good evening, i feel like i’ve been saying this for the past month but “shit, the waves were going off today!!!” perfect surf and weather with no crowds….

once again, i pulled up to off the wall and as i was walking through the path to the beach, i seen this perfect 4′ wave peel across and spit. and get this? not one guy out….

then i look right and saw this perfect wave peeling at pipe/backdoor. like always, i don’t check it for more than a minute before i’m running back to my car to grab my board. paddled out and scored…. i caught a set at backdoor, pulled in off the take off, and was driving through the barrel. kept going and going. next thing you know, i was already at off the wall. i tried to squeek out but the lip caught me at the end. by far my longest barrel of the year… and the whole time i was in the barrel, it was just me and the crystal lip going over my head. no photographers or bodyboarders getting in the way. that’s how empty it was… after that, you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. and i’m still smiling… i love surfing….

after i came in, i was looking down the beach at the little sandbar. it was as beautiful as it gets. i just couldn’t resist….

this is mermaid aoi koike. 10X japan champ and 2008 pipeline pro champ….

and check this out. this is a hawaiian monk seal having the beach to himself…. one month ago, this beach would be lined by 100 photographers, pro surfers from all over the world, girls in g-strings, and a lot of stress. i can’t believe i made it through that. i’d rather have it the way it was today. there was nobody… gosh, it was beautiful. and the good news is, it’s going to be like this for a while more…. so get your ass out of your house and enjoy this island we call “paradise”…..[:Zzz:][:Zzz:][:?????????:][:?????????:][:??????:][:??????:][:????????$B!r(B:][:????????$B!r(B:][:??????:][:??????:]
**by the way, kelly slater vs. mick fanning surfing in the final at snapper rocks right now…. it’s going to be a good heat. don’t miss it…

KELLY SLATER VS. ANDY IRONS COMING SOON…. CLICK HERE FOR LIVE QUIKSILVER PRO FINAL DAY….

good morning. 5:45am and the waves should be going off today. i’m out of here. woke up at 4am and was thinking about my day yesterday. i feel like spreading the aloha…. have a nice day and see you in the water….
**woke up yesterday morning and checked my email. gosh, how photos can make your day…

remember i told you about my sick backdoor barrel 2 days ago? well, there wasn’t one photographer on the beach so i knew that nobody got that photo of one of my best waves of the season. but to wake up the next morning and see this, gosh, i was super duper happy. my friend neal miyake shot it with his fisheye. this wave was perfect and now this photo will be in my collection forever….

i got barreled all the way through and when i came out, the spit blew me off the board. dam it felt so good…. neal told me he got pounded after he snapped this shot. i believe. i’ve been there and it ain’t fun. but gosh, being on both sides, surfer/photographer, i’ve learned a lot. i learned as a surfer on how to connect with photographers to get the shot. and i learned as a photographer how hard water photographers jobs are. you have to put yourself in the most critical part of the wave to get the shot. you could get hit by the wave, or the surfers board, or the reef. it’s a dangerous job and i respect water photographers 100 times more than i ever did… thanks guys…

then my next email was from u-ske. u-ske sent me these photos from 2 days ago too. this is me sticking my camera in the barrel to get the shot. it’s amazing i didn’t get sucked over the falls. this wave is pretty freakin hollow and big….

this photo is pretty sick too. look how beautiful and blue it is. i feel like jumping in the ocean right now. and that’s what i’m going to do. thanks neal and u-ske for the awesome photos… and thanks for making my day. i owe you guys….