Watch: Mason Ho at Waimea Bay

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Swellnet Dispatch

Waimea Bay isn't a wave that leaves itself open to interpretation. There's just one way to ride the sucker: head down and straight, and even a wanton improviser like Mason Ho must abide. So unlike Mason's other clips this one has but a bare dusting of spice: a look back here, a switch stance there. Still good entertainment but.

Comments

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Thursday, 17 Jan 2019 at 6:27pm

Coupla pretty late drops - almost under the lip! 

nicko74's picture
nicko74's picture
nicko74 Thursday, 17 Jan 2019 at 6:37pm

Jeez that rhino chaser looks like hard work

Craig's picture
Craig's picture
Craig Thursday, 17 Jan 2019 at 6:53pm

Eddie should have gone.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 2:22pm

When was the swell? Only one contest per day on the island .....

Craig's picture
Craig's picture
Craig Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 2:35pm

Ah it was the weekend swell.

cswells's picture
cswells's picture
cswells Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 8:46am

As someone who's never been out in anything much bigger than 4-6ft... how do you manage to duck dive under whitewash this size with a 7ft+ gun?

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 9:01am

Those 7ft+ guns are more like 10ft and rather than duckdive them you wear a good leash.

marc_doornum@hotmail.com's picture
marc_doornum@hotmail.com's picture
marc_doornum@ho... Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 1:23pm

Im from Cenny coast but lived in Hawaii for 4 years now and use a 9'0'' at Sunset. 9'0" small for the bay unless ur JJF. U can't duck dive those things man... gotta find another way around or over or under!

cswells's picture
cswells's picture
cswells Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 1:25pm

Yeah admittedly I typed 7ft+ and thought to myself "that's being a bit generous".

Whenever I see people paddle out in this size, I can't help but think how the fck do they get under those beasts!!

nextswell's picture
nextswell's picture
nextswell Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 9:37am

The switch stance at the bottom of a 20fter. Nuts!

loungelizard's picture
loungelizard's picture
loungelizard Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 11:05am

he makes everything look so easy and fun i reckon i'd paddle out there with him!

loungelizard's picture
loungelizard's picture
loungelizard Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 11:58am

any swellnetters got some waimea tales?

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 12:06pm

Tales? I watched Mason almost get washed onto the rocks when he was about ten years old. He accompanied Papa Mike to sit in the ring for the Eddie Aikau opening ceremony when an 8ft set rose up out of an otherwise flat day. It cleaned up the ring with most guys losing their boards to the rocks - no legropes. Myself and a few mates rockdanced down to save the boards and heard a panicked Michael yelling to Mason. A few guys that still had boards plucked him out before things got real sketchy.

Might explain his predilection for shallow water and rocks.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Saturday, 19 Jan 2019 at 4:24pm

Wow sounds heavy
(mason , mike).
Remember , never turn you back on the ocean !

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 2:28pm

Paddled out on a small day when we were filming Storm Surfers back in about 2011. Tom lent me his 10'0 single fin Brewer. The board was actually shaped for Kong in '86 (as per the stringer), but Tom bought it the year after. I didn't really feel worthy to be paddling a board with such history; I don't surf big waves at all. 

But having read innumerable stories about the North Shore - and in particular Waimea - over the previous twenty years, I simply had to experience paddling out under the watchful eye of the church tower. It's an incredible experience (even when the surf isn't that big). 

Although Pipe was pretty solid that day around 8-10ft (we got some good footage of Tom, used in SS), the swell direction/period wasn't ideal for Waimea so it was much smaller and not really breaking properly (though I was way out past Pinballs? sitting outside the boils). I certainly didn't - and still don't - have the skills to surf it at any appreciable size. 

Two days prior it was 20ft+, almost big enough to run the Eddie - and watching that in person was incredible - not just the big surf, but the dynamics of the lineup and the way the crowd moved in and around with the sets. It's one thing to observe this at a reefbreak when it's 6-8ft, it's another when it's well north of 20ft.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 3:09pm

Surfed out there one day with just myself and Healy .
I rode past on my bike, looked fun medium sized ,super overcast slack winds . I road around the corner mark was parked at three tables sitting on his hood.
It was a rising swell looking to peak within the next couple of hours. I asked if he was going to surf he said "yes. "
I went back to my house and suited up. Went back down past the houses down the steps jumped in the shore break and paddled out .

