The First Time I Sailed Hookipa 7/14/06

There is a first time for everything. First time you kiss a girl. Getting married. Seeing the birth of your child. Sitting for the CPA exam. Or the first time you get in the straps, hook in, and blast out on a full powered up plane.

Then there is the first time you sail Ho'okipa.

And yes, I rank Ho'okipa right up there with all the other "first times" I've experienced.


Well, from the vault of never to be forgotten favorite sessions, I have video of the first time I sailed Ho'okipa. Without doubt, this was a significant session for me. After all, we've all read about this venue. To say I was nervous is an understatement. If you've ever sailed Ho'okipa, the spot is quite tricky. The actual beach to launch from is quite small, I'd say less than 40 feet wide. You have a large papa reef/shelf upwind, and a rock garden just downwind of the main launch. Both conspire to collect dues from the careless sailor.

This shot is of Josh Stone-same session. Good one because it gives an accurate representation of how small the actuall beach is:


The date was 7/14/06. 5.0 conditions and small waves this day. The footage is derived from Sony 8mm tape that was converted to digital, so the quality is not the best, especially the parts that where zoomed in.

At the time (2 1/2 years ago) I had no misconceptions that I knew the first thing about wave sailing. So what your looking at in the video is a first timer trying to make it happen. I can honestly say that now I'm well on my way, but back in July 2006, I was clueless.

I still get a kick out of watching it. Especially the launch. Get up an go already!


My wife shot the video, and coincidentally, this was 2 days after we got married. She lampooned the beginning of the video, doing a spoof skit acting as an ESPN reporter-ette and I went with it. Also present where Dave Coyle and Ken Kellar. Good memories.

The video is legnthy, so I'm gonna do this in two posts. Check back later for part two. Heres the first part:


Part 2:

Here is part 3:


Andy, have a blast in Maui next week! You only get your first time once, so make it a good one. Toss a forward off that first perfect blue ramp at Hookipa! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh..........


Looks like tomorrow is gonna rock. Ken, are you in?

One other item of note: today live2sail recorded its 20,000 page load! That visitor came from Germany. This bloging deal is really amazing in terms of how like minded people can connect and interact. I've made friends with folks in Australia, Norway, Maui, and many other places. It frankly blows blows me away...Thanks to everyone who visits! The traffic and more importantly the comments inspires me to keep it going. Here's to the next 20,000!