Watch out for the reef. Photo: Jamie O’Brien // YouTube
Jamie O’Brien can’t surf right now, but that doesn’t mean he’s gone totally dormant. Though an eye surgery last month has forced the Oahu YouTuber to stay out of the ocean, that just meant a return to his novelty wave-chasing roots in his latest video.
The opportunity came as a result of Hurricane Lowell. Though the storm did not make a direct hit on the islands, it did cause quite the commotion as it passed by. High winds knocked down trees and power lines, flooded streets rendered entire roads impassable, and at least one Oahu man died Monday when a tree hit his tent.
But to O’Brien and crew, the flooding was an opportunity. “We just found the best thing to do on the North Shore,” he explained at the top of the video. “We’re going to go surf behind the car.”
From there, the gang tied some straps to their pickups and used them to tow into the deep brown ripples that had taken over Kamehameha highway. The chaotic scene that unfolded looked undeniably fun – and also probably dangerous as hell. Perhaps the greatest shock of the whole excursion is that nobody got hit by a car.
“We scored,” concluded Jamie. “No one got too hurt. Couple guys hit the reef today but, all in all, good day.”
The rest of the video saw O’Brien in a position that no doubt feels alien to him: that of a spectator. That’s because he is currently grounded on doctor’s orders, following a surgery he underwent in August to remove a pterygium he’d developed. Though the growths, also known as surfer’s eye, are benign, years of staring down sun and saltwater had unsurprisingly taken their toll and finally couldn’t be ignored.
But things are looking up, as he explained in an update. “It’s been about three weeks. Doctor says looking on track for surfing in November,” he said. “He didn’t give me a certain date, but he said everything’s healing up really good. For now: No fishing, no surfing, just family time and hanging out.”
