NE swell with hurricanes far away, Sunset(right of photo) 20 guys out and Kammy land(Left of photo) 5 guys out. Five guys having way more fun in my opinion.
Kammie land was my favorite wave on that side of the bay until Eddie Rothman and Squiddie started coming out and be total assholes in the late 70s early 80s. Too many times I’d be the only one out and they’d show up and start dropping in on every wave. During High School, Bernie, me and friends would camp out right off the break there in the bushes. We’d go up Friday and stay until Sunday. Surf all weekend then go back home. We could walk all the way down to Rocky Point and surf any of the breaks between, or go over to sunset and surf the inside. Sometimes we’d do the west side at Keaau.
SSHHH. Only Kuks and mainlanders surf Kammies. Ain’t no waves there. Shoots.
Same same Kawela’s. SSSHH.
At one time in the early fifties, according to JimFisher, Greg Noll tried to name the spot after himself. Along about 1961 or 1962, Diff and Hynson made a run at it, calling the two peaks ‘‘Hynson’s Humpers’’, and ‘‘Diff’s Dumpers.’’ In 1963 I was calling it ‘‘Kammie’s’’ after the Kam family’s little store across from the break. One of the guys in our crew, one Henry Sutton, was calling it ‘‘Kammie Land’’ which I scoffed at, BUT somehow that’s the name that stuck. So, KAMMIE LAND it is, even to this day.
Sounds like you got some serious time there Harry. I used to go there cuz I would meet up with friends there. Certain swell directions it can really perform and unlike sunset, no 10 year olds dropping in on you with uncle sitting on shoulder with a watchful eye.
cool story bill. I once had a winter of good luck that I could do no wrong and Jocko’s. Started calling it Charlie o’s but it never caught on. This winter look out for the newest named break called Charleiwa directly next to the haleiwa boat harbor.
We had a friend who had a family home above uppers, so we called it Keahi’s. Just down the road at Marijuanas, our friend’s family had their beach house, so that was Lisa’s.
My tow partner lives in front of marijuanas. My first big wave undergunned situation happened there by total mistake 1991. three guys out and I am thiniking I am at Chun’s Reef.
Glad to be alive.
We used to go to Lisa’s a lot when it was about 2-4 feet. When it’s small it has a left like pipe, but you can also ride the rights, and they eventually end up at Aligator Rock. When it get’s big it’s an intense pipeline like left. The reef is shallow there, then it has deeper water before the beach. The water runs along the beach north towards the jetty that sits on the Waimea side, heavy current when it’s big.
I got close to dying out there. One of the days when it goes from 4 feet to crazy huge in just an hour or so. My friend and I drove past Puaena and it looked like it was 4 feet, get to Lisa’s and by the time we park and get our boards out, the waves are big, but we don’t know how big. Just see the tops of the waves and the guys going off the top disappearing then back up again. Maybe 3 or 4 guys out, so we go. By the time we reached the break, there were only 2 guys out and the waves probably close to 10 feet. We’d paddle way off to safe water then paddle in catch the smaller sets until we felt confident enough to sit in the break. We could see way down past Waimea from where we sitting and down towards Lanis, it was big.
By then it was just me and my friend, and we started catching set waves. I go for a wave and it jumps up to at least a 20 foot face straight up like pipe. My friend is apddling back and yells no, no, but I think he’s saying go, go. Last second I know I won’t make it and somehow as I back off the wind blows me back over the top onto the back of the wave. When he got out he tells me that the wave sucked up pretty heavy and he thought it was over for me.
We surfed for a while and I eventually get a nice one and go a little too far. I can’t get back out and I get nailed. I swam for a good 40 minutes going in circles because the rip was so bad, I’d get 10 feet from the beach but I couldn’t get on to the sand. When I did make it, I just crawled up the sand and passed out. My friend came in and got me and we went looking for my board. It ended up on the jetty on the Waimea side. It had a nice dent in it and I never rode it again.
This is the board.
epic pic and story!!
