We couldn't believe a whole year had already gone by and it was time again for the annual Buffalo's Big Board Surfing Classic held over at Makaha Beach.  Determined to have a better showing this year than in the past (2007-didn't advance, 2008-made it to the Semis), we tweaked our sequences to better match the Buff's heavy judging emphasis on surfing over lift difficulty (no ITSA rules here!).  Being a highly localized contest, our main goal was to have fun, make it to the Finals and surf well in our heats.

The day before our opening heat we headed out to Makaha in the early evening to get a last minute session in with similar conditions to what we could expect on Saturday.  A month earlier we had what we like to call "a run in with the reef", so we decided to be picky about taking off only on the waves that were coming in wide since conditions were pretty small.    Our motto - "Just say no to reef!"

Come Saturday morning, the contest director wasn't sure if tandem was going to run due to an extremely low tide and safety concerns for the tandem teams.  So we had a pretty leisurely morning in town until we got the call that we were on...and soon!  Unfortunately, there was a big gas spill on the main highway and it had been closed in both directions!  So we fought through traffic on an alternate route not knowing if we'd make it to Makaha in time.  Luckily, we made it out there before the tandem event started and easily advanced from our first heat again three new teams (Bobby Friedman & Laura Desoto / Micah Desoto & Vanina Walsh / Sean Remos & Megan Talabis).

Sunday morning brought chilly conditions and slightly better waves.  We paddled out for our Semi Final heat hoping that we'd get the rides we needed and pull off some of our "oldie but goodie" lifts like the Back Angel and Star.  The highlight of our heat was making it out of a pretty critical situation with the wave breaking on us and pulling a One Leg Shoulder Stand in front of the crowd less than 20 feet from the beach.  We were rewarded with an "Oh my God!" from the announcers for that one.  (The other teams in our heat were Kalani & Ala Vierra / Duane Desoto & Ha'a Keaulana / Matt Perez & Kim Iarossi.)

We were a little unsure whether or not we had advanced and right when we were starting to change our clothes, we found out that we had actually advanced to the Finals.  What a shocker!  The Haole boy and the Kalihi girl finally did it!

The Finals line up was tough with three former and current world champion teams (Brian Keaulana & Kathy Terada / Kalani & Ala Vierra / Us) and Makaha favorites Mel Pu'u & Nani Kealoha.  We took an anything goes approach to the heat and aggressively paddled for waves one after another - catching five of them back to back, putting up solid sequences on each one and riding three all the way to the beach. 

We were so excited to make it to the podium at the Buff for the first time, that results weren't really that important to us since we had surfed a strong heat.  In the end, final standings went in the predicted order (1st-Mel Pu'u & Nani Kealoha / 2nd-Brian Keaualana & Kathy Terada / 3rd-Kalani & Ala Vierra / 4th - Us). 

- Haole Boy & Kalihi Girl  :)

After training non-stop for the World Title, I needed a break!  So what did I do?  Travelled halfway around the world to meet up with another Quiksilver/Roxy tandem team, LOL.

Fred and Aurelie Branger (F+A) are a newly married French tandem team who have been surfing together for a couple of years and run L'Association Nalu (www.nalu-surf.com), an organization that promotes tandem surfing and SUP in France.  Fred is an accomplished tandem surfer having won a number of California Club contests and placed 13th at the 2006 World Title with his former partner, Valerie Duprat.  F+A live in Paris, but travel frequently to the Normandy coast to surf.  And soon they'll be taking their talents with them to Australia when they move sometime in November!

I'm already a huge fan of Paris, but experiencing the city with F+A was so much fun!  And without Chuck there, I needed Fred to act as a double for the lift pictures.  :)  Day 1 was spent sightseeing and lunching in Montmartre, checking out the Moulin Rouge, strolling along the Seine River, and then visiting the Eiffel Tower after sunset just in time to see it sparkle on the hour!

We spent the morning of Day 2 at the Musee D'Orsay and then had to hustle over to meet the crew from Extreme Sports Channel for a last minute interview.  I didn't know it, but Aurelie had sent out a press release that the new ISA Tandem World Champion (me!) was visiting Paris and Europe's version of Fuel TV responded.  I was a little nervous doing my first media interview solo since I'm used to having Chuck with me, but having Fred there to do the translation made it fun.  Impromptu lifts in front of a nearby fountain for some extra footage had some funny moments, too.  Switching partners always takes some getting use to! 

Later we took a walk along the Champs-Elysees and stopped in at the Quiksilver/Roxy store so F+A could pick up some things.  Fred then decided that it was the perfect opportunity to teach me how to tandem skateboard.  So I ran alongside and jumped on with him for a whizzing ride down La plus belle avenue du monde ("The most beautiful avenue in the world").  We got some curious looks, but heads really turned when we decided to try it again through the underground metro station.  Luckily I quickly learned to turn and stop with him so that we didn't go flying down the stairs leading to the tracks!

