(Above: "Uncle Billy" Blankenfield, photo Sean Davey www.seandavey.com)

Man what a killer run of swell. If you see sunburnt people walking around with big smiles on there faces, they are surfers! Please excuse us spouses and family for our vacancy, but don't worry there will be plenty Ohana time in August. Wow. The last two days were solid south shore. We haven't seen swell like this in a really long time and we have now had two full runs of it. I think mid-late Friday was the peak of the swell and then Saturday morning was less consistent but epic conditions and I still saw a 6 footer crack of dawn this morning, but it dwindled through the morning today. There were a few sets that closed out the channel this swell so I guess you can call that 8 ft. The south direction of the swell is a little less menacing however than when a real west one comes in and stands up. The south direction makes for a little softer barrel rather than the big throwing hook which comes from the SW, but there were still some killer tuberides. It was certainly no secret, all the main town guys out with a crew from the country made the lineups super intense. When Im so sore Im hoping it will be small for a couple days, I know it has been really good. Looks like we will be getting some more swell all the way through the holiday weekend. Some people are claiming that the next swell will be bigger, "giant" where others are slating it a little smaller than what we have had. We are well into the bonus round already at this point so I guess we will just ride our way into the summer slumber!

Last week Tues was the last solid day of south shore surf and I remember waking up in the wee hours hearing my husband grumble "I'm so over Ala Moana Bowls". Though the surf dropped on Wednesday there were still a few four footers and solid three feet all the way through Thursday. I don't think I have been that beat up from sun and surf in a while, but low and behold a country swell filled in Friday morning just to keep us movin on this massive surf marathon. The wind was pretty strong and the waves are never really good in the country this time of year but there were a couple 4 footers coming in so nobodys complaining. That swell lasted through Saturday and then died leaving us with mini trade wind swell and tide surge up here on the Northshore so I think I am ready to rumble for what looks like another solid series of south swells. This is so much fun, it almost makes up for the junky winter.

If you don't know Robin Johnson, you should. www.rjsurf.com He is an accredited Pipe surfer and surfboard shaper here in Hawaii. Robin just finished his second film which features some great underground footage of himself and his team riders in some epic waves. The premiere will be held on June 20th (Sat) at Jazz Minds starting at 8pm. In case you have never been to Jazz Minds, its a funky and comfy little joint with a nice atmosphere, one of my personal favorites. The event has a theme suggesting Cowboy or Indian attire and it should be a little great gathering for surfers to chill and talk story after a killer week of south shore surf. Sunday should be small waves anyways so come out and enjoy the fun.

Wow. What a week. The over-hyped swell last Wednesday dimished into Friday. Saturday was predicted to be just 4-6 ft faces but that morning had 3-4 backs with some 5 ft sets by 10:30am. The morning was windy and choppy so I went back home to the country thinking I had scored a little more than expected until all my friends called around 5pm telling me that it was solid 4-6 ft backs with more west in the swell than predicted and some larger sets. The next morning had some sets left over, but the swell was more south and the big bowl just wasn't doin its thing. That afternoon several pros were out and the swell seemed to have dropped until one solid set broke behind the buoy. As the freak wave approached and began to break right on top of all the surfers, a large 20 ft catamaran proceeded to sail right through the line-up and into the wave. The wave picked up the boat and the driver managed to ride it all the way in. If the boat would have not succeeded in its attempt down the face, several surfers could have been endangered, including me. Fortunately, there were no injuries. Just the day before a sailboat was also threatened as it got caught by a wave in the channel and almost went over the falls. All I could think of was Laura Theilen from DLNR saying that commercializing the Ala Wai boat Harbor should not be a threat to surfers. I sure hope she saw the news and will reconsider her opinion. Today the waves were still pretty solid, but the S-SE direction was just about as sideways as I've ever seen it. It did not even seem like the same kind of wave at Bowls. Most surfers were venturing to Rice Bowls and other spots Diamond Head side where the swell was a little bigger, but I think it was a bit funky everywhere. The size did not seem to be letting up much at all today and is predicted to hold through at least tomorrow. With the exception of one smaller day, we've had about 8 days in a row with surf in the 4-6 ft range so we are getting pretty spoiled. Most surfers have sunburnt smiles and pruned hands by now. I guess China had the Wahine contest this weekend so the girls must have scored at Queens. Go to www.hawaiianwatershots.com or www.hawaiianswell.com to see how epic the waves have been and stay covered!

Yesterday started out being a bit of a let down. It was one of those media swells that brought the crowds, but not the wave heights we had expected. It started to pulse however around mid- morning and by 10:30am the set of the day came through that was about 6 feet. After that the swell filled in more with the tide and it got pretty good around midday with more consistent sets and nice conditions The boys were getting some good barrells at the Bowl and I heard Rice Bowls was all-time. It seemed like the swell may have been getting in more by Diamond Head with the more southerly swell direction. It had dropped back quite a bit early this morning, but there were still some occ 4 footers and with good conditions. I think yesterday and this past Monday were the biggest days in town so far. Plenty more swells on the way!!!!!!!! Beware of those midday hours though man because the sun has been scorching lately.