Back Yards conjures up an image of a lazy afternoon. A fat uncle with a beer in one hand, a spatula in the other hand and a greasy apron, tending to his barbecue. Kids running around without care. But "Back Yards" the surf spot is a completely different experience. This spot turns into one of the most challenging and dangerous places to windsurf in the winter in the world.

Back Yards, on the North Shore of Oahu, got its name by being on the backside of Sunset Beach. Founded as a windsurfing spot in 1979 by Brian Ing, Richard White, Larry McElheny, Peter Trombly, Craig Yester, Harold "Iggy" Ige, Tom Peach and Curt Carlsmith, a tight group of dedicated watermen, who made windsurfing look like something the rest us hard core surfers had to learn. With wood booms and huge boards to converted surfboards, they blazed a path that was defined by the their commitment.
Note: When Bernie Baker, a SURFER magazine senior editor, Ed D'Ascoli , president of Xcel Wetsuits, and I learned how to windsurf back in the summer of 1980, we all started from scratch. After one session of learning how to uphaul in Kailua and a second session sailing a "rocket" with a 6.0 in Haleiwa harbor, I decided I was ready to sail out at Sunset Beach. Next scene I'm two miles off shore and I don't know how to turn around; jibe, tack or otherwise. Such fun, such an adventure. I did make it in, I did learn how to windsurf and I do remember that summer in complete detail. Each day brought an exciting lesson; a new term, a new knot, a new maneuver or a new piece of equipment. The sheer beauty of the place combined with the power of the waves and the skill required to sail there makes Yards the best experience the sport has to offer.

Says D'Ascoli,"In the spring of 1980, I'm sitting in the line-up at Sunset Point with 30 others guys fighting for waves on a lousy blown-out day. I looked over at Yards and Brian Ing is destroying the place on his windsurfer with one other guy out. I'm thinking to myself… this summer I'm going to learn how to do that. Yards has always been my favorite surf spot. Most of the time it is too windy to surf so learning how to windsurf allowed me to double my pleasure. To this day Yards is my favorite place to surf and sail."

Says Baker,"Even before I had ever surfed or sailed "Yards" I dove the length of its reef in the summers of the early 70's. I knew from the crags and pinnacles and shards of coral that to bounce off the bottom here meant gashes. Deep gashes. And gore. And stitches to pull your meat together. I didn't mind diving it for lobster, I just knew I'd never want to trade places with them. I never thought I'd surf that reef OR sail it with any legitimate swell size. Years went by, I loved the North Shore summer days out there, even the fall and spring hot dog swells, but I always hesitate over 6 feet. The entire Pacific Ocean sucks through every one of the jagged underwater caves and caverns on every wave, screaming for flesh and fiberglass. I'm not a Pipeline surfer and I wasn't a big-day Yards surfer. It was my call and my body. When we started sailing and breaking away from Haleiwa Harbor's learning tranquility the ultimate dream was to get comfortable across Back Yards since it held the best sailing winds in the summer on the North Shore AND it was just around the corner from our homes. My first summer was groveling more across Sunset Bay than venturing around to Yards. More experience needed. But by the middle of the second summer we were ready for the charge, blazing across those jagged reefs morning, noon and night. Toward the end of that sailing season we picked up our first new swell that pushed head high for the entire day. Deep into the day I sailed out to blue water then came flying back in, cutting across that brown patch of ultra-shallow "BoneYards" on the east corner. I was setting up a swell from behind that was running just ahead of me. I thought I had the section made, then all of a sudden getting nailed by a swirling, head wind from the land. I flipped hard, did a cartwheel, landing on my back across the dry reef. When I stood up, stunned by the smack I had taken and thinking I had better check my fin box first, I stupidly put both feet down on a cluster of sea urchin. The pain was excruciating, both across my bloodied back and from heel to toe on my feet. I literally crawled on my kneecaps, dragging my rig to the mid-channel trail and up on to dry sand. I lay there on that beach for at least a half-hour, swearing, aching, my entire body pulsating. I was bleeding and bruised and wishing I had left the place alone, just to take the lobster, not to look like one. I didn't want the nightmare I had inflicted on myself; I only wanted to swim through the reefs out there on calm days. But a week later and healing slowly I was back out again, sailing new waves, clean winds and nursing my wounds. And taking the Yards challenge. That's what sailing Yards is always about.

While only White, Trombly, "Iggy" and Yester remain from the original group, their spirit lives on in the North Shore Board Sailing Association-- watermen who have built their lives around sailing Yards. Their commitment fuels their eagerness to confront the challenge, the size, speed and power of the waves, the uncertainty of the conditions and the danger imposed by the shallowness of the reef at Bone Yards and the immense amounts of water that moves through this area.