Ordered my two real custom surboards in Jan 1991 from ed searfoss at country surfboards. Got a 9’ longboard for my bride and a 7’6" regular large surfbaord thruster outline. All glass on Thruster fins. Got some advice from Ed regarding where to start out on the NS. Told me Haleiwa and Chun’s Reef. I know of Haleiwa but Ed’s directions to chun’s reef was accurate but for one circumstance. He tells me if I can’t catch a wave at chun’s reef I should sell my board and buy a moped…, it is that easy of a wave. So he tells me the location of chuns and how to find it by all the cars parked on the side of the road. What he doesn’t tell me is that chuns when waves are over 10 feet closes out and no cars will be parked there because it is closing out. I show up in the days of limited surf reports or any that I would inderstand, and I am looking for a crowed parking lot. No cars parked anywhere. Finally ?I see three cars parkled and pull over. I am at leftovers of a 12-18 foot old school report wave day thinking I am ant chuns. I see two guys out way to the right. Looks really scary to me but the voice of Ed" you’re a effin pussy if you can’t handle chun’s" is in my mind. Wax up paddle out on the 7['6" okole fat boy pilot board towards the other surfers. Start chatting them up. The first thing they start telling me is that I seem to be undergunned for the wave conditions. I say I understand Chun’s is a beginners wave. They Tell me I am at marinjuans’s. Both haole surfers with most exaggerated surfer lingo of california imaginable. Now I relaize I am in some serous shat. Floated for 2 hours before I had the nerve to try to go in. Caught no waves, Made it to my car, and told Ed the whole story. He tells me I was at alligator rock and should have been fine. No such thing as craiglist in those days, so looking for a used moped was harder than giving up surfing. Oh the memories!!!
The board was made by an Ewa Beach local, Bernie’s classmate. Bernie had it custom made for another classmate of his and Bernie used it a couple of times and he rode it well. I bought it from him after Bernie went to UW. Either my dad or Bernie ended up giving it to a neighbor. It sat in the back yard under the mango tree from 1975 till the 90s.
I hope the bad weather has not been a problem for you being right on the water. Take care!
I’ve told this story before here on Sway’s. I was lucky to live right across the hwy from Sunset, in front of Squiddy’s place. There was a strong swell building and I’m still fairly fresh off da boat surfwise. It was a west filling in at Sunset and everyone was getting hammered including me. I was doing nothing but paddleing and swimming. Not much riding. Graciously, my buddy Russell sees me struggling and says to go paddle over to Kammies and watch for lefts. He was right, more manageble. Started catching waves and having fun when I grabbed a closeout six footer. Caught in the impact zone, suddenly, I’m pushed to the bottom but in a sitting up position. The water starts shoving me in and down, and there I am sitting on the bottom (thank Heavens it was late summer and still sandy bottom). The push is pretty strong and I’m FLOORING it on my ass and held down going for the crazy ride. Pushed to deeper water, I finally paddle in and see I’ve got road rash on my ass and back of legs. To this day, one of the oddest “wipe outs” I’ve had.
Great story man.
hey!
that looks like my old board
the one Gooney made for Boogs
Was that after I left for college when you and my classmate were getting in all kinds of trouble?
PersonaIly I hated kammieland
it was just a peak like that spot just north of makaha we used to also camp out at
remember when we got chased out of kammies when mark was trying to steal some food while we were camping in the bushes across the street?
also remember walking down to rockies in the dark to be the first ones out and stepping on all those hash stoned out haole hippies passed out in the sand.
good times those 4-5 years in th early 70’s discovering the northshore from puaena to sunset.
so much easier camping out than making that long drive home totally wasted from surfing all day and other stuff.
Trying to stay awake when everyone else was passed out sleeping.
Charlie
pretty interesting timing,
When I returned home I got my first custom bpard from Ed Searfoss in 91 too. I used to see him selling boards at the swap meet and I ordered a custom 10’ high performance longbaord that would help me get back into surfing after 15 years away from the ocean in seattle going to school and working. I wanted something that could paddle and surf well but then use as a tandem for my brother and his kids after I was done with it. Ed had Jim Turnbull make it for me. It was a bonzer bottomed 10’ x 24’ x 3" longboard with glass on thrusters.I ordered it in “pale pink” because a friend of mine told me that “think pink” was used to calm rock climbers when they got into tough situations. Ed delivered it hmself to my office in Mapunapuna with his old van. I have to leave it on my desk till I got off work and it caused a huge commotion among my coworkers because of the size of it and the color. That nght I came home with a giant pink board and pierced ears and my family thought I had finally lost my mind.But it was the start of my hard core return to surfing
That 10’ ended up being a very special board I still have today(27 years later) and hope to one day restore back to its original condition. I wish I ordered more boards especially longboards from Jim Turnbull before he passed away. I went from that 10’ to a 7’ 2" Country Surfboards baby squash also in pink I bought used from the mad hatter at surfnsail. It was shaped by a lifeguard named “Hall” for a girl to surf sunset. I also still have that board and it was another great shape.