Day 3 started with a whirlwind tour of the Musee du Louvre and then a quick bite in a neighborhood cafe before loading up the boards and heading out to Normandy for a surf session.  Unfortunately when we got to Etretat, it was completely flat (as a crepe!).  But the glassy conditions made it perfect to SUP below the cliffs and under the famous sea arches painted by artists like Claude Monet.  Watching the sunset from the water through the arches was absolutely breathtaking.  Oh, did I mention that it was only 12 degrees Celsius?  Brrr!

In Etretat, we were luckily able to stay with a local family that F+A knew.  The home-cooked dinner and lunch the next day were fabulous, and champagne poured freely at both meals.  Apparently in Normandy they don't believe in drinking water, LOL.  No complaints here!  The family was lovely and equally as charming was their home and property, which was built in the 1860's and used by the Count to entertain his hunting parties.  It was like taking a step back in time into living history.  And the view down to the ocean from the top floor was gorgeous!

Day 4 took us from Etretat down a picturesque road past chateaux and more cliffs to Le Havre so Aurelie could visit her grandmother and Fred could pick up some paddles from a local surf shop.  The city was almost completely destroyed during the Battle of Normandy during World War II, but was quickly rebuilt utilizing mostly concrete after the war.  The result is a very different urban look and feel than many other French cities and towns that I've been to, but interesting in its own right.  One last tandem skateboarding session down the streets at sunset brought this memorable trip to a close.  C'est fini!

- Tiff

The 2008 ITSA/ISA World Title of Tandem Surfing opened on Thursday morning with a total of 24 qualifying teams from Hawaii, California, Florida, Costa Rica, and France competing in six Opening Round heats.  We comfortably won our 20 minute first heat despite the small (1' - 2') and inconsistent waves that slowly rolled through in between long lulls.  On Friday morning, we won both our 20 minute Quarter Final and Semi Final heats in even flatter conditions, which left teams floating for most of our heats and scratching for waves whenever they appeared. 

There was a bit of an upset in one of the Quarter Final heats when a relatively new Waikiki team bested 2006's World Champions, Brian Keaulana/Kathy Terada (HAW).  This ultimately landed Keaulana and Terada in a stacked Semi Final heat with one of the highly favored teams, Rico Leroy/Sarah Burel (FRA), and 2007's World Champions, Kalani Vierra/Ala Vierra (HAW), who we were runners up to last year.  We expected all three of these teams to be in the Final with us and were surprised that one of them would be eliminated earlier than expected.

Teams who advanced to the Final on Saturday afternoon were: Chuck Inman/Tiffany Rabacal (HAW), Rico Leroy/Sarah Burel (FRA), Brian Keaulana/Kathy Terada (HAW), and Clay Huntington/Kristen Huntington (USA).  The 30 minute heat was held during high tide and set waves were few and far between.  After missing the first three waves we paddled for, we finally got onto a total of four waves and were able to cleanly complete both lift sequences we had planned while getting our surfing maneuvers done.  And at the end of the day, our best was good enough to clinch a close victory over the French team...our very first win!!! 

A big mahalo to all our friends and family who came down to support us!  :)

- Chuck & Tiff...World Champions!!!

Just as dawn was breaking, we headed up with our friends Bobby & Tiare Friedman to the North Shore for a tandem session at Pupukea and Gummies.  Also joining in on the fun were our friends Juan Caviedes on a C4 SUP and Jeff on his longboard.  Conditions were perfect at about 3-4 feet Hawaiian and glassy with lots of fun rides to go around.  Not much fancy lifting, but we pulled off the normal One Arm Backs, Back Angels and Stars.  Keoki Heller of SurfPixHawaii met us up there and shot some pics from Ehukai beach until he got the surf bug and jumped in on the fun, too.  Overhead surf rocks!

- Chuck & Tiff

What started out as a fun little morning shoot with our friend Photog Rob ended up turning into a photo op circus of sorts with surfing dogs, Roxy girls and multiple water photographers in the water.  It was all totally unplanned, but tons of fun taking turns sharing waves with our friends Tammy and Kelia "Sister" Moniz, Rex and Megan Godinez, and Haunani Kane.  We were lucky enough to get land shots from Rob Santanello and water shots from Ryan Beppu and Jim Russi (the latter being one of Roxy's official photographers).  Check out the different angles and timing on some of the same lifts and see if you can spot the other photographer in the water, too!

- Chuck & Tiff