I’m getting ready to go surfing tomorrow for the first time since surfing Waikiki in November… it’s been way, way too long. It’s also taken me far too long to post my surfing photos from that trip! I sadly did not get any of me surfing due to forgetting part of my waterproof housing… but I did get some awesome shots from the Vans World Cup of Surfing that was happening on the North Shore when I was there. One of the best parts of going was hitchhiking across O’ahu with my friend Melissa whom I had just met (and who I’m surfing with tomorrow here in Los Angeles!) to get there because our bus turned around due to an accident that closed the road up ahead.
It’s been a dream of mine since I started surfing when I was 12 to attend a real pro surfing competition. I’ve been to two charity surfing competitions (The Switchfoot Bro-am with Rob Machado in San Diego 2 years in a row) which was spectacular… but I had never been to a pro event. The yearly Triple Crown event is home to three of the surfing world’s most important competitions – Billabong Pipe Masters, the World Cup of Surfing and the Reef Hawaiian Pro. I was in town for the first of the World Cup of Surfing events, which was fun because the crowds die down at the beginning of the competitions and ramp back up again near the end since they take place over a two week period whenever the waves are big enough. They day we went was the first day the event had been “on” in days due to small waves the whole week – and it was a surprise day since the forecast was for small waves again. In the morning at my friend’s apartment in Waikiki I checked the website for the report and was ecstatic to see the “on” event status listed on the website. I told my friend Melissa it was game day and we headed downstairs and out to the bus stop to start our two 1/2 hour bus ride to the North Shore for the event.
Here are some of my favorite shots from the day. See the whole set on flickr here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjD7SfSA
*Ricardo Dos Santos
*Tragic post update (2/2015): Ricardo (pictured above) passed away a few months back of gunshot wounds from an altercation with a corrupt cop. This photo circulated a bit after the tragic news of his passing. I’m so glad I captured this happy photo of him, he was an incredible surfer and super nice guy. RIP Ricardo.
Funny story: I just so happened to take a creeper shot of the guy in the above photo because he was sitting next to us on the beach for a while. A few hours later, while Melissa and I were waiting at a bus stop, he pulled up and asked us if we needed a ride back to Honolulu! Now we’re all friends. His name is Anton.
Some of the locals out for the sport.
Hitchhiking to the North Shore!
Melissa in the back of the pickup truck we hitchhiked in. This was my first ever hitchhiking experience! it was in the back of a pickup that a sweet soccer mom was driving with her kids in the backseat. Pretty safe if you ask me 🙂
