Warm Water, Hot Waves--Ahhh, Fiji

Bula! That’s the first thing you hear when you visit the island of Tavarua in Fiji. It’s the land of machine waves, gorgeous sunsets and aqua gardens. And, warm water, something Southern Cal hasn’t had recently, said Rockin’ Fig.

Fig stayed home while I traveled about 7,000 miles to this surfer’s paradise owned, in part, by Mark Price of Laguna Beach.

So how did you like staying on the island featured in “The Endless Summer II”? Fig asked.

Great. It felt so good surfing in warm water again. It must have been above 75 degrees! We return to California, and the water’s freezing cold. What gives?

Exactly. It’s been in the mid-50s here. Newport reported a 51-degree water temperature! There’s been a lot of upwelling, from offshore winds blowing all that surface water out and getting replaced by colder, deeper water. For a couple of days, it was 55 degrees off the Orange County coast. We had to wear full suits, everything. Just when I was about to cut the sleeves off my wet suit, boom! It gets cold one more time.

Hey, Reyes. Which reef at Tavarua did you surf?

Cloudbreak. For 2 1/2 days, we had small surf, three-footers with 20 surfers out . . . we renamed it, Crowdbreak. Although they say they limit the number of surfers to 18 or so, they had about 24.

Say, you go like 7,000 miles and find a crowd.

Yeah, but by the third day the waves went overhead and then double overhead. A crew from the Rusty Co., from its Irvine and San Diego offices, booked the island two weeks earlier, and they got huge waves with 10- to 12-foot BACKS! Peter Townend, former world champion and a Rusty marketing executive, said they were some of the best waves he’s ever had.

P.T. is still scoring it big.

I bunked with surfing professional Dino Andino of San Clemente, 43rd on the world tour last year, who flew in after surfing Australia. Also, “C.F.,” Christian Fletcher, another San Clemente surfer, was there. Christian’s a walking visual--he’s got these tattoos all over his body. He shaved his head and put a skull tattoo on the back of his head that went from the crown to the neck. A statement kind of thing, like his hat, which says, “Pervert,” on it.

So, you’re saying he’s pretty hard core, huh?

The airports loved him. In Fiji’s Nadi Airport, they looked through everything of his. At LAX, they did it again.

You might say he was drawing a little attention?

Beyond. Fig, you ever hear of sea lice? Well, Fiji had vast swarms of them that floated on the water’s surface. They sting you as you paddle through them.

Hey, Fig, speaking of weird insects, did you see the ladybugs at the Huntington Beach Pier during the Katin Team Challenge two weeks ago?

Yeah. Santa Ana wind conditions blew ‘em west. They were all over the beach. The weather was nice and warm, the beach was packed and the star of “The Endless Summer II,” Pat O’Connell, won the contest.

How did your friend, 19-year-old Kalani Robb from Hawaii, do?

The preschooler was ripping and got second, followed by Shea Lopez, formerly of the East Coast. Kalani is touted as the next Kelly Slater and probably will be named the Assn . of Surfing Professionals’ rookie of the year. He’s been on fire.

Team Quiksilver, headed by MVP Jay (The Larsonator) Larson of Huntington Beach, won the team title.

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Bud Tour: Rob Machado of Cardiff won last weekend’s Bud Surf contest at Carlsbad, in northern San Diego County. But Rob made more of a buzz with his new ‘do. Fig says he’s got an Afro that sticks out so much they were calling him “Linc,” after the character from the old show “Mod Squad.”

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Ironwoman: With water temps in mid-50s, Kim Hamrock of Huntington Beach, a top female amateur, took home $200, after Katin’s Bill Sharp offered that sum to anyone who could win a heat garbed only in Katin swimwear.

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Puerto: There’s a new Orange County-Mexico link. Bob Farrand, who recently sold his Laguna Beach home, is part owner of Hotel Arco Iris in Puerto Escondido and has moved there permanently. . . . Chuy Madrigal, contest coordinator for the Assn. of Surfing Professionals, says he’s sewing up Puerto’s first world tour contest, scheduled for November.