Capturing the Moment

  After just returning home to Oahu after a wonderful surf adventure abroad I was amped to see some big waves in my backyard. Luck so happens the swell has been lighting up the North Shore here in Hawaii so after a relaxing morning on the south side Heidi and I jumped in the car and headed North.   We could tell the waves were big well before we got to Haleiwa. But when we got to the shore there were no surfers anywhere. Haleiwa, Pauena Point, Lanis, Pipe....nobody. We had seen a few big wave charges as we drove past Waimea Bay so we stopped back by after Pipe. Surfers had their big guns out for some huge sets that rolled through, and it only seemed to be getting bigger. I was impressed as a couple of women paddled out as well. Always good to see. As I snapped a couple of pictures I noticed a couple of guys paddling much shorter boards over towards the shorebreak. It turns out this was Kalani Chapman and Jamie O'Brien. From here on Jamie O'Brien stole the show. His b...

  I remember how excited I was when I found out there is a Tamarack beach in California, so when we stumbled across the fact that a Gillespies Beach existed here in New Zealand we immediately put it on the itinerary. What we didn't realize at the time is that it would prove to be an incredible stop with a not so bad drive to get there added in as a bonus. Fields of sheep and Fox Glacier We have been hanging out in Franz Joseph for a couple days waiting for a break in the weather in order to open up hikes on the glacier. But instead of sitting inside and watching movies we decided to explore the countryside and track down Gillespies Beach. On the way we past raging rivers, waterfalls falling right onto the road, sheep filled pastures, and we even got a good look at Fox Glacier when the clouds parted for just a few minutes. Mutant shorebreak at Gillespies Beach   The road out to Gillespies beach is unpaved and through dense wilderness. We came across a wild looking ...