Jack, Diff and the Photo That Never Was -1989

I was lucky enough to travel to Hawaii in the Fall of 1989. My friend Benji had moved over a couple years before and was living right at Pipeline and I was going to stay at his house for a few weeks at the end of October and November. I was fresh out of school and surfing good, or so I thought. At that time the North Shore was still the benchmark for testing your limits. It still is. So with my ticket bought, my terrible surfboards, which I found out later were not made for hawaiian power, and a duffle bag filled with leashes, wax, trunks and a vest, I set off for my first real surf trip abroad. On the plane I sat next to a cool older dude who was reading a playboy and surf mags. We didnt speak for the whole flight. I saw him again on the North Shore a few days later and he remembered me. It turned out he was famous North Shore photographer Bernie Baker...small world.

Haleiwa Bridge

Anyway, I digress... I was met at the airport in Honolulu by Benji and his brother Jason. We loaded up my board box to the roof of Jasons little mustang. The drive out to the North Shore was the greatest thing I ever could have imagined. Pineapple fields, warm muggy weather and then as you clear the ridge of one last hill, the entire North Shore panorama reveals itself to you. Its one of the great feelings a surfer can experience. After all the years of reading surf magazines and hearing the stories, it felt like I was allowed into some secret party or something. Like I was on the inside. It felt awesome.

Benji and I at Jump Rock at Waimea Bay

The drive into Haleiwa was killer. There was Cafe Haleiwa where Dave Parmenter and Curren ate epic banana pancakes. There was the BK shop with Barry Kaniapuni behind the counter!  Pizza Bobs, Rosies Cantina and Matsumotos shave ice too.  These were the places that i had heard about for years from the mags and there they were. Then the Haleiwa bridge. Further down were the breaks Lanis and chuns. Jockos and alligators then the turn...Waimea Bay. We pulled into the parking lot and right away we beelined it to the jump rock. We proceeded to jump and swim in the ocean till the sun set over Kaena Point. I hadnt even surfed yet and I was in love with the place.

 Waimea Bay 1989

Getting to Benjis house, I walked onto his Lanai and there was an un obstructed view of small pipeline right out back. It was amazing. Over the next few days I would get to witness all kinds of surf stars on the rise and some on the way back down. I met all the local friends of Benji, many of whom would later become some of the worlds best surfers. Most of all i got surf really fun beach park and small pipe on the daily. Early mornings were my jam but the wind was always weird. I didnt really care, I was in Hawaii...life was good.

This leads me to an afternoon where during a post surf, we headed over to Benjis neighbors house a few doors down towards the beach park. We get there and I meet a kid a few years younger than me who went to school with Benji. His dad was an old 70's surfer named Jeff and he had a cool mom named Patty. I was learning guitar around that time and so was he. He showed me the chords the Cat Stevens song "Father and Son" and we jammed for a bit. I had something new to practice when I got home so that got me sparked. Years later that kid would become a world famous musician. Anyway, we all got to sitting on the back porch watching the surf when a friend of Jacks dad came over. Right away I knew who it was. It was the legendary Mike Diffenderfer.

Jack Johnson age 15

I grew up in PB and later worked in a shop next to Skip Frye. The guys at the shop educated me on all things surfing and I knew about all the heros on the Windansea Surf club from that famous photo. You know the one? Skip, Hynson, Dora, Edwards...all the legends of the sport including Diff. As a kid I quizzed myself on who all the people were in that picture to see how many names I could name. Anyway he was discussing how he was restoring an old board and wanted to bring it in to show Jeff. As Diff left the yard I ran back down to Benjis house to get my camera. I was excited to snap a picture of Diff and show it to Skip when I returned home.

The mightiest surf club ever

Getting back to the Johnson house I could see Diff showing Jeff a gorgeous Balsa wood gun, around 10' in length with wood strip inlays. When the timing was right I asked Diff if I could get a picture of him holding it so I could show the board to Skip. He was stoked I knew Skip and said how they were good friends. He went on to explain that the board once belonged to Ronald Patterson and was shaped by Pat Curren. Holy shit! A Pat Curren gun... Wow! So I back up to get the photo and Diff is holding the board on the porch. The Kona wind is blowing, the sun is out...its amazing. I get the shot and thank him. As the trip wound down I burned through a few more photos and was excited to take the film to get developed. So I open the back of the camera and there is no film... Nothing. All the great shots of the waves, pros, DIFF! Nothing. To say I was crushed was an understatement.

Mike Diffenderfer

As the years passed, so did Ronald Patterson, Jeff Johnson and Diff. I later heard that Pat Curren went to Hawaii to say his goodbyes to his old friend Diff before he passed away. As I read that, all I could think about was my missed opportunity to capture a legend in a special moment. I've recounted this tale a few times and have come to realize its almost that much better because the story, and what it meant to me, will never fade. Theres a magic in the islands and a continuous string that links all of us to the legends of our sports past. Many are now in their twilight years and those links are fading fast. Make the most of it and dont let a chance meeting with one of the remaining legends pass you by without saying hello.