Sunset, That’s It 

I haven’t missed a North Shore winter since I came here in 1958, and I’ve become very narrow-minded. I surf Sunset, and that’s it. My friend Ricky Grigg’s going to try tow surfing, windsurfing, skiing, snowboarding— he’s going to do all these things, and I’m just going to Sunset. [Laughs.] And I’m happy as can be. It’s such a simpler life. I never have to worry about what I’m gonna do.

Sunset never looks as good as it feels when you get out there. It’s not a picturesque, exciting place to watch like Pipeline, but it has everything. In truth, it’s a very difficult place to surf. It’s a real waterman’s spot, not a show-off spot. It’s where you go out and the water challenges you. The guy who knows the ocean—understands the waves and currents, can deal with those elements, and can live with a bad day—belongs out there. Even if it’s not crowded, there are days when you can’t even catch a wave because they’re breaking in all the places you aren’t. When the wind’s blowing offshore, you end up dangling from the top if you don’t commit yourself to the wave. At 10 to 12 feet, it’s as steep and powerful a takeoff as you can get. When it gets up to 15 feet, those are the best days—you might count six or seven of them over the years. 

I had many great, unforgettable days at Waimea in my prime years. 

I stopped surfing Pipeline around ’71.  I was going out for some outside-reef stuff,  and within a half-hour, it got giant. I remember taking a wipeout, going down, and seeing these pinnacles on the reef around me on both sides. I just said, “This is it.” And I haven’t surfed the place since. I watch the guys surf there, and I wonder why we don’t have more deaths. 

I’m 60 now, and I’ve never worn a leash in Hawai‘i. I hope I never have to resort to one. [He never did. —Ed.] Because, to me, there’s absolutely no reason for a leash at Sunset. If you lose your board, it goes straight into the sand—can’t wreck it. It’s deep water, so it’s very safe and an easy swim—just go in with the whitewater. It could be 5 feet and rise to 30, closing out everywhere else, and Sunset is the easiest place to come in. All you do is go in toward the point; do not try to avoid the whitewater. 

It’s funny because people have an aversion to the swim, but they do it wrong. They go over to calm waters in the channel. That’s the worst thing you can do because the rip will take you right out, and you won’t make it in. I know it doesn’t attract people who don’t want to swim. Many times, we  had to paddle exhausted people to shore from the lineup. The biggest day of swimming I’ve had at Sunset was when I swam for my board 17 times. 

What I like most is that if the swell swings a little bit north of the northwest, you get that takeoff, so it horseshoes toward the point. You come right under that bowl where people usually take off, and it’s a long, exciting ride, just smokin’ all the way through, the ultimate wave. 

Right before the place gets too big and washed out, it can be a wave you’ll remember for the rest of your life. We had a day in 1976—early October, I think—when a freak swell came down from almost Russia. It was that perfect north-northwest direction, and we were looking at solid 15-foot lines like we’d never seen. I remember Kimo Hollinger paddling way over to Backyards. I followed him, with Eddie Aikau and Jeff Hakman joining in. It felt like we were sitting far out to sea, and this one wave came—I rode it from Backyards all the way through to the channel. It never slowed down. I’ve never had a wave even close to equaling that, and it put me on a high for two weeks. 

Just about every time I had a good day at Sunset, Ricky Grigg was there. We’ve been friends since we were teenagers in Santa Monica, and wherever we are, we’re very competitive about who gets the better wave. If I get a better one, I’m very stoked. When I won the Makaha International Surfing Championship [in 1958], I got this trophy, a nice block of koa wood, and Ricky couldn’t understand why he only finished fourth. We were sharing a house then, so I put it over his bed when I got the thing home. 

As told to Bruce Jenkins in February 1991

[Feature Image by Gordinho.]