The Crowd
"So what happened to Yards?" The voice of Clay Fetter asking me to explain the decline of media coverage for Yards in the magazines, "The spot was 'happening' in the early 80's," Clay was pumped now as we began to talk about me writing this article. The answer of what happened to Yards is simple, Maui took over as the "happening" and the sport suffered a decline in numbers. All over Oahu the story is the same as the crowds are not as intense as they used to be. While the media coverage has been missing at Yards and the crowds are down in size, the levels of windsurfing at Yards is still the best found anywhere, extreme and the very hard core. Over the years, the place has spawned a host of super stars, from Rush Randle, Josh Stone, Mark Angula to the current crop that includes Scott Carvill, Paul Dunn, JT Thompson, Frank Baensch and Ryan Rawson, who at 16 is becoming very good. The list of who is good at Yards is too long to print and a risk to mention for fear of leaving someone off the list. Truthfully, all of the guys who sail Yards on a regular basis are good and capable of ripping the place on any given day. The place demands superior skills and the fitness to match. To sail Yards regularly puts one in a very select group.

The Size
Waves at Back Yards have amazing power. At 8 to 10 feet, Phantoms, a spot to the north of Back Yards starts to break. Under these conditions, there is a strong rip that runs between Phantoms and Back Yards. You don't want to get caught in this rip when the wind dies. The only way to get out of it is to sail or swim back to Back Yards, a task that has belittled the 'biggest and the baddest'. At 12 to 15 feet, Back Yards and Sunset link-up. The challenge in these conditions is to ride the waves at Back Yards and get out before the bowl at Sunset. On rare days, with strong north winds and no surfers at Sunset, you can ride from outside Back Yards all the way through Sunset to the channel at Kammieland, a distance of about 1/2 mile. Says Trombly, "I'm amazed at how excited I get when I sail in these conditions. I've had waves where I'm challenging the wave from so far back, and the wave is bending away from me to where I can't see what I'm doing. I've made outrageous waves like this by trusting myself to stay high in the wave, maintain my speed and know that I can tap into the harmony of the speed of the wave and the cooperation of the wind with the face of the wave. On the other hand, if I lose my confidence, hesitate and drop down in the wave, I'm history, I don't make the wave and I'm in for a long swim."

At 20 feet and up, the outer reef starts to break and depending on the conditions, this means Back Yards or Phantoms. Robby Naish compares Phantoms to Jaws on Maui. "Phantoms is way off shore with a lot more water moving around. It is a very, very big wave. Jaws is basically a peak and more predicable than Phantoms. The biggest wave I rode at Phantoms is substantially bigger that the biggest wave I rode at Jaws. However to look at the pictures, Jaws looks much bigger."

In short, the size of the surf at Yards can be a serious issue and a major challenge. The issue involves the complexity of where and how the wave breaks given the direction of the swell, the tide and the direction of the wind. The challenge involves the power of the waves, the power of the rip and the difficulty in knowing where and when the place is safe to ride.

The Wind
"Maui has the wind and the North Shore has the surf-the North Shore has good wind one day out of three and the conditions change quickly," explain McElheny and Carlsmith in their article, BIG BACKYARDS. To say that the wind is 'flukey' puts it mildly. Combine the complete shut downs of rain squalls with up and down, 5 to 30 knot winds with major directional shifts, and you have wind that is great one moment and horrendous the next. One minute you are over powered and the next you're swimming. One minute you feel like a genius and the next you're "sucking heavily" - in more trouble than you ever imagined.

The Danger
Ken Bradshaw, a legendary surfer, describes a Back Yards wipe-out, "As I pulled out of a perfect 25' wave I see Laird come by on a wave that's bigger. It was the biggest wave I've ever seen anybody ride. As I'm looking at this wave, I'm thinking 'my God how big is this wave?' I was so busy watching him I didn't try to get out of the way and then I realize I'm cooked! I'm totally cooked.. this wave is going to go right by me. I dove down ten feet and then I swam up into the explosion. I wanted out of there, I wanted to get pushed in as far as I could because I knew that there would be more waves behind it. Had I gone deeper I was afraid I would have blown my ears out. I took five 20' foot waves on my head and then I took ten 12' waves as I moved into the line-up at Sunset. I wound up swimming a mile and half through 15' to 20' surf." This route has humbled more than few great surfers who thought they could swim against the rip. Not only does the "rip" pose a huge challenge, but also the unpredictable conditions make it worse, and the shallow reef rounds out the danger found in this spot. Low tide leaves a mere six inches over the reef at Bone Yards where McElheny talks about having to straighten out on an eight to ten foot wave. As you can imagine, a wipeout in this position means serious damage to you and your equipment. As Trombly says "... on any given day at Back Yards, you have to willing to have a $1000 day, to lose the top half of your equipment."

