On February 10th, our plane landed on a wet tarmac. The North Shore of Hawaii was storming, and our Bum Rush Host, Mason Ho, was planting fruit trees. “Sorry, I missed your call, I was on the farm. Looks like we’ll be off for a bit until this clears up.” After days of card games, suspect sausage dishes and chicken watching, the sun finally shone, and Mason said the Bum Rush Masters were on. But first, Mason and South Shore southpaw Vaihiti Mahana did some field research to establish a proper criteria. Chop hops, barrels, and delightful railwork ensued — until Coco Ho (Mason’s sister) grabbed the megaphone and told Mason the show would continue with or without him..

“We want to see barrels, airs, turns, style and huge wipeouts. If you do all these things, you will win the Bum Rush,” Mason announced. Our 15th Bum Rush gave Mason that and more. The hour-long spectacle had love, betrayal, super-glow rainbows, someone named Cake, and plenty of acrobatics. But, in the end, none of the usual tropes mattered. Thirty minutes in, North Shore legend Michael Ho stumbled upon our little crew. His word became law: Only an air can win at Rocky Point.

A 21-year-old North Shore native rose to the occasion by doing what he does every day, but with some help from a friend — or love interest, TBD. The two past Bum Rush champs, Shion Crawford and Makana Pang, carried our winner from the reef to his frontyard, where Mason Ho handed him a $5K cheque.

“Makana Frazman is the dream child — very humble, respectful, and he surfs out here every day,” Coco said before her walk home. And that’s a wrap on our latest Hawaiian dispatch.

PS: Don’t forget, Sonny owns a passport. The Bum Rush Tour can be called on anywhere. If you see yellow umbrellas, go huge.
第13回バムラッシュツアーは、オーストラリアの「鉄鋼の街」ニューカッスルに上陸しました。シドニーの中央ビジネス地区から北へ160キロに位置する、ブルーカラーの楽園です。4月の風が強いある日、オーストラリアのトップクラスのエアリアルアーティストたちがビーチに腰を下ろし、地元のセッションを熱心に観戦し、一番気に入ったサーファーに5,000ドルの小切手を手渡しました。
エンシニータスのサーファーの数は、おそらくジャマイカ全体のサーファーの数よりも多いでしょう。ラインナップにパドルアウトすると、まるでタイムスリップしたような気分になります。まるで50年代のカリフォルニアでのサーフィンを想像しているようです。毎日同じ地元の熱心なサーファーばかりで、サーフィンをする人全員が顔見知りだった時代です。
クロワッサンを数個食べ、エスプレッソを少し多めに飲み、バルコニーからサーフィンをチェックした後(バルコニーからは、この有名なサーフスポットがちょうど見渡せました)、私たちは仲間たちを鼓舞して、巨大な砂丘を下って水辺まで歩き始めました。