CORONADO Four Coronado men checked out of society recently to do a long-anticipated surf trip to the Micronesian Islands. No wives, no children, just four men and their surfboards.
“It’s not like we do this all the time,” said Craig Warriner, in denial of the many stamps in his Passport. A retired investment banker, Warriner had been planning this trip for the better part of the year.
The four men were Warriner, Kenny Walker (a commercial pilot), Jim Scanlon (a property manager) and Eric Zoehrer (a defense contract consultant). They have known each other since Coronado Elementary School, and remained friends through the years. All four are veterans of adventure travel, and usually with a common goal of finding the perfect wave.
This trip was to Paliker Pass on the island of Pohnpei, the largest island in the Eastern Caroline group of the Western Pacific. The wave at P-Pass is big, powerful and thick, providing plenty of challenge (and reward) for those who dare.
Pohnpei is 13 miles wide and covered with lush vegetation. The tropical jungles and mist-covered mountains climb to 2,900 feet and produce some of the most exotic flora on the planet.
In 1966 Bruce Brown exposed an entire generation to his surf adventure film, “The Endless Summer.” Scanlon, Warriner, Walker and Zoehrer certainly qualify as part of the Endless Summer generation, each affected by the movie in his own way.
Scanlon manages a building at the Coronado Shores. “We do these trips when we can afford to, sometimes with our wives, sometimes with our pals. And when we’re not traveling and looking for the perfect wave, it’s all we can do to stop thinking about it,” he said. “There’s always that desire to find a perfect wave with just you and your friends in the water.”
He went on to describe this recent trip. “The water was uncharacteristically warm. Our biggest challenge was the Trade Winds that often came up early, blew 25 knots, and made it extremely difficult to surf.”
He described Pohnpei as a picturesque tropical island where you surf off a reef, beyond which the shelf drops off to about 3,000 feet fodder for tidal waves and large, hungry sharks.
“This wave took every ounce of my skill and experience,” said Scanlon. “We surfed it about 6-7 feet and it was plenty challenging. I wouldn’t want to be out on this wave any larger than that.”
Scanlon is no rookie to big waves. He has surfed big North Shore, Hawaii, the outer break of the notorious Tijuana Sloughs, Honolua Bay in Maui and large breaks throughout Mexico and California.
Likewise, Warriner is no stranger to large and exotic surf. While based in England with his work, he surfed Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Sumatra, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Hawaii, South America, Portugal, France and Spain.
“I know that sounds like I have done this before,” said Warriner, “but I have to say that P-Pass presented what I’d call as close to a perfect wave as I’ve ever seen. It was like sheer thunder when it broke, but the combination of size, power, unique shape, no crowds and warm water, all contributed to making this particular wave very special.”
Among their adventures within an adventure were side trips to see exotic waterfalls, climb mountains and visit local ruins. They enjoyed many foods for the first time, fished, dived, explored uninhabited atolls and provided for themselves by hunting indigenous sea life.
These trips are never without danger, and rarely without that unexpected cultural experience the travel books just don’t cover. Warriner was boarded by pirates three times on last year’s surf trip to Sumatra.
This trip the four Coronadans were surprised to find themselves in audience with the King of Pohnpei. That was a real treat,” said Warriner. “The King was a gentle soul, about our age and had family throughout the States, so we had lots to talk about. One thing we found very interesting was his warning not to be photographed with an odd number of people in the picture. He told us that if we did that, someone would die.” The boys were more than happy to heed his advice.
As this was being written, Warriner was already dreaming about a trip to South America next year. Scanlon’s plans for 2011 are abruptly interrupted, however, when his wife explains that “we both will be traveling next year. “I’m thinking a nice sailboat trip to French Polynesia would be nice,” she said as she hugged her husband.
The King of Pohnpei paused for a photo with Coronado’s intrepid travelers. Back row, from left are Craig Warriner, Paul Jones from Australia and Eric Zoehrer. Front, from left, Jim Scanlon, the King of Pohnpei and Kenny Walker.
Located in the Western Pacific in what were once Japanese-held islands
in World War II, Pohnpei today is a tourist destination for the
hardy adventure traveler or dedicated surfer.
The meals were exquisite, but the best food was what you caught yourself,
such as this healthy batch of crabs just waiting for a pot of boiling water.
Craig Warriner, left, and Jimmy Scanlon enjoy the waterfall
found back country on Pohnpei.
Lurking just offshore was Ant Island, where food was aplenty and civilization suddenly seemed so very far away.
Craig Warriner drops into a set wave at P-Reef on the island of Pohnpei
and tries to tuck up under the thick lip. “This was as close to
a perfect wave as I’ve ever seen,” he said.
From left, Craig Warriner and Jimmy Scanlon headed out to the reef to
get some lunch items on Ant Island.
Eric Zoehrer drops into a terrific wave on his short board. It’s days like this you thank your stars for the photographer just over there a ways in the boat.
Coronadan Kenny Walker is no stranger to exotic surf. Notice the colors changing ahead of the boat where deep water suddenly hits the reef, and then the shallows. Perfect situation for a deep water wave to end it’s migration of hundreds, maybe thousands of miles across the sea, only to form a perfect peak for some fortunate surfer, or to crash unseen and unheard.
Sure, they have a round trip ticket stuffed in their backpacks, but for now,
these Coronado boys have literally gone native and understand
perfectly the inspirations of the Van Goghs, Melvilles, Gauguins,
Blighs and Stevensons who came before. From left, Craig Warriner,
Eric Zoehrer, Jim Scanlon and Kenny Walker.
-Story by Joe Ditler