Saturday Morning, November 23, 1991 I was eating breakfast in a restaurant in Hilo. I looked over at a stack of newspapers and the cover caught my attention, "Windsurfer drowns on North Shore." I quickly got up grabbed the paper and read the account of how Curt Carlsmith had drowned sailing at Yards. I immediately went to a pay phone and called Robby. The article mentioned that a helicopter that had been filming the action attempted a rescue. To me, that meant that Robby was there with his film crew. Indeed, he was there and he was struggling with the loss of his friend. He filled me in on the details. The waves were bigger than big. Phamtoms was huge. Curt took off on a set wave and never made it around the white water. Picked off by the wave he was separated from his rig and left swimming for the channel. When he reached his rig in the channel a close-out set washed his rig into the beach and him into the rip that was headed out to sea. The helicopter in question made several attempts to get down low enough to pick up Curt. The helicopter was limited in this regard given the height of the white water. Finally the helicopter was successful in picking Curt up. Exhausted from this ordeal, Curt was not able to hold on, and he fell to his death on the reef below. A popular North Shore resident, Curt Carlsmith's untimely death was a tragic loss to his friends and family. A monument at the lot that he donated to be used by the North Shore Board Sailing Association says it all: In Memory of CURT CARLSMITH who died November 22, 1991 Windsurfing the waves he loved. Thank you for your generosity in sharing this spot and your love. Note: The lot the Curt had donated to the North Shore Board Sailing Association was purchased by the state from the Carlsmith family and is now a park.

The Conclusion
Vivid colors, clean air and water and incredible power makes Back Yards a special place. Sailing there binds people into a special community. When considering a sail at Back Yards, think of Robby's 'sailing a new spot' advice, "You've got to always make sure what you're doing is cool with the guys who "own" the spot, no matter who you are." The guys that "own" Yard's are totally committed to handling the challenge and the danger, you would be well advised to make sure the same is true for you.

Says Scott Carvill: "Growing up with Yards has definitely had a profound affect on my sailing. The sheer gnarliness of it will either scare you away for good, or obsess you and make you want it all that much more. Once you need a wave like Yards to make you happy few things compare. It's not hard for me to understand why the locals wait all winter for the handful of epic days and rarely bother sailing anywhere else. If I happen to be home and get Yards good, I feel like the luckiest person in the world."

Says Frank Baensch: "The Yards wave breaks off a point onto a shallow reef, with no channel to kick out to and a miserable offshore wind on the inside. This gives the wave the power and long, reeling shape it is famous for but also makes for quite dismal windsurfing conditions. Right around 4 to 6 feet, the wave takes on its true majestically form. Learning to sail it at this size was one of the most frustrating, humbling, and demoralizing experiences I have ever had. I remember I would go out, ride a wave, somehow loose my rig trying something or other and swim or crawl in after it over the bottom that is infested with varna (urchins), hoping my rig would end up near "the pipe," a large concrete drain. Scrambling out of a quite gnarly little shore break, I would then drag my stuff, hopefully all in one piece, a good ten minutes up the beach from where I had launched. This would happen three times a session, after which I would call it quits. No matter how experienced, all Yards sailors are quite familiar with the swim-walk routine. It is part of the experience and really the only way one can truly enjoy one of the most powerful and perfect waves I have ever sailed."

Says Robby, "I've been extremely fortunate to be able to sail most of the best spots in the world on their best days. Yards on a good day is hard to beat. Yards on a big day is the most challenging spot to sail. The guys that sail Yards have the perfect blend of respect and 'balls' the spot requires. They have always welcomed me to their spot and for this I am extremely grateful."

Says Larry Cass, the Unofficial Mayor of Yards: "After almost 30 years of surfing and sailing Yards I still have the same devotion and utmost respect for her that I did as a 17 year old kid. I have great admiration for all those who have surfed and sailed her in the past. I only hope that those who come to experience her in the future will have the same respect and admiration for her beauty and power. P.S. Don't forget to bring a bucket of chicken for the fella's."

