Field Trip | Hawai'i

**Vissla Fall 2020 Collection**

*Hawai'i Field Trip*

Back to the gathering place Our winter pilgrimage to Oahu. It was an obvious decision to hit the North Shore this winter to meet up and shoot with our team. Cliff is only a short flight away; Noa an hour and a half drive from South Shore; Cam, Gatien and Jordy were there trying to wrap up the year with positive contest results; Andrew Jacobson was lurking around rehabbing his knee; Kaden Russi was just a bike path away. It only seemed fitting to plan a trip around the guys' location as opposed to sending them across the globe. It's also just a special treat being able to meet up with our Hawaiian team in their homeland. You get exposed to the best local knowledge, the best waves for the winds, best plate lunch spots, and also the invaluable aspect of learning all about Hawaiian culture and the history of the islands.

We were strategically positioned for early morning surf checks to be able to capitalize on whichever spot was accepting the incoming swell the best. In the early morning mist you could make out Pipe funneling down the reef... by crooking your neck the other way you could catch a pre-dawn spitter at Rocky Rights. If Cliff wanted to hunt down some Off-the-Wall caverns we'd head south. If Cam was feeling a bit frisky and wanted to boost some airs we would trudge through the deep sand over to Rocky's. One memorable session at Rocky Lefts saw Cam, Jordy, Gatien, Kaden and Andrew trading off sweet little 4' waves, blowing the back out the waves, blasting monster airs, all trying to one-up each other in the turquoise playground.

After a few days of running up and down the beach surfing the local reefs we noticed a swell forming that was approaching at a better angle for other islands, so we booked our seats for the first flight out the next morning. Stroke mission initiated. We enlisted the knowledgable and outspoken Kamalei on our mission to find waves on Maui knowing full well that, even if we don't get the best waves, we'd all laugh our asses off at his profound commentary. Kamalei was keen to try out his 7'4" Twin fin on a serious point break to confirm his thoughts on fin placement. The wave reassured his intuition.

The waves were exceptional. Wrapping lines lighting up every single take off spot, catapulting every thrill seeker down a mystic path towards enlightenment. All good vibes in the water as it seemed like Cliff knew every single local out that day. Cliff and Kamalei fine tuned their equipment, carving turns at the Outside then stalling and setting up for the Cave section. All while Jeremiah positioned himself to try and get the right angle to capture it all going down. The swell came and went. By sun-down the waves dropped below head high. We packed up our gear, stopped for some food then headed back to the airport for our return to Oahu. Strike mission complete.

We dispersed and went our separate ways upon getting back- thanked each other for the time spent together and parted ways already looking forward to the day we could do it again. We are fortunate to be able to spend time in such magical islands with such genuine people.