There was a day, while sitting on a board in Hanalei Bay, when life was free and easy.

There were three or four of us sharing nine-foot waves, watching for sharks and looking out for one another. Between every seventh wave we gazed upon the Fire Cliffs as they reflected the first rays of sunlight and we talked about what we were going to be when we grew up, if we grew up.

None of us wanted to take a job or have a boss; all we wanted was to watch the sun rise on Hanalei Bay and let the waves boss us around. Life was a holiday and we fished the afternoons away to provide food to surf another day.

So naturally I was shocked to read this week that surfing packages are available at a cost of up to $10,000 a day. Grown-ups have taken to surfing! A sport once reserved for Hawaiian monarchy and surf-bums has suddenly become as respectable as golf. The world has discovered that the sport of kings is not horseracing after all, but surfing.

Nothing on God's Blue Ball compares to the thrill of riding the perfect wave, not skydiving, not snowboarding, not dropping a hole in one, not even winning a steamboat race. Surfing is a sport that will cause a body's very liver to curl with enjoyment and one of the ingredients of that enjoyment lies in the fact that it's free, or used to be.

I suppose to find the perfect private break today, well, you might need a good travel agent and a wheelbarrow full of money. Even so, surf playlands gaining in popularity today will be passé by tomorrow, as more remote beaches take their place in the sun.

As the cost of finding the perfect wave escalates, why don't we at the North Shore get into the game? We're making snow at Diamond Peak, why can't we generate waves at Crystal Bay?

With a 2 million dollar investment, we could install submersible pumps capable of pushing 30,000 gallons of water per minute across the bay, creating waves the size of a three-car garage. North Lake Tahoe could become the surfing Mecca of the western hemisphere and play host to international contests to rival Hawaii and Australia.

Think what we could charge for bleacher seats at Crystal Bay Lookout; why, the figures are staggering. The beach towel concession alone would be a regular cash cow: WORLD SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS - NORTH LAKE TAHOE - 2007.

Then of course we could market the boards, racks, leashes, wax, surf attire, sunglasses, sandals, t-shirts, umbrellas, sunscreen, surf jewelry and watches, not to mention tattooing and body piercing concessions. I would opt for a tattoo of Eddie Aikau, myself, riding a monster wave across my back, underlined with the single salutation, KOWABUNGA!

"Surfing capital of the world" is not a supposition to be sneered at, but a sensible adjunct to the recreational opportunities we already offer. I shall tender my services as lifeguard emeritus pro bono and shall judge the beauty contest myself, in fact, I already have the winner picked out; her name starts with an R...

As for TV rights, well, that's up for grabs, but you better be making some calls to the makers and shakers today, 'cuz the BIG WAVE is coming to the North Shore, or my name's not Joe Tahoe...



McAvoy Layne lives in Incline Village and visits schools throughout Nevada as the ghost of Mark Twain.