By the time I was out the back I realized Healy's intention.
He wasn't going right at all.
I caught a couple. Though spent most of my time watching mark surf the lefts and signalling when the sets were coming .
He caught one medium sized wave, then the line up went dark. I started paddling futher out ,all the while knowing mark was stuck inside. I whistled and he figured what was coming and bolted right.
By this stage other people had started to make there way out.

I was surfing a 8' 0"(plenty thick though) kinda small for how big it was. I decided I might head in as I didn't like surfing Waimea with the crazy crowd.
The next set came bigger than the last and mark just packed it, pigdogging into this gnarly right closeout. I remembering turning around watching him pull in as I was paddling over it. Pau

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 4:43pm

I’d pay money to see that from the water.
He’s the craziest guy ever in my opinion.
I could listen to Healey tales all day long

loungelizard's picture
loungelizard's picture
loungelizard Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 1:13pm

a few years ago i was in the market, north shore, only a moderate swell, a young guy, 20ish came in wet, storekeeper asked where have you been, young dude looked pretty chuffed with himself, "waimea" , a hardcore looking local a few metres away, looked at him like he was a piece of shit, said "waimea hasnt broken for 2 years" and walked out

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 1:59pm

Haha!

GODS QUAD's picture
GODS QUAD's picture
GODS QUAD Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 1:35pm

Man, that angle from the right side of the bay makes it look so much more menacing. Will happily never paddle out there, haha!

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 2:23pm

Haven’t surfed proper Waimea but surfed pinballs, that was fun.

mrkook's picture
mrkook's picture
mrkook Friday, 18 Jan 2019 at 10:55pm

Surfed Waimea the day Kalani Chapman was resuscitated after drowning at pipe at the Da Hui 2017. That morning surfed pinballs with 3 other guys - a friendly local gave me the lineup and some knowledge that I got to use in the afternoon when Waimea was proper. Never surfed such big waves, and with such a big crowd. I remember floating on my back in the Channel after catching my first wave (with 4 others on it) so surreal, warm blue water, barely a breeze, and everyone stoked even though by any normal surf standard there was drop ins and snakes galore. Other big standout was that almost everyone was wearing some form of floation - mostly impact vests but a few inflatables as well. So sick, hope I can do it again one day.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Saturday, 19 Jan 2019 at 4:19pm

That's great! Thank goodness kalani is still here. ; )

Solitude's picture
Solitude's picture
Solitude Saturday, 19 Jan 2019 at 2:14pm

I often wondered how the etiquette was out there? You see 2,3,4 guys dropping into many waves. Surely joe blow Aussie paddling out there for the first time wouldn’t be looked onto too kindly for shoulder hopping an already ridden wave?

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Saturday, 19 Jan 2019 at 4:10pm

I find it really dangerous. I never really would surf it on the crowded days.
There are other waves that work when waimea works.
I remember this one session where this Aust kid paddled out on a really thin 9 ' 0" paddled straight past everyone snagged a mid sized wave. Then paddled straight back out saying "oh this is easy" .
Super west set came and cleaned him up soon after.
Just a reminder, there is nothing easy about surfing big waves.
LOL!

Harman's picture
Harman's picture
Harman Sunday, 20 Jan 2019 at 9:05am

thats the exact description of my first session in the bay... pretty sure I was sulking
on the shoulder for a fair while after.. haha what year was this?

Harman's picture
Harman's picture
Harman Sunday, 20 Jan 2019 at 9:05am

thats the exact description of my first session in the bay... pretty sure I was sulking
on the shoulder for a fair while after.. haha what year was this?

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Sunday, 20 Jan 2019 at 12:28pm

LOL,
Jan 2013 maybe Feb .....

Tenn's picture
Tenn's picture
Tenn Saturday, 19 Jan 2019 at 5:19pm

Cool stories in the comments! I've been watching Mr. Ho's YouTube channel which I thought was heavily under viewed and he is fast becoming my favourite surfer, looks like he'll surf anything well but all the while having so much fun, love it

geoffrey's picture
geoffrey's picture
geoffrey Sunday, 20 Jan 2019 at 9:04am

is it normal to drop in over there? im genuinely interested to know. is that the done thing?