Bonzi Pipeline Surf Report

[jkpruitt]

I mean HOTBOATS HONOLULU

We went to the see the Bonzi Pipeline yesterday. The biggest dam waves you have every seen; 30' tall. They had to cancel the International Surfing Competition because the waves were to big. Just my luck; just when I was wanting to take up surfing. Â*

More to come.

Ken

p.s. Â* Â*83 Degrees and sunny. The Water temp is 78.

[RiverLife]

Sounds like a good time. That wave is awesome to see in person, especially the size you're seeing it now! If Waimea is breaking you should go up the road and see that. The shore break is a sight all in its own!
Happy Thanksgiving!

[Donnie]

Right On http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif We leave saturday morning for Oahu, hope the waves are big next week http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[jkpruitt]

We are staying in Waikiki. I came over for (2) days of business, and stayed (7) extra for monkey business. I'll stay for ever as long as the company will let me. We fly back tomorrow night. I looked a a boat here, and seriously considered sailing it back, but Kimberly said was sailing alone, so this stopped that real quick. I am coming back in January, and again in February. I can't wait. The waves are slightly
smaller today; 10'.

Ken

[Donnie]

Too bad your coming home...would have been cool too catch up with ya and have a beer and talk boats...maybe next time http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Donnie

[RiverDave]

Post some pictures! http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif The Power of Nature is awesome isn't it?

RD

[kevnmcd]

Have you seen the waves pumping off the coast of Maui? Â*I saw a pic in the paper today...50 footers!!! Â*http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif Â* The waves were moving soooo fast that the were having to be towed by lake lice (of all things) just to catch them. Â*Check out the sports section of todays LA Times or see below.

The Outdoors
Surfers Find Beauty and Beast in Jaws
Â*
Early on the morning of Nov. 26, the monster called Jaws rose from its slumber and snarled and hissed as it rarely has before. It was a display of nature both ominous and magnificent, amid which was a display of courage and athleticism to rival that in any other sporting arena.

"The day was off the charts," said Laird Hamilton, a Kauai resident and the preeminent tamer of Maui's wildest and most notorious beast. "I would say I rode maybe 100 waves, but for sure 50 or 60. That's enough to last most people a winter."

Jaws, for those unaware, is a remote surf break off northern Maui, which produces some of the largest and most powerful waves on earth, waves so big and fast that the only way to catch them is to get towed onto them, by a jet-powered personal watercraft, before they start breaking.

Those who ride Jaws -- who actually carve hard turns on its sheer and towering faces and bravely pull into its cavernous, grinding tubes -- are an elite group of tow-surfing veterans who have mastered their art, and the fickle nuances of the wickedly hollow break, through countless hours of trial and error.

The elite among this daredevil crowd -- Hamilton, Darrick Doerner and Dave Kalama, to name a few -- are the ones who stood out on "Big Tuesday," when wave faces exceeded 50 feet. They were the ones who always seemed to be in the prime position, whether on boards specially fitted with foot straps, or on jet-skis, which serve as both tow and rescue vessels.

They were the ones who made surfing Jaws look easy, which of course it isn't. As some found out the hard way.

Jaws chewed up and spat out three or four jet-skis, leaving them in splinters on the rocky beach. One surfer suffered a broken leg, another ruptured an eardrum. More than a few "touched bottom," as Hamilton said, receiving various cuts and bruises.

"There was more carnage than I've seen on any other day out there," Hamilton added.

In the middle to upper echelon were Mike Parsons and Brad Gerlach, of San Clemente and Cardiff by the Sea, respectively. Though experienced on big waves, and proven tow-surfing stars elsewhere, they were relatively new to Jaws and it showed.

"It was really challenging because we both had wipeouts and spent a lot of time looking for our boards on the rocks," Gerlach said, adding that they struggled in part because their boards were too long and not quite maneuverable enough.

Gerlach had never experienced a water bomb quite like the one that exploded at his heels, burying him beneath a mountain of whitewater, ripping his feet from his straps and sending him shoreward in a horizontal avalanche that seemed to have no end.

"You can't get out of it until it's basically done with you," he said. "My first thought was that I'm not going to worry about it until I feel I can't breathe anymore. So I kept my eyes shut and kept twirling around underwater ... and twirling and twirling. I don't know how long it was but time stood still for a while."

He eventually surfaced, only to have another wall of water sweep over him. Then another. Finally, he was picked up and whisked away by "some guy" on a jet-ski.

Australian pro Cheyne Horan took a horrific tumble during which, "I was hit so many times I thought to myself, 'I'm going to die here,' " he said during an interview in the Gold Coast Bulletin. "My body went numb and limp. I was seeing stars and felt as though I was on the other side, like I had died."

That nobody died is perhaps the most surprising thing. Jaws, fronted by a sheer and towering cliff, is not a public beach and has no lifeguard presence. The nearest launching point is three miles away and it's up to the surfers and their jet-ski partners to take care of themselves.

With so many newcomers this year -- there were about 20 teams in all on Big Tuesday -- veterans such as Hamilton fear there will be deaths sooner or later, and that the government will respond by trying to restrict or even ban the activity.

"If somebody gets killed, I suppose they could make it illegal and start arresting people," Hamilton said. "But to arrest people, they'd need enforcement officers who are willing to go out there and actually arrest people. I'd hate to see it come to that."

[BADFISH II]

collor me very jealous.

With the new, incoming addtion to the fam we won't be getting to HI anytime in the next couple of years.

Have a great time, a safe trip home, and for God sakes come see our new garage when you two get back!

Greg

[kevnmcd]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Lakemead1 @ Dec. 06 2002, 5:20 pm)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">With the new, incoming addtion to the fam we won't be getting to HI anytime in the next couple of years.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
This is news to me. Are LM1 and Mrs. LM1 starting a family (or are you talking about a new sled)? http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[BADFISH II]

New sled? Nope! We're expecting.

We kept it quiet for the first trimester, or I should say I just didn't scream it on the boards. She feels much better about it now so I can tell whoever I want

WE'RE PREGNANT! http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

and totally excited. Notice she's "Mrs. LM1" now instead of "Ms. LM1" http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif We just moved it up from May of next year to 11/2 at the always lovely little chapel of the west across from Mandalay Bay http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[kevnmcd]

Well, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I wish you the very best in both your marriage and family! May God bless you guys. Are you going to find out what your having? We waited, on both. Having a baby and seeing it for the first time is something that can't be explained to anyone, you have to live it!

I guess this puts a damper on the new sled, hey? If so, it is all worth it. http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[BADFISH II]

Damper, yeah, in fact I'd like to find the right buyer for my boat, then wait a year and get the cat I want....

Thanks for the well wishes, I really appreciate it, we will find out what it is in January, I'm hoping for a boy, but all I pray for is 10 fingers, 10 toes, and a walking talking thinking child - boy or girl http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Damn, if she looks like Mrs. LM1 I'm going to have to get yet ANOTHER shotgun to fend off the little hotboater dudes http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[VegasBD]

kids!!??

[BADFISH II]

gotta love em! http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[duckbutter]

We're all hoping the kid turns out like the Mrs.
If not oh that poor poor little thing http://www.lasvegashotboats.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif