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WAYNE KELLY ATTEMPTS TO PADDLE-SURF GHOST TREE BY HIMSELF

ANOTHER OMINOUS DAY AT GHOST TREE

 ALL PHOTOS BY ANDREW DOLAN  DECEMBER 27, 2007    WORDS BY WAYNE KELLY

Today I saw the outside buoys reading 17 feet 20 seconds, and I thought a few places might have some big waves to ride. Dave Vernor of Vernor Surfboards had just finished a 7'7" gun for me to ride, and I really wanted to ride it. We checked a bunch of spots, but nowhere was good. How I ended up at Ghost Tree is still a mystery. It is not even a rideable wave, which I find out first-hand by the end of the day.

I was with photographer Andrew Dolan, whose last project was filming a commercial for FUEL TV, a national extreme-sports channel. Hiking to Ghost Tree is dangerous in itself. The narrow trail leads along a rock wall, and its easy to slip, fall, or be impaled by one of the ghost trees. The land is extreme here, and even watching Ghost Tree is not a safe thing to do. The hike through the forest can be dangerous, and Andrew ended up getting pretty hurt on our way out, which I will get into later in the story.

Just the trail to Ghost Tree is creepy. I dont want to get all "Blair Witch" on you, but I'm telling you there's something about the forest there that will freak you out. It is dark, really damp, uninviting and slippery. There is alot of standing water, which adds a musty smell to the air. The trees, the air, and the dreary vibe all reek of misfortune. Andrew witnessed it firsthand. On the hike out, he was impaled by one of the branches of a ghost tree, and blood spilled down his leg. He claims it mysteriously shot out at him like a spear, and I believe him. I have had that happen to me there before. It is dark, and the branches randomly jutt out and are hard to see. The forest there does not want to let you go.

End of the trail.

Nearing the end of the trail, we got to the small pasture that is seen in alot of the photos of Ghost Tree. It is unusually green, kinda like the field past the dark forest in the movie "Wizard of Oz". It makes you wonder how anything can thrive in the environment there. It offers another eerie vibe, not welcoming at all like you would think.

Almost there...

When we got down to the point, I questioned whether the waves were rideable, because there were 20 foot whitewaters washing over dry rocks. I dont know why, but I thought I could get the edge of one of these beasts. I was dead wrong.

I saw a few waves that I thought might be rideable, although they were probably way bigger than most people like to surf. With all of the effort I put into the day, I thought I might give it a chance and try to surf it. I put my wetsuit on and paddled out at Ghost Tree.

foto 1>Ducking right off the bat.

I had to scale the most dangerous, slippery wall to get into the water, and dodge giant waves sweeping over the rocks. When I got into the water, I was immediately going under waves. There was no easy entrance to Ghost Tree, especially in the ocean there.

Paying the price to surf Ghost tree.....

photo 2>Taking one.

Immediately I was duck-diving and doing under-water flips, the waves were so powerful.

Paddling for safety.

I finally got to the outside, and I immediately got that deep-water Great-White shark vibe, because I knew that I was sitting in at least 50 feet of water. The waves were big, but the worst thing is they were washing right into the rocks. It was basically un-surfable.

I couldnt get anywhere, because the inside is littered with dry, jagged rock-spikes sticking out of the water. I dodged some big sets, had to go under a couple of beasts, and basically got run around like a shoulder-monkey on crack.

attempt 1

I tried to paddle for a few big set-waves, but there were bumps in the face that were bigger than most summer waves. I was also under-gunned... a 10 foot board would have helped. Excuses aside, the wave is not really rideable without a jet-ski tow assist.

Somewhere under that whitewater is me, hoping to get through the parallel universe.

I kept telling myself that it was like Waimea Bay in Hawaii... which is a big-wave spot that I have put alot of time in surfing. The takeoff zone reminded me of it a little bit, but when you see the dry rocks inside it removes all comfort you may have.

Wayne surfing alot bigger waves at Waimea Bay, Hawaii.

I know its been surfed before, but I got completely denied. I never got to ride a big wave at Ghost Tree. I spent over an hour chasing the elusive entity, and just couldnt get a good sighting. It was eerie sitting out there alone, and the water was really cold an uninviting. After getting near the shore, the whole lineup was swept by an out-of-control set, which potentially could have changed my fate that day.

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