(02/04) PUNT OF THE YEAR: JANUARY FINALISTS
Vote to help choose this month's winner

(02/03) READING FOR SURFERS
Slater, Gudauskas, Lopez and more share what's on their bookshelves

(02/02) THE REAL HAWAII
Back-to-back XXL swells ignite Jaws, Waimea, Pipeline

(02/01) JOHN JOHN FLORENCE WINS VOLCOM PIPE PRO
Pipeline local repeats over JOB with final second heroics

(02/01) GOOD-EPIC: PIPELINE
Flawless Pipeline during the Volcom Pipe Pro

(01/31) GEAR REVIEW: HIGH-TECH BACKYARD SHAPING PROJECT
Part III: The finished product and the test drive of our DIY surfboard

(01/31) VOLCOM PIPE PRO: DAY THREE
Giant Pipeline serves up perfect 10s -- and brutal beatings

(01/30) MIDWINTER UPDATE
January ends with a couple bangs and great conditions in California -- with more on the way

(01/30) SHANE DORIAN'S KEIKI CLASSIC
Local groms strut their stuff at the Big Island's feel-good event of the year

(01/29) VOLCOM PIPE PRO: DAY TWO
Moments of perfection highlight Round Two shakedown at the Banzai

Antonio and the surf truck over looking one of the Caribbean's most scenic areas.

Then you sit there, contemplating if you made the right board choice. I brought my 10'3" classic single fin shaped by Jesse Timm and my Harbour 9-0, 2+1. I can't ever get enough of the JT but I tell you what the 9-0 really excelled in the fast reef breaks.

The trip being a solo job for me I was open to anything, primarily meeting like minded people which were heavy into surfing allowing some kind of discipline in regards to not partying too hard at night. Too hard is interpreted differently by everyone depending on your tolerance to any mental altering substance, liquid or other. I planned on sitting in my room reading, writing, and what ever, anything but drinking beers into the night.

Some how the community vibe at the Ali's/Cabarete Surf Camp created energy which everyone flowed with quite well during my entire stay. And with good company all my prior plans of taking it easy in the nights were washed away.

The days were filled with surfing from about 7 or 9 am depending on how late the previous nights festivities rolled on. Hopefully 7am was the arrival time to the beach. During my first several days the early morning high tide caused the waves to not come together. Somewhere around noon the tide hit the perfect spot for the waves to do their thing. Only thing was, the Trade Winds would pick up around the same time. One day the wind was on it from dawn till after dark. That was >

What makes a good surf trip? Finding euphoria or something like it in the Dominican Republic