The thing about kammies is that no one wanted to surf there with sunset and rockies just down the beach. I think the most GUy I saw out their back you could count on one hand.
here’s some before and after shots of the 10’ custom Ed had Jim Turnbull shape me. It’s a great board
Jim made my wife’s 9 footer with tourquoise bottom and wrapped rail like yours. I asked for full tourquoise top and bottom but ed said it woulb bee too much. Did not understand this comment until I statrted doing some color on my boards. Way cool stories about your surfing advnetures in the 70’s. By the time my upstate new york farmer ass got into surfing I was too committed to family, as in wife and kids, to experience it like you guys did. The last time I rode Jim’s board he made for my wife was the day Todd Chesser died. I was at haleiwa and the surf came up HUGE in a few hours time and I got so barrelled going left I was belly laughing. Sold the board on the way in to surf and sea to a local for $200. Got deployed in the army to the desert and got to come back to hawaii alive 2 1/2 years later. The same board came back to me for a repair from a different customer that fell off the roo fof his car on H-1 in 2000. Unreal the circle of things. I wasn’t belly laughing with the effed up board repair that I last got tubed on however. Great story Bernie. Love that you still have the board also.
Jim made my wife’s 9 footer with tourquoise bottom and wrapped rail like yours. I asked for full tourquoise top and bottom but ed said it woulb bee too much. Did not understand this comment until I statrted doing some color on my boards. Way cool stories about your surfing advnetures in the 70’s. By the time my upstate new york farmer ass got into surfing I was too committed to family, as in wife and kids, to experience it like you guys did. The last time I rode Jim’s board he made for my wife was the day Todd Chesser died. I was at haleiwa and the surf came up HUGE in a few hours time and I got so barrelled going left I was belly laughing. Sold the board on the way in to surf and sea to a local for $200. Got deployed in the army to the desert and got to come back to hawaii alive 2 1/2 years later. The same board came back to me for a repair from a different customer that fell off the roo fof his car on H-1 in 2000. Unreal the circle of things. I wasn’t belly laughing with the effed up board repair that I last got tubed on however. Great story Bernie. Love that you still have the board also.
…hello Tblank, if may I, what type of board you were using that day? Strong currents? You picked up a board for an intended size but the surf s up?
Pilot s error?
–To have reference of where do you lived; what distance from the corner of Kam hwy and Paumalu street?
Thanks
Howzit Reverb? Hope things are well with you. I had a Mike Casey mini tanker but the nose was pulled in more than normal. I think it was 7’8" tri fin thruster. I’m not real sure on the dims but it was somewhere near, 14" N. 20.5 13T. 3". I was waiting on a Chuck Andrus Sunset gun to get finished and this board was available to use that day.
We were about five or six driveways up on the D’Amico"s side from Paumalu. East of the creek.Mike’s shack was next to mine, Shared the driveway with Squiddy Sanchez and Bernie Baker. I know it is A LOT different now but, there was the parking turnout at Sunset and the last house just west of Val’s was right across Kam Hwy from our driveway. Next door to Ed Searfoss’ glass shop.
Pilot Error? You bet! How else do you get road rash on your a$$ surfing?
It was easier to go to Mr Kammies’ than go all the way to Foodland.
ps. Damico’s was a pizza joint when I was there and then turned into a bakery/restraunt after that. Susan Allen had it as a pizza shop at the time with good breakfasts too.
Good stories guys. Great pic Charlie. Yeah a wife and kids will do it every time. Spent most of my years on outer Islands. Very little time on the North Shore. Lowel