Okinawa Snapshots….

what’s up everybody. gosh, went on a boat today and took it past lembogan to the island of peniata. i hope i spelled that right. the current was ripping. much faster than the current in okinawa. there was actually an overhead wave forming from the current. we dove it anyway. bent my shaft on an ulua. we were looking for dog tooth and saw a couple but they were kind of small. if you want to hunt ulua or GT, that place is the spot. i saw schools of about a hundred of them ranging in the 30-100 lbs range. it was so awesome seeing that. then we dove lembogan on the way back to pick up some snappers for dinner tonight. there is a restaurant right on the beach in front of our hotel that is preparing the fish. can’t wait. anyway, i’m so tired now that i couldn’t climb in the boat on my last dive. i had to crawl up the stair. fatigue….. but it’s ok because we’re going to do it all again tomorrow…. i got one shaft left so i have to select what i spear. hope the next shot is a 73 lbs. dog tooth. i just said that because it’s one pound bigger than kevin’s. game on… haha…
here are more pics from okiwawa…

here kyle and reyton are holding up a huge 90lbs + ulua or GT. reyton speared this big boy in one of their secret spots. he said that there are much bigger ones than that. we didn’t get a chance to go there on that trip but next year, guarantee….

the food in okinawa is awesome. this is the pigs feet okinawan soba. sooooo gooood…….. sorry kalua….

dawn patrol? yeah, the early bird gets the worm…

i go to the “Hard Reef” bar in chatan, okinawa every time i go there. kazubo is the man there and always welcomes us. this is what it looks like inside. on the other side, there is a grill where the chef comes out in front and cooks the best okonimiyaki you will find on that island. then in back has a pool table that girls rule. gosh, i love this place. can’t wait to go back there. so if your ever in okinawa, stop by “Hard Reef” and say what’s up to all the boys. and stay away from the bottle with the snake in it. once you see somebody put that bottle on the counter, run. run fast….

Happy Halloween….

what’s up guys, getting ready to board a boat and head far off to a pinnicle out to sea. instead of the pacific ocean, i’m going to the indian ocean. hope to hook up with some big fish. as for the surf, we surfed hyatt reef for 3 hours yesterday. it was head high and super fun. i’m already surfed out. haha. talked to garut just now. bol won the last contest in bali so there’s a barbecue at his house tonight. i might have to check it out. well, that’s if i have enough energy. but congratulations bol!!! see you guys after my dives…..
Happy Halloween…..

no, this is not my halloween costume. this is my new look. i’ve been walking around osaka and tokyo with my new camo dove wetsuit because i’ve been practicing for this trip. i think it looks cool. all the chicks check me out. and so are the fish. little do they know, they will soon be on the dinner table. hey, i’m talking about the fish you dirty minds… booo…..

Bali Bagus….

aloha from bali…. yeah, i’m finally got to my last leg of my journey. bali, indonesia. we are staying right in front of hyatt reef at sanur, our boats are ready, our boards are ready, and our spears are ready. ate some good breakfast right in front of our bungalow and i’m ready to go. surf? dive? whatever… be back later….

this was the last night in okinawa. satoru-san knows how to keep me out late and that night was no exception. in fact, he kept us all out late. it was a while ago when satoru-san introduced me to “hebisake” or snake sake. there’s a real snake in the bottle soaking in “awamori” or okinawan shochu. it makes tequila taste like water. i drank it the first time when i went to okinawa 10 years ago and still have a hangover from it. when the bottle came out, i ran. here are the next two victims james and kevin getting a taste of okinawa….
**check out the tv in the background. kyle brought a Hawaii Skin Diver dvd over and everybody in the bar was hooked….

james handled, kevin went down shortly after. and woke up with red toe nails… haha. but gosh, i was in okinawa yesterday and it felt like months ago. how time flies by when your having so much fun. just wanted to say thanks again to keith, juk, and ohk for letting us stay at their house and cooking us the best thai food i’ve ever eaten. and thanks to reyton, kevin, rob, able, and all the other okinawan free divers. good luck in your 1st annual tournament this weekend. and please keep the photos flowing…..

anyway, kevin speared the first huge dogtooth tuna. his story coming up tomorrow. the second dogtooth tuna story coming soon. gosh, when i look at all the photos, i can’t believe how big these fish are. just to let you know how dangerous blue water spear diving is, your in another world and something bad can happen at any given time. once these fish get speared, they run straight down into the blue so fast that if your tag line gets tangled around your arm or body, your done. or if you get shallow water blackout in the blue water, your weight belt will take your body down thousands of feet and you will be lost forever. or if your very unlucky, a huge shark will eat you while your trying to bring up a huge bleeding fish. so when you look at these photos, please don’t run down to the dive shop and pick up gear for this kind of diving. shit happens to even the most experienced divers. start off slow and learn from the best. then someday, you can have the experience of a lifetime. i’m still a kid at this kind of diving and i can’t wait to someday spear something bigger than me…..
**last, here’s the quote of our trip. came from my friends wife. “kirby, let’s play pool, if i win, you buy me a tequila shot. and if you win, you buy me a tequila shot…..”