39. After a while I got so much confidence that the people on my left (Dumps is a left) didn’t even paddle anymore, because they knew I was gonna catch it.
And the people sitting way down left on the shoulder weren’t even thinking to drop in because they knew I was gonna make that section. They saw me riding a few good ones already. They had figured that I was good. And the best of it is that I’m starting to figure that out too …
I’m completely stoked.”
Sunday 4/25
All the people that surf (99% of the Maui population, I would say) go to the
south shore. I kinda had the feeling that the island started leaning south a
bit, because of the shift of weight. With the complicity of a
gorgeous sunny day, the amount of surfers in the water is impressive. Nine cars out of ten have surfboards on top. The remaining ones have them inside.
Despite my early wake up, there were already around 30 people in the water at Dumps at 7am. A friend had got in the water at 5.30 (tough girl!). There were 30 people also back then!! What the hell of a time you guys wake up?!?!
Anyways, 10 more memorable rides, including a couple of double overhead bombs. After which, I sat on my beach chair to enjoy the show. Attached you can see a picture of that wonderful morning (the left wave). The right wave is Maalaea. Notice the white water which goes way higher than the wave itself. They say it’s the fastest right in the world.
The left
My friend Gianfranco was out there. Here is one of his many
amazing surf stories:
“I got barreled on this one. I was going fast but then I figured that it was
better to cut towards the shore, because it was gonna close out in front
of me. Getting out of the barrel, I saw this thick water guillotine heavily
falling on my head. I don’t know how I made it, but luckily the blade fell a
few inches off my board. I wasn’t hit by it, but I was exploded in the air.”
Look at the picture and you’ll know what he’s talking about. Not tired yet, I ended the day with a session at Shark Pit, just before Lahaina. Another wave, another left. Geez, I just love the front side vision of a wave…
Monday 4/26
Wake up at 4.40 am. I wanted to check Lahaina Breakwall. It was nice and head high, but after having surfed Dumps it felt like a beginner wave. It was
fun, but it didn’t give me the thrill of that steep take off. Did I get
spoiled already? This was my only session today because I had to work
plus it was raining.
Tuesday 4/27
Wake up at 4.40 again. One thought in my mind: I got to go again. One
direction: Dumps. I got in the water at 6.30 and surfed till 9. Waves were
still pretty good, but it was windy. Damn! Didn’t I use to love wind? Things change … I was disappointedly putting the board back in the bag when a friend pulled into the parking lot. He goes: “Hey, can you keep a secret?“
He was still dripping water off his beard.
“Sure!” I said.
“Go to La Perouse! It’s glassy there and there’s few people.”
La Perouse is just two miles away from Dumps, but he was right! It was
glassy and uncrowded. I won’t even bother trying to describe the color of
the water — unreal. I had never surfed there before. I remember that during
one of my windsurfing trips to Maui a few years ago, I ended up by complete
chance in La Perouse on a day with a big south swell. It looked just exactly as it was Tuesday. At the time I wasn’t surfing yet, and it looked quite scary to my eyes (now that I surf, it looks ever scarier!!). I saw a local surfer getting in the rough water and paddling out, making good use of his back muscles. And I thought that surfing was a sport for tough people only. Too tough for an engineer that spent most of his time sitting at his desk in front of a computer. Never in the world I would have guessed that one day I was gonna do the same. But I did it.
I got in the water with a mix of excitement and fear. It’s known as a gnarly wave and I had heard too many scary stories about it. I sat on the shoulder for a while just to understand how it worked. They were the most beautiful waves I have ever seen, surrounded by black lava rocks and a surprisingly green Haleakala in background (yes, it was a very rainy winter here in Maui).
I caught five waves on the shoulder. Steep take off and fast ride down the
glassy blue giants. Not a fall, not a wipe out, all was under control. Pure
fun. But then my sixth one came. It was big. Don’t ask me how big. It was big … I caught it right on the peak. I managed to stay high, three feet below the lip. I made about 40 yards like this, then I saw the wall in front of me getting too vertical. You don’t think in those moments. You just don’t have the time!
It’s your instinct that rules. I must have had a “suicidal” moment
because, instead of escaping towards the shore (Gianfranco at Maalaea-like), my instinct inexplicably decided to keep my poor body right there. Actually it’s not that inexplicable — I just took the chance to get barreled.
But I didn’t. On the other hand, I got worked pretty hard. My body was being
violently shaken in all directions. I had no idea of where the surface was
anymore, when luckily (!!!) my back hit a rock on the bottom quite hard. At
least I knew where to swim after that. Fortunately, I had my wet suit on.
That prevented my back from deep cuts, but it didn’t prevent a big
bruise and a lot of pain. It wasn’t over yet. I came to the surface facing the shore and I found it dangerously close. I turned around and I saw some more good-sized white water aggressively moving towards me. No time for turtle roll (yes, I was out with my 9‘), I got even closer to the rocks.
Fortunately, that must have been the last wave of the set, so I had time to
get on the board and paddle out a little, just before another huge set came
in. The average set count so far had been about four waves. According to the
Murphy’s Law there were seven waves in that set. Every one of them pushed me more toward the rocks. Oh, I forgot. There’s no beach at La Perouse — that’s why the water is so clear — just sharp lava rocks. I don’t know where I
found the energy to keep paddling between one turtle roll and another. I kept
hoping that a rip current could take me out of that uncomfortable situation,
but that didn’t happen. Where the hell does all that water go? It is a
mystery.
Eventually, I made it out and decided to end the session. I was exhausted and
beaten up. Still, super stoked. I surfed La Perouse. I still can’t believe
it. Now, I only have one tough wave left: Maalaea when it’s big. Maybe tomorrow. . . .
Wednesday 4/28
In fact, I went to Maalaea. It wasn’t big though, still some head-high sets.
The fastest right in the world? The Freight Train? What the hell are you guys
talking about? It’s a damn close out!! At least it was for me. Maybe when
it’s bigger it peels better. Maybe it was the wrong tide. Come on, Giampaolo, it’s just that you still got a lot to learn and this, ladies and gentlemen, is damn good news! The slow never-ending learning process is one the things I like the most about surfing.
The right
One week of waves on the south shore at the end of April. Just like last
year. Unfortunately, after that great start, last summer wasn’t too good (at
least in Maui). Hopefully this summer will be better. In the meantime, let
me add that Saturday 5/1 a big north swell arrived.
It was glassy and double overhead. I caught a few waves on the very last shoulder. Basically, just the drop and then the wave was gone. I didn’t feel like going deeper inside. The rocks would have been too dangerously close. I learned a lesson at La Perouse. But in the afternoon I surfed Little Makaha and that was a lot of fun.
Aloha and be nice to everybody and to our planet.
– Giampaolo
PS: Some of you may wonder how I manage to spend so much time in the water without needing to work more. I would define my lifestyle as minimal. No dining out, no fancy clothes (the total money I spend on clothes every year is about $50: 2 board shorts at the fall sale at Simmer’s in Paia plus slippers as needed), no fancy car, no cable TV. These things don’t make me happy. Surfing makes me happy. It may seem shallow to somebody (and sometimes unfortunately it is … like Mala ramp … :-)), but that’s what I am. I am a surfer.
Giampaolo Cammarota is a freelance surfing/windsurfing journalist who moved to Maui three and a half years ago. He left his native Italy and a career as an engineer to surf. Cammarota publishes most frequently in the Italian windsurfing magazine WindNews. Recently he interviewed Laird Hamilton during the PWA event at Hookipa. To comment on this report, or for reasonable accommodations and a car in Maui, you can reach Giampaolo via his blog, Maui Surf Report.
