US1111 & KA1111 in the Backyards of Oahu

For a long time now I have tried to connect with Robby Naish to do a story but prior engagements or unpromising conditions have tainted our attempts to pull something off. It wasn’t till we were at the Hookipa Beach Park, staring miserably into a blistering northerly, that a revelation hit us.

Getting away...

It seemed so perfect that we both looked at each other wondering why the other did not think of it sooner. You all may be asking yourselves “where,” but, at the time we were asking ourselves “ how “! To disappear without being noticed amongst the vultures and hyenas seemed more of a task than actually getting to our spot. A plan of escape began immediately. Any irregular activity in the car park is quickly channeled down the Hookipa guardrail and then echoed around the car park. We had to depart unannounced! The last thing we needed was an armada of windsurfers following us to a place where a definition of a crowd was a couple of guys. We had excuses ranging from a sudden death in the family to Robs idea of a new Taco Bell opening. If you know Rob like I do, then you know it’s the perfect alibi.

The North Shore is waiting for us

After a few small technicalities at the airport we were on the plane bound for Oahu’s infamous North Shore.It is great to see Rob so motivated towards sailing again! Don’t get me wrong; over the last year Rob has put more sailing days on the water than just about anyone.He strayed slightly from the windsurf industry when kite surfing was born, but the man of steel seems to be back, re inventing himself in the sport that gave him so much. Windsurfing made him famous, but it’s the world of commerce that he may have been most successful. Over the last 10 years he has evolved from windsurfer to business entrepreneur. Rob has always had great drive and plenty of determination, but these qualities have been made more valuable by his inclination to learn from his mistakes and from others, and to continually shift and adapt along the way, all the while moving forward.It was a great chance to finally catch up between his impossible schedule and hopefully score some uncrowned waves at one of North shores most epic sailing spot: “ Backyards. “

Surfing's Epicenter

There is no denying that the North Shore of Oahu is surfing`s epicenter. Thousands of surfers make the pilgrimage every year to the Hawaiian Islands, which are tips of volcanic mountains that rise precipitously from the ocean floor. There’s no continental shelf or barrier reef to dampen the force of the powerful swells that come thundering out of the North Pacific and slam into the worlds most famous surf zone - the 7 mile stretch between Haleiva and Velzyland.The locals call the North Shore of Oahu “ Country “. Lush dairy farms abut the ocean, and the smells of the manure and cane grass rise from the furrowed fields along the narrow Kam Highway. With surfing having such strong ties to this area, its no wonder that windsurfing has taken a back seat to the amazing imagery that surfing provides. On any given day there are packs of local and professional surfers littered amongst the various banks and point breaks. Trying to find an uncrowned wave to surf is about as unlikely as finding a snow flake in hell.

Backyards

Backyards is a stretch of beach hidden between two of the heaviest waves on the North Shore and on the right day can provide clean cross offshore winds and hollow tapering right hand waves. Simply put; it’s a windsurfer’s paradise! But don’t get too exited! It’s about as hard to score as getting a hole in one. But if your lucky enough to be rewarded a classic day at Backyards, it will be forever etched into your memory as one of the highlights of your sailing days. So, before you go packing your bags, there’s a few things you should know about this finicky little spot that differs from just about any other place in the world.The fluctuating winds and inconsistency’s in reliable forecasts are a major problem in these areas. Gusty easterly trades blow offshore on about 90% of the coastline, leaving a very small pocket of reef to jut out, allowing for more consistent side shore winds. But her willingness to blow on any given day is about as trustworthy as a car salesman on crack ! You could turn up on the most promising day of the year and find yourself sitting on the beach wondering why the fuck your not in Maui holding onto a 4.5. Other days you may get the chance to rig, only to find that the wind has decided to do a complete 180 on you. This place is a guessing game of cat and mouse. The only people who really score Backyards are the few people who live in the street, and are able to catch it for those few good hours now and then. The currents and surrounding waters are not to be trusted for one second. The near shore waters are a seething cauldron of treacherous currents; banshee winds fill the lower end of yards and horrific encounters with rouge waves march threw second and third reef unannounced. There’s more luck throwing a double six on the roulette table than judging where the waves are going to break out here. You could be sailing so far outside in the deepest water and still get hit by a 20 footer. Backyards is a completely different monster once it gets big! The entire ocean moves and waves stack on the horizon like a set of dominos. Sitting on the beach at Backyards, you can see walls of water standing one behind the other, unloading there fury as they hit the main reef. On bigger days, waves stand and break even further out, making the ocean looking more like a wild set of molded snow peaks than an ocean of frothing water. There are sometimes literally, walls of water behind you, once you have finished your ride. There is just no safe place to be when it’s big.

