On the morning of September 3rd 2006, I paddled into the line up of my local beach break, Sendai Shinko, along with two of my friends James a fellow Aussie, and Alexei a Russian surfer, the day was a clean if not slightly full 3-4ft we paddled down the beach several hundred meters to the third peak along to avoid the epic crowds that had formed on the “Main peak”, all of us agreeing that it was a bit bigger and far better down the line. Japanese surfers in general are very loyal to the “main peak” often surfing it when it’s not working rather than driving an extra 20mins to find a clean ride.
The three of us traded off waves getting a few nice ones, the lip crumbling with the high tide, but providing a fair bit of wall to play with. During the lulls we sat together and talked of the swell to come, the general feeling was that Shinko gets big hollow and perfect, but it’s a straight beach break,
That night I couldn’t sleep, my mind was full of images of the 4-5ft empty right hand reef break that I had only surfed once prior.
The trip north was made by myself, James(Aust.), Danny(Aust), Omar(USA) and Jason (CAN), what a motley crew we make, three Aussies, and American and a Canadian who calls the icy breaks of Nova Scotia home. We all piled into Danny’s 8 seater van at 3:30am and made the two hour trek north along tiny back streets of sleepy towns. Reading old surf mags, talking of barrels, the excitement level was maxing. I remember as we pulled up to the rocky car park and got a half a second peak of the waves, Danny turning around, smile ear to ear and saying “Mate, she’s cranking”. We all dove out of the car like it was on fire, scrambled up the hill to the viewing area, smiling like kids in a candy store, fingers already pointing out to sea in anticipation, the feeling only a surfer knows, but it was short lived.
It was cranking, but it was way out of control, our anticipated hollow right barrel was there but it was made of thick white foam, the place was exploding. The outer reef about one kilometer off shore was epic sending huge walls of white water towards shore with so much force it was reforming onto the inside reef. I stood there thinking those most dreaded of words, “should have been here yesterday”.

That same day, Back at Sendai shinko it was huge, double over and a bit and triple on the sets. Alexei(RUSS), Jerry(NZ) and Dylan(USA) paddled out and joined the few older locals who were game to test themselves against the full fury of typhoon 12 as it was by this time sitting directly off the coast. Also out was ex- WCT pro surfer Danny Melhado. Alexei took a heavy one and snapped his leg rope on the wipeout, calling it a day after a crazy swim to the beach to find his new shape 6”6’ fish. Jerry also made the drop on only one wave before deciding he was outmatched, having recently recovered from a slipped disk from an epic session in Typhoon surf a couple of years earlier which kept him out of the water for many months. Dylan took a couple of waves charging hard before joining his buddies on the beach.
While waiting for Jerry and Dylan to come in Alexei saw Danny Melhado ride one mammoth set all the way to the inside closeout, as Danny walked up the beach Alexei asked him if he was going back out, eager to see a pro tear the arse out of another one, to which Danny replied, “Nah, it’s pure survival out there” That’s how heavy this place can get. If you’ve seen Taylor Steele’s “Drive thru Japan” then you may remember a big hollow beach break that swallowed Machado and co. up, well that was shinko at two thirds of the size we had it during this swell. My hat goes off to my boys for making it out that day.
The next day I couldn’t think of anything but waves, I tried to work but I just couldn’t, so I blew it off and headed down the beach, one of the few perks of working for your self.
When I got to the beach my first thought was that it was dropping, I saw a perfectly groomed face about 6-8ft where the main peak normally broke, and I started to think about waxing up my board, when the sets came through, I have never seen a wave break that far out at shinko, it stopped my heart. The wave looked so perfect breaking left and right so symmetrically that it seemed to shrink, but it was huge. I watched this perfect wave complete with offshore blow off through the viewfinder of my camera, so entranced by it that the camera seemed to disappear in my hands, Huey the god of swell as we Aussies call him had sent me soaring with stoke, I quickly burnt up two rolls of film then decided that was enough, it was time to just sit and watch this force of nature erupt before me. I sat on the tail gate of my Toyota 4runner for two or three hours with the biggest smile I’ve had in years, god it’s good to be a surfer.
Typhoon 12 blessed us with a few days of clean, off shore 3-4ft waves as it moved northward past us, some of the best surfs I’ve had. I don’t know if I’ll ever ride 20ft waves, head to double seems pretty much perfect to me at this point, but before this swell I had no desire to try it. After seeing those waves break over and over in my mind I feel like something has changed, it may take a few years before I attempt big surf, but the seed of temptation is now planted firmly in my mind, who knows huh.
Who knows what it is about surfing that draws us so intensely to it, but it has a hold over me so powerful that I can’t function without it. As I sat there and watched those perfect empty waves break around me, I spent some serious time reflecting on my life. I’m not sure what it is about watching empty waves roll through, that makes me so reflective, having never been a religious man I wonder if it’s akin to a religious experience.

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