Pounding: Almost beat one section, driving hard and skirting the edge of the lip as it sectioned, too close really, but straightening out would have guaranteed a short ride. The lip didn't hit me but the rebound after impact got right under my rail and flipped me. Ate whitewater for the rest of that set.

The fun part: Waves not quite barrelling over the body rock, but sometimes close. Very steep and shallow, fun for snaps and something between a floater and a near-wipeout rollercoaster drop down into the pit. The end section closed out early but was still fun to hit or float over. Got more rides in to the sand by the lifeguard tower than I could count.

Biggest set of the day came in as what grey light there was began to fade. Broke in a peak, way outside between the boneyard paddle-out spot and the normal reefs. Paddling back out and seeing this double overhead peak begin to throw right atop me had me freaked, half from its size and half because I'd never seen a wave break out there before. Inside, the whole set went by with nobody on it, just a big closeout from rock to rock.

Set up on the reefs again and got a few more, mostly trading for waves in a well-mannered rotation with the rest of the crew. In that spirit, I went in after promising the guys the usual "one last wave" promise, which they gave me, and so I stuck to my word.