Says Craig Yester "Well here we are at the end of 1998 and it's our 20th winter of windsurfing Backyards. One more year and we will have been wave sailing Yards in 4 decades; the 70's, 80's, 90's and the 21st Century. People come and people go as do the waves and sand. Yet the spot doesn't change, any day can be THE DAY. Yet everyday Yards also has those 4 ever-present features, G.B.S.P (Good, Bad, Shitty and Perfect). Sometimes your entire session can be characterized by the phrase, other times it can just be on one wave. It's just a question of whether you get more of the G and P or you get more of the B and S. You might sail out as a first timer, have a great go out and have a happy time. Next week you bring a friend and your wife to take pictures. You go out and catch a wave right away and in a critical situation the wind goes offshore. You go over the falls, get your harness hooked into your downhaul. You break your mast and rip your sail. Your broken mast stabs you in the stomach like a dagger. Your board plays ping pong with your head and you are held down by a mountain of whitewater. You barely make it in to the beach bleeding from head to toe. Yet you can't wait to go back out, it's a love hate relationship and you are hooked. We've all been blessed to be able to enjoy the good with the bad. Lots of my friends moved to Maui for greener pastures, better wind and waves. Those of us who stayed are glad we did. We all used to be "rad" and now some of us are content to be a "rad dad!" Like Larry Cass or any of the boys Matt, Derrick, Steve, Chris, Peter or Robby will tell you… respect it. Of course if you want waves, don't forget to bring that bucket of chicken!"

Says Pete Cabrinha: "I remember sitting on my motorcycle on the cliff above Kahuku staring at the lines fanning out from Back yards to the horizon. I was twelve years old and I didn't windsurf then but I recall thinking how cool it would be to ride a wave from the horizon to the beach. I found out later that it was possible. I remember a particular session at Sunset, watching Mike Horgan, Larry Stanley, and Colin Perry riding waves on modified stock Windsurfers. Even though it was relatively a short time ago (20 years) the images are reminiscent of the early surfing attempts at Sunset on long boards of the sixties. I remember pulling into Yards for the first time and seeing waves the size of my house. I remember secretly hoping that the wind would die so that I could postpone my maiden Yards session until the next day. I remember that the wind didn't die. I remember getting a 7'4" and a 7'0" wave board shaped by Trombly which I used to win my first professional contest, 'The O'neill Invitational in '82.' I remember the bond between the Yards crew. Some of the funniest guys I've ever met and some of the most committed to big wave sailing. I remember a session at Phantoms with Naish, Peach, Yester and myself. Peach had a wipeout on a bomb and had a long swim in. Till this day I've never seen a rig more destroyed from a single wave. I can't remember ever pulling up to the Yards lot and not seeing Harold "Iggy" there. I do remember thinking, this must be the most windsurf stoked guy I know. I remember insane go-outs, giant waves, good rides, bad wipeouts, realizing that Brian Ing is the Man. I remember seeing a guy break his ribs from hitting the bottom at Bone Yards. I remember hitting a rock with my fin during a bottom turn on a mast high wave that same day. I remember learning how to waterstart in 12 inches of water without touching the bottom. I remember the term 'should have been here an hour ago' never making more sense than at Yards. I remember knowing for the first time the reality of what we were doing after hearing about Kurt's death. I will always remember how this particular spot helped to define an era of big wave sailing but somehow managed to maintain it's personality and not get overrun by the professional windsurfing machine."

Says Peter Trombly: "I was lucky to get in on the ground floor of windsurfing back in the early 70's. Living and sailing at Yards has been the main focus of my life for a long time. I'm glad Yards is not a happening, I'm glad Yard's is not Maui. I like the idea that if I wait patiently, Yards will reward me like no other place can. The phenomenal rides that I've had here are etched in my brain as a series of peak experiences. I'm committed to maintaining my ability and my fitness to sail here for a long time to come."

Purpose
The purpose of this article is to pay tribute to a very special place and a very special group of people. The pictures tell the story of the power and the magic of the waves. The people tell the story of what it takes to experience this power and magic. The power and magic are for real and so are the people. Back Yards has a way of demanding everything you have to give and giving you back a new sense of yourself. The people who make it through the initiation at Yards have earned the right to talk about the role that humility, perseverance, hard work, focus, patience, respect and great skills has played in their ability to reap the rewards. I love the simplicity of the process; show up, pay your dues, learn the ropes, pay your dues, polish your skills, pay your dues and join in the excitement and fun. Come up short and the drive becomes too long, your life changes, you move away, you take up golf, injuries get you down, time becomes an issue and before you know it your life has moved on and you are on the "he used to sail here list." Such is life. For the select few that are having fun and excitement at Yards, the wind and waves are a precious resource. Their request is simple, match their commitment, show the same level of respect and they will welcome you here to sail.