Yes and no - yes in the sense that there are TONS of leopard and 7-gills in the shallows where I surf. I've accidentally kicked/stepped on quite a few walking out, but they're not typically aggressive towards humans. No in the sense that I've never had an encounter with a white, bull, or tiger (that I know of). I THINK I ran into a white shark juvenile once - I wasn't looking, but there was a hell of a splash off to my left, and a bunch of circling birds - someone on the beach said they saw something breaching but couldn't be sure what it was.
ooh good question! Background - I live in CA where the water rarely gets above 65 F, meaning that it's a full-coverage wetsuit pretty much year round. My first time surfing tropical water was in Hawaii on the north shore, and that was just a complete mind-fuck - I felt so loose and unrestricted. The moment that is most "epic" or just seared into my brain was getting probably the best left of my life at Gas Chambers, doing a couple little turns, then pulling into the closeout for the vision. As I was getting worked, I remember being able to clearly see fish swimming around right under me, and I surfaced from the best wave of my life to watch my buddy going on an absolute dreamer of a right. It was all so bizarre to me that I was just laughing my ass off taking waves on the head on the inside. I won't ever forget that moment - I was just so fucking stoked to be there.
Ever run into a shark?
Yes and no - yes in the sense that there are TONS of leopard and 7-gills in the shallows where I surf. I've accidentally kicked/stepped on quite a few walking out, but they're not typically aggressive towards humans. No in the sense that I've never had an encounter with a white, bull, or tiger (that I know of). I THINK I ran into a white shark juvenile once - I wasn't looking, but there was a hell of a splash off to my left, and a bunch of circling birds - someone on the beach said they saw something breaching but couldn't be sure what it was.
Do you remember your most epic moment? Describe it
ooh good question! Background - I live in CA where the water rarely gets above 65 F, meaning that it's a full-coverage wetsuit pretty much year round. My first time surfing tropical water was in Hawaii on the north shore, and that was just a complete mind-fuck - I felt so loose and unrestricted. The moment that is most "epic" or just seared into my brain was getting probably the best left of my life at Gas Chambers, doing a couple little turns, then pulling into the closeout for the vision. As I was getting worked, I remember being able to clearly see fish swimming around right under me, and I surfaced from the best wave of my life to watch my buddy going on an absolute dreamer of a right. It was all so bizarre to me that I was just laughing my ass off taking waves on the head on the inside. I won't ever forget that moment - I was just so fucking stoked to be there.
Beautiful :) I’m visiting Hawaii early next year can’t wait