Boneyards

Boneyards; located at the bottom end of Backyards is by far the hollowest and heaviest part of the wave break. It’s also by far the most treacherous as it lays within spitting distance from the most draw dropping wave on the north shore; the deadly Sunset left. A wave that is basically unsurfable as it drains almost all the water off the jagged reef and then unloads its ferocity in a demonstration of sheer power and torturous pressure. Strong rips surge in all directions out here and it really helps to know how and where they work. If you end up wiping out at the top part of Bone yards then you may only suffer a pounding by the flat but super shallow reef. You will probably spend your time swimming inside the impact zone, eventually picking up your broken pieces and making your way to the beach feeling somewhat demoralized. You may even be lucky enough to hit the current line that actually feeds you back upwind and eventually spits you out into the channel.If however, you end up wiping out at the lower section of Bone yards, your ride may quickly turn from epic to an experience you may regret for the rest of your life. There’s no safe place down here, just a dose of raw untainted power that’s ready to disintegrate any courage that you might have. Broken bones and perhaps death are very real possibilities, especially when it’s big.

Respect

I was, in some ways, reluctant to write about backyards. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that a spot like this would never become a Hookipa. The rides are epic, unforgettable, but the journey to get a taste of that are littered with stories of tragedy and mishap. But for all her perils, the payoffs remains one of the peak experiences in windsurfing! Arriving into Honolulu did not seem to help our situation. The howling North wind in Maui had now been substituted for a blanket of cloud cover that seemed to extent to the other side of the Island. I was already screaming at Rob about how unlucky we were and how I’m sick of the same old shit. Rob on the other hand was a little more relaxed as we jumped into his mini van that`s permanently parked at the airport, for just such a getaway. That’s right ! Rob is the proud owner of a 1996 Dodge mini van in mint condition. I thought to myself, if any hitchhikers were nearby or perhaps some pre schoolers need a lift to class, we could offer them a ride, seat belts and all. Rob insists that it’s the perfect windsurf car for Oahu, where you need to be able to lock your gear inside the car. He does have a cat-back exhaust system, aftermarket wheels, wide tires, and blacked out windows, so it’s at least not a total grocery getter. Any trip out to the north shore is always going to be laced with doubt and this trip was no exception. I kept telling Rob that we had made a mistake but Rob was still optimistic. Butterflies filled my stomach as we drove over the last rise, getting our first glimpse of the north shore.Nerves melted away as anticipation set in once I saw the water. The entire north shore was wound up with wind. We both had never seen it so windy before. Maui must have been about 70 knots to have so much wind here. The swell was also pumping. I could see all the outer reefs breaking and spray a mile high leaped off the backs of the waves. I turned to Rob and said, “ Fuck, we should have brought some smaller sails. “” No shit,” Rob replied as we made our way down into Haleiwa.

