Sunday Dawn Patrol at Turtlebacks

Went on a dawn patrol with Charlie. There were 6 guys out when we got there on short and longboards. Charlie got some good rides. I saw him racing down the line on an overhead wave - too far away to take pictures with the gopro. This pictures are from a sequence where he rode one further in (but still pretty far away). For me this session was a big pile of steaming hot humility. My leash broke after two waves. I had to swim quite a ways to get back to the board (at least there wasn't a significant wind or current - or I wouldn't have gotten the board back at all). Swimming with a paddle in one hand, reefwalkers on your feet and a broken leash on your ankle is not easy. And it didn't end there. I figured I could ride some waves on the inside and not lose the board - not true. And with the wipeout came the long swim again. There was a local out there on a new Blane Chambers Paddle Surf Hawaii SUP - he was ripping it up!!! I did manage to get a few rides, but lesson learned, don't wait until your leash breaks to replace it. Once a year if used heavily and gets stretched a bunch in bigger surf. Turtlebacks don't take it for granted!