Only The Heroes




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Six Years Ago on DogMan's Chronicles

The Green Room


An overview of the sun spangled lineup at double K.

Only The Heroes

Saturday February 16, 2008: Kook's Kove.

Saturday's surf conditions included 20 to 25 foot faces, waves from two angles, and occasionally outside closeouts extending from one horizon to the other. Most intimidating.


Taking off on a tall section.


Fast track on the face.


Scoring a bottom turn.


Back for more.

Categories

Four categories of surfers came to the break that day:

  • They came, they saw, they watched, they left dry.
  • They came, they paddled into the maelstrom, they didn't make it past the white water, they washed onto the beach, they left wet.
  • They came, they paddled into the maelstrom, somehow they paddled past the white water, even with varying degrees of effort they never caught a single wave, they returned to the beach, they left honorably and wet.
  • They came, they paddled into the maelstrom, they powered past the white water, they caught and rode multiple macking waves, they returned to the beach, they left as heroes. Oh yeah, they left wet.

Nice ride, but how about the waves coming from behind?


Kick hard to get over this lip.


Get down the line fast.


Zooooooom.

Names

There are names for these categories, and I mean no disrespect here:

  • Honest wimps. This category includes DogMan, who watched through the camera lens and got the pix you see in this column.
  • Magnificent fools (Thanks to Steve for this term). Have to give it up for the surfers who were completely overmatched, yet plunged into the raging ocean anyway, hoping for glory.
  • Lucky magnificent fools. Also have to give big props to those who went for the glory, yet rode not a single wave. The huge waves were actually incredibly difficult to catch and ride. A jetski would have been appropriate.
  • Heroes. To the surfers pictured in these photos catching and riding multiple behemoths, I say only this "We're not worthy!"

Taking the high line.


Foamy ride.

Triple Quad

Kook's Kove can handle triple or even quad overhead and still be quite rideable. At these heights, the power of the waves requires an almost superhuman paddling effort to pull over the lip and make the drop. The waves flex steep and then back off time and again as they pass over the gnarly reef below. It requires a suspension of your disbelief to sit on a boil, catch the lip as the wave jacks concave toward the sky underneath you, pop to your feet with nothing but air beneath, and safely make the drop down the face as the wave unbuckles again, passing the shallow part of the reef and scanning across deeper water.


Stacked lines behind this critical drop.


Racing for the open face.

The Routine

Once underway, the wall can peel for hundreds of yards, with multiple critical sections shuffled with open faces. Usually, you kick out of the wave at the edge of a safe channel where the paddle to the lineup is unobstructed.


This is the normal lineup. Take off at point of the reef on the right side of the picture, ride right and kick out in the channel on the left side of the picture.


Here's a wide breaking set, swamping the paddle channel with mondo breakers. Notice the surfers on the left side of the picture. Normally, they are far into the channel, safe from the breakers. In this case, however, they are scratching for their lives.

Not Routine

Several changes in the routine occur with onslaught of such macking conditions, however. First, while the point of the reef is still the preferred spot for take off, sets of mondo waves can break wide of this location. They closeout the entire reef, boxing you into the corner and dragging you further inside. By the time the set subsides, you can be caught entirely out of position, with a long and dicey paddle to get back to your spot.


The start of a long painful and ultimately futile paddle.

Not Safe

Second, the kick out spot and paddle channel become overwhelmed with the large waves. It's not unusual in these times to end a ride, only to stare directly into the faces of multiple incoming waves that crest and break in front of you, or even on your head. Since there is no safe sandy beach inside this location, you only have one option: paddle for your life.


Check the huge boil behind him.

Tingly Sensation

Still, these waves are fairly forgiving compared to other big wave breaks in the area. It's rare to see them breaking top to bottom, and there are enough lulls in the action that you can maneuver about the reef with some comfort. But that tingly sensation is always with you, as the next minute can bring another avalanche of white water your way.


Staying in front of it.

Both Ways

The hellmen in these photos are the heroes that came to challenge themselves and the waves. I spoke with two of them as they exited the water; it was clear it was a memorable session for each. One just shook his head in disbelief, even as he grinned from the stoke of it all. The other seemed to want it both ways; he regretted even paddling out and taking the pounding, but he didn't want to trade the experience of riding the 20-foot--plus watery monsters for anything.


Cut back.

Decaying Swell

Through the weekend the swell decayed. Saturday was all time big time, as evidenced in these pictures. Sunday was smaller, but still double overhead. DogMan got some morning juice for himself. Monday was fun sized, waist to chest high, still surfable, but far removed from the hero waves of a few days back.


Setting the next section.


Inside ride.

CU Out There,

DogMan


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