Tuesday March 24th

It was the biggest aerial any of our team riders ever tried to negotiate.. the boost began at Honolulu airport Tuesday night at 9:50pm, and we arrived in Ecuador with landing gears and fins touching down simultaneously.. at 4am Thursday morning. Giving us three full days to surf and get used to the conditions.
Pulling up to the surf spot… wow.. 8 foot faces and offshore.. a winding rolling peeling left..an inside right and bombing barrels down the beach… 90 degrees.. 80% humidity and bleary eyes, that opened wide with the first pull up at the competition site.
The surf spot is on a military base and Ecuador has opened the area to the event, making for a hideaway surf sport with enormous potential for all sorts of swells and directions. The big bay opens wide with three major breaks similar to Kauai’s Rock Quarry in Kilauea. Tidal changes shift the waves and the consistency throughout the day..
After two go outs everyone went to sleep early and exhausted.

Home sweet Home.

TheEl Marinero Hotel.. only Spanish spoken.. lots of what we call Aloha amongst the staff and management.. 22 rooms, four and five in a room with teams from Germany, New Zealand and Italy alongside us. there are tons of crickets..sort of like Hawaiian cockroaches.. but not as bold.. they behave more like doves than mynah birds..the standing joke is when are they going to start serving Cricket on a Stick for pupu.---not!

Friday March 27th

The surf continues..was supposed to go down a bit but held throughout the day with on shore winds in the afternoon… two surf platforms will run simultaneously so the under 16 boys Keanu, Ezekiel, Kaimana and Matty Boy went down the beach along with the Ladies under 18 Malia, Leila, Alessa and Nage. all got used to the barrels, closeouts and inside reforms but the crowds were a different story.

28 teams competing, 264 of the best amateur surfers from around the world are training on the same peaks daily and things are about as crazy in the water as you might find on the first good swell of the season on our north shore…with only three spots going off.

The water seems slippery..and the kids boards feel slippery.. but they are getting used to that…Feet make natural adjustments.. Kahea working with the kids physically daily. And making sure they get enough sleep.. Rainos keeping everyone positive and on track with team meetings that give direction. Megan is a perfect fit for the girls..a real solid Hawaiian team.. with solid support from the three experienced surfers, competitors and coaches…

Saturday March 28th

Parade day… waves continue to remain overhead.. a bit less consistent but still churning..with a very live ocean.. fish jumping, sea lions cruising and in the evenings its feeding time for the “bigger fish”. Everyone has to eat to survive.

In the afternoon all 28 teams converge on the “strip” or center of Salinas. An informal Kalakaua Avenue. Everyone in uniforms..with Kahea leading the team upfront, holding the Hawaiian flag. Followed by the ladies in their flowing tropical dresses, along with shell and Haku leis.

The boys are wearing kukui nut leis and starched white shirts for a bold contrast.. The Hawaii culture rang throughout the parade grounds as we sang Hawaii Pono I to tens of thousands of Ecuadorians who lined the parade route.. each returned our shaka signs with cheers for the Hawaiians.. hundreds of kids of all ages posed for pictures with our team members.. there was a warmth far greater than the 90 degree temperature that afternoon..and after Dylan Goodale (who was also celebrating his 18th birthday) and Malia Manuel emptied Hawaii’s sand into the container that housed beaches from all the competing countries we were entertained by fireworks and Ecuadorian dance.

We returned to the hotel had dinner and a team meeting.. with all going to sleep by 9pm.. contest day starts tomorrow…bright and early with a bus shuttle.

Sunday March 29th

Day One of competition.. on podium One the under 18 boys surfed… the waves were consistent and head high on the sets.. breaking on the outside but primarily rolling into the mid section of the area and then winding towards the shore..if the boys were able to connect from the outside to the shorebreak their opportunities displayed up to 5-6 hits before paddling back out. Tanner started things off with a second place finish, finding the connection difficult at the higher tide, and as the tide dropped Dylan Goodale, and Albee Layer found conditions more manageable and got strong first place finishes scoring up to 14 point two wave scores.

On Podium two in the boys 16 and under, the waves were quite consistent with shifting peaks, closeouts and rights and lefts hitting various banks. Matty opened the Hawaiians heat by capturing a solid 6.5. his back up waves never surpassed a 3.7 giving him first place margins with ease in round one. Ezekiel Lau demonstrated power, speed and radical positioning while scoring a 12 point combination and another first place finish. While Kaimana Jaquias and Keanu Asing each demonstrated dominant control of the waves, and positioning.

Megan, and Rainos stayed at the second podium most of the day, and Kahea remained with the boys 18 and under throughout the day.. 90 degrees and a scorching sun combined with 8 hours of competition called for much sunscreen umbrellas, searching for shade and cover-ups.. the forecast calls for increasing waves and burning skies for the following days.

Day two will feature the girls under 18 who have yet to surf competitively in the event.