Getting Out there

This time of year is especially busy due to surfings annual Pipeline Masters event that runs threw the last half of December. As we drove passed you could feel the energy that this place generates.I asked Robby about that day he sailed Pipeline and shot that famous poster that Quicksilver made. Here`s what he had to say… That was all the way back in 1987, and I haven't sailed it that way since. Kona Winds, which are winds from the South are needed to sail Pipe, and I just happen to be driving around the North Shore hoping that somewhere would be sideshore that day. It is almost always either too offshore, or too onshore, and for about an hour and a half on that day, the wind clocked to perfect sideshore with six to eight foot (mast high) swell. It was all time…. I just wish that we could catch it again like that! Our first real look at the water didn’t come until we drove passed Sunset Beach. It seemed too big and windy for surfing but absolutely perfect for sailing. There’s only about 1 or 2 days of the year that it’s this windy and this happened to be one of them. We quickly turned down a small residential street and made our way down the narrow street. Driving down this small side street you would never think that it would open up to one of the most beautiful tapered reefs on the north shore. At the end of the street there lies a single block of land between a string of houses and apartments.Robby tells a surprising story on how this single block became the epicenter for sailing and kite surfing enthusiasts… Curt Carlsmith was a local attorney and windsurfer that lived out at Country and sailed Yards regularly, especially when it was big. He had purchased the small lot at Backyards in the late eighties to preserve the rigging area and to maybe build a house on in the future. On a very big (twenty plus foot) swell in 1991, Curt tragically died while windsurfing at outer reef Backyards. He and I were riding Phantoms together, and he sailed over to third reef Yards to try to get a wave. He got cleaned out by a set and was repeatedly washed by twenty plus foot waves. A helicopter tried to pull him from the water, but Curt, exhausted from his pounding let go while hanging from the copters skids, and fell from fifty feet or so back into the impact zone while being flown to the beach. He died on the scene. His passing was a great loss for the community. The Carlsmith family donated the plot of land to the county, so that it would always remain open space in Curt’s memory. When it’s on the locals just seemed too appear out of thin air. The first to arrive are the boys that live in the street like Nik and Rick. The next to appear are the boys that live further away, like Scotty Cavil from Kailua. Surfing legends like Derrick Dorner even show up when it’s firing. The group is few, but the level of talent is high. Just how it should be in a place like this!As we pull into the block I could already see spray leaping off the backs of the waves threw the kiavi trees at the far end of the block. Some of the boys were already there wondering if its sailable. Moments later, a flawless 15 foot swell line of bone crunching beauty unloads onto second reef, immediately laying any doubts to rest and igniting a symphony of amping howls and cackles from the boys.By now my tangled ball of nerves unravels; creating a charge of nervous energy that’s waiting to be released. As we rig up, every synapse and muscle is twitching on overdrive. I can’t help but stop for a second. Just to relish the moment. This is what we do! This moment when the toiling matrix of wind, sand and water collide like an angelic orchestra striking up. It’s almost time! We hit the water along with Scotty Carvil and make our way to the outside of Backyards. Second and third reef are breaking making the main reef at Back yards almost un- sailable.After we get a little more comfortable with what going on around us, Robby starts getting some cheeky waves threw the main break. This fella is hand`s down the best in the business when it comes too heavy liquid. There is a calm about the way he executes his way around the place.He always seems to be searching for a deeper line, never backing off, rather challenging the wave for its power and magic; and always willing to suffer a ruthless thrashing if the beast comes a reckoning. Such is the style Robby flaunts at Backyards, a style refined and redesigned over a decade, but never losing his style as a true top to bottom sailor.I was getting a few nice waves, but would end up making a mistake and get caught inside. If it wasn’t for Rick on the jet ski providing immediate assistance I would have found myself getting sucked right into the Sunset left. Robby on the other hand seemed to know just where to sit, picking off the right waves and kicking out at the right times. If he happened to get caught inside he always seemed to be on the right side of the current line, getting sucked back up the beach and then waiting patiently for his time to make a move and push his way out threw a little key hole and back to the outside break. Seeing him do it over and over again began to piss me off. With so many good waves under his belt, it felt only fair that Robby spoke about the sailing we had there . Here`s what Rob had to say… As Jason described, Backyards is pretty fickle. Somehow we timed it perfect. We had hoped for really big surf, but the waves peaked at around twelve to fifteen feet (Mast and a half or so) We began by riding outer “Revis” which is the furthest outer reef to the