SURF ADVENTURE: The Broken Nose

Pipeline 2005

Back In 2005 They had the first all women's competition at Pipeline in Hawaii. I entered both the longboard and short board divisions hoping to score as many uncrowded waves as I could at Pipe. What I didn't know was that on the day of the finals they put me in back to back heats with no breaks or even time to paddle out. I tried to at least get them to keep me in the same color jersey so I could save time changing. I competed for over 3 hours straight.

In my first longboard heat i got a great Backdoor barrel. Problem was I listen to someone the day before who told me if I did get in the barrel at Backdoor's don't stay in the tube because the reef is too shallow. I KNOW BETTER! Always stay in the tube, it is the safest place to be on a big exploding wave. By all means much safer than the lip (jaws) of the wave.

I stayed in as long as I could then snuck out under the lip to straighten out. Right when I thought I was safe, and luckily already with my hands on the rails, as I was laying prone, the lip of the wave smacked me right between the shoulder blades smashing my face into the deck of my board. I saw a big yellow star just like in the cartoons. I couldn't believe there wasn't blood spurting out of my nose. I did hang on and by the time the jet ski got in to rescue me and the announcer was asking if I was O.K., I had drifted back into the rip and used it to paddle back out and finish my heat.

When I came in to change my jersey for the next heat I had my Chiropractor (Sponsor),

Dr. Kathleen Campbell, on the beach ready to adjust me. I had my hand covering my nose and asked her if she thought it was broken as i took my hand away. I would say by the shocked look on her face there was no doubt MY NOSE WAS BROKEN. She asked to adjust it right then but I just wanted my neck readjusted for I as in a hurry to get out with the other girls that were already out there for the short board heat.

When I caught the rip out again to get in the line-up it was in between heats so I cranked hard and put my own nose back in place, good enough for now anyhow. I continued making heats to the finals for both divisions, wining the longboard division. By the time I surfed in the short board finals the waves had deteriorated and were windy and bumby, I was cold and my back, neck and nose all hurt. This is the first time I said F@$# it in a contest and paddled in before it was over. If the waves were good I would have stuck it out. I placed last in the final.

Needless to say when I was on the podium collecting my trophies, got one extra one for charging the hardest (probably being the oldest competitor on top of it), they asked me what was the secret to my success. I do not remember what I said but I know that I missed an incredible opportunity to plug in my most valuable sponsor, my chiropractor who flew all the way over to Hawaii to adjust me during the competition. MY CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS ON THE BEACH BETWEEN HEATS WAS MY WINNING KEY TO SUCCESS!!! I was so bummed afterwards that I did not plug her in (Not as bummed as her, she still gives me a bad time over it!)

I use to be in pain 24/7 for twenty years due to a car accident and thought that was something I would have to live with the rest of my life. I always hurt surfing and tried to hide it from my competitors. REGULAR CHIROPRACTIC CARE has not only helped me be completely pain free but has helped with the proper nerve flow to ALL PARTS OF MY BODY so that my immune system is super strong keeping me healthy, drug free and working at my optimum. THANKS DOC!!!

Kim & Grandma Tootsie with Pipeline Trophies

Oh by the way after about a month I started snoring so loud that I would wake myself up. I had to have her re-break it and adjust it properly!!! Quite painful to say the least! I wish I had let her adjust it that day on the beach!!!

SURF ADVENTURE: Land of the Blonde Fros

I live my life according to my intuition and many times do things that may have no rhyme or reason yet, I am so drawn I know I must trust and follow these inner promptings. I was on the computer one day when a photo of the Solomon Islands popped up on my screen seemingly out of nowhere. I was instantly touched with a feeling of the perfect paradise I have been searching for my entire life.

A very unique quality that these people have from any other culture is that they are of AFRICAN descent but many of them have BLONDE HAIR. It is a stunning look!

This is how it came about that I ended up living with the natives in the Solomon Islands on the island of Melanesia.

I was not at all familiar with the Solomon Islands yet have always had a desire to visit that region of the world, I was thinking more like Bali, Sumatra or Java. Being a surfer for over 30 years there are certain locations that are a must to surf in your life, of course Hawaii being on the top of the list to test your true skills as a surfer in the huge pounding surf of the North Shore of Oahu. Been there done that enough times, I have nothing more to prove! Already having surfed some of the biggest best waves in the world, I now prefer to explore waves that are unknown and may have never been ridden before.

When I first arrived I stayed in Guadalcanal for a couple of days and I racked the brains of a couple of guys who have lived there for years with as many questions as I could think of about the customs and traditions of the people in the Solomon Islands. Being naive to their ways could be a matter of life or death so I was going to learn as much as I could to keep from breaking too many taboos. Who knows what the compensation would be for the slightest infraction? Are there still cannibalistic rituals? I heard white people were too salty. I sure hope so! Compensation is when one of the local village laws is broken and the only way to make things right again is to pay; this could be anything from, a pig or shell money (two most common forms of payment), to clothes and hopefully not my surfboard!

Some customs that directly applied to me were that an unmarried woman should never walk anywhere alone, especially a foreigner, so always have at least one kid with you, for they know where you can and can’t go, for example like onto any feuding villagers property. The women are expected to wear clothes that will cover below their knees (good thing I brought along a couple of lava lavas for my shorts weren't that long). I saw many bare breasted women or wearing scantily covering tops but they all had their knees covered! I was trying to figure out how I was going to go surfing in my bikini!

These were only a few important points I had to remember luckily I am a fast learner and am here to share my stories with you!

SURF ADVENTURE: Peru Part 1

I just got back from the most incredible travel experience I have ever been on. I went down to Peru with Yvo one of the owners of Punta Tur Eco Surf Camp. I worked with Yvo earlier this year teaching him the tricks of the trade to be a successful surf instructor and he shared his dream with me to start a very unique surf adventure tour in his native country of Peru. He asked if I would be interested in joining him map out some new routes from the ocean to the Andes and teaching a surf clinic down there for the local children.
And this is exactly what we were doing down in Peru this November. This was our pilot trip and with a strong desire to share this kind of experience with others I am sure there will be many more to come. This expedition was truly the adventure of a life time and had all the elements of success. We surfed pristine virgin waves in the middle of nowhere and then traveled high into the Andes to visit ancient ruins of the Cloud People and hidden waterfalls.
After arriving in Lima we met up with Miguel, the videographer of the trip, took an 8 hour bus ride North to be picked up by Juan ( Yvo's business partner and Punta Tur Surf guide) and headed straight to Chicama, the longest left hand wave in the world, to catch the last of a dying swell before even starting the exploratory journey. The waves were only about 4'-6' (Not quite big enough to produce the mile long plus waves that this left hand point is capable of) with the direction of the swell slightly off causing some close out sections. But what can I say, we still got rides over a half of a mile long with the point section creating some very hollow barrels! There were lots of very speedy sections backing off occasionally enough to do some insane cutbacks. The currents are very strong and it is a lot easier to walk back up the beach than try to paddle back out. They were only about another half dozen surfers out there besides us so there was an abundance of waves for everybody. In fact it was so wide open we rarely even saw each other in the line-up! We surfed until dark then headed a couple more hours North arriving in the town of Chiclaymo where we had our base camp, Juan's house, late in the evening and would plan, shop and pack our supplies the following day for who knows what!