The Thanksgiving swell has come and gone, and now that the spray has settled, we have some time to sit back and see how things went. First of all, this was an historic swell, on multiple levels. It was the biggest swell to arrive in November in recorded history. It was also the third biggest buoy reading on the Waimea buoy with greater than a 20-second period in at least 20 years, and possibly as far back as 1996. At the peak of the swell, Waimea buoy read 20.7 feet at 20 seconds, with Buoy 1 hitting an apocalyptic 26.2...

TJ Pro V Surfboard Review Ken rented the board and took it out to Rock Piles at Ala Moana, where he caught some fun waves. Ken describes the board as “super light” and “super smooth,” making it easy to ride the waves with minimal effort. Ken notes that he had been riding a heavy, waterlogged longboard before trying out the Pro V. He appreciated how light and maneuverable the Pro V was in comparison. The board’s 2+1 configuration also provided extra fins for added stability. Ken is 5’8" and weighs about 156 pounds. He found that the Pro V was...

Written by Matt Rode For the majority of us who ride modern performance designs, most of our time is spent on grovelers, standard shortboards, and maybe the occasional step-up. But every now and then, the waves get a bit too big for a 6’2—and that’s when the hellmen and women among us start breaking out the serious foam.   Boards for big waves have a long and storied history—one that was predominantly written right here on Oahu. From the guns of Pat Curren and Dick Brewer to the modern semi-guns of Wade Tokoro, the North Shore has long been the...