right, but it just wasn’t big enough to break right. Phantoms was also too shifty and inconsistent, so we sailed second and third reef Yards. Normally if there is enough wind to sail at all, you are on a floaty board and a 5.3…. a 5.0 is the smallest sail that you will almost ever use there. JP and I had brought big boards and big sails. It got so windy that we could have been comfortable the first day riding 4.2’s!!! So dropping into mast high bowls on a 5.0 in winds that were gusting to forty six knots at times on the beach was pretty insane. We had to take a break in the middle of the day for about two and a half hours to let the wind back off. Who knows where this wind came from, but it was really strange! By late afternoon the wind was down to a reasonable twenty to twenty five knots, and the waves were still thumping. I was having a really hard time just bottom turning in that much wind on a 5.0 and an 84 liter board. Jason on the other hand, was totally going for it (and occasionally paying the price!) I have been hassling him non stop lately about his training regiment. He has grown about twenty pounds in the last year with all his weightlifting and biking etc. He sinks when the winds get light, but the extra bulk and strength really came in handy in attacking big waves while being that overpowered. He pretty much put on a show for the locals that day, while I was basically in “survival mode.” Jason has a full throttle, top to bottom, totally committed style that is second to none. He is also not afraid to take a beating, which is a big plus on a day like this. The next day the wind had gone back offshore and lightened up to a “typical” yards day. I was more in my element for sure, and could actually hit the lip like usual. By the end of the two days Jason and I had ridden everything that the place had to offer, from third reef madness and strong winds, to four foot barreling Boneyards perfection with barely enough wind to get back out. It was an awesome session, and well worth the wait. There is nothing better than riding good waves with good friends! After sailing right into the evening we both eventually hit the beach with cuts and bruises all over. I had basically destroyed all my equipment and Rob had a serious hole in his foot that needed medical attention.To make matters worse, I was singled out for miss placing Robby’s car keys. We looked high and low but they could not be found. You could tell where Robby had been by the footprints of blood surrounding the car. The poor little guy was pretty upset by the whole situation! He had organized to get Katie, her friend and their dog from the airport and do some Christmas shopping at the Ala Moana centre. I felt pretty bad about Katie being stranded with a dog at the airport but then I thought; maybe I saved his ass from having to follow two women with a platinum card around a shopping centre on one of the busiest nights of the year. With patience wearing thin by all, a tow truck was the only solution. I could not help but feel the irony of the situation. A car, that I had made so many jokes about, with so many seats, was getting towed back the hour and a half drive to Kailua, with not a sole on board.Still feeling bad about what had happened, I took Rob to the only place that would cheer him up. Taco Bell! We sat at his beachfront home in Kailua at twelve o’clock at night with mountains of hot sauce and finished wrappers and joked candidly about what had happened.The kicker was, that the next morning, Katie’s friend found the keys hanging on the safety belt hook.Given the evidence, I feel that only one person could have selected a position like that. My girlfriend still denies the incident. I will have to resort to a flogging to get the truth! As Rob said earlier in this piece, the wind had swung more offshore and the surf had dropped to a classic Backyards day. Robby was the first to get out there, getting a sick snap followed by a nice aerial on his first wave. The wind looked painfully light so I decided to watch a couple before heading out. Robby seemed even more in his element, picking off clean logo high sets, riding them all the way down to Bone yards. After seeing about a ½ dozen sick hits I was out there.Before too long I was up to my balls in water, remembering that this was the Yards I new. Drifting patiently in the line up, I watched as Robby picked off most of the set waves. Scotty Cavil also made his way out, totally ripping Backyards apart. Scotty`s into real estate now but was totally schooling me out there. I had my fair share of nice ones until I tried a 360 and ended up shredding my sail and swimming in again. The wind did its vanishing act around noon ending a great couple of days at Backyards. I was relived anyway! My body ached and my hands looked like they had been threw a minser from the previous day. In the end, our two day escape from Maui was a complete success. We had two days of great surf, sailed with old friends and managed to make some new ones as well. The icing on the cake was`nt until I rang the boys on Maui to here the news that Maui had been a wind blown mess. A big thanks to Nik for the helicopter time and Rick`s help as water patrol.Oahu’s North Shore is without doubt surfings undisputed capital of fear, and nowhere in the world is more nervous energy, worry, and adrenaline directed towards the simple act of riding waves. I was stoked to get a small taste of how good it could get. The North Shore remains the place by which all other waves are measured, the Mount Everest of the surfing world.