Styling Kyle on the Ben Aipa…

Good morning 3:15am.
Ala Moana knee high and good.
Diamond Head waist high and bumpy.
Trade winds at 25mph.
Sunny and warm.
Going to the sea.
Have a wonderful day!

In order to become a well rounded surfer, you have to be able to ride anything.  This morning, Seira-chan rode one of Seth Moniz’s high performance board which is only 24 liters.  It’s much more challenging to catch waves, but once you’re up, it surfs really well.

It’s pretty impressive to be able to ride this board.  I tried it and couldn’t even paddle it.  

Seira-chan’s been averaging 3 turns per wave.  Total control from start to finish.  That’s what the judges want to see.

Then we started having heats.  In Japan, the heats are 13 minutes so that’s what we practiced.  For that short amount of time, you can’t make any mistakes.  The girls were hassling each other and being very competitive.  It was pretty cool to judge.

I was trying to explain strategy from a judges perspective.  It’s the judges that will make or break you.  

The girls learned today that surfboard selection is very important.  Tomorrow we’ll be riding different boards and having more heats.  I’m hoping for good choice of equipment and good strategy.  

Yes, there is no where else in the would I’d rather be right now.  I’m falling in love with Hawaii more and more as I get older and wiser.  Look at this!

Whoever was surfing at Ala Moana yesterday got a treat.  A pod of about 30 dolphins swam through the lineup.  This is a very rare occurrence.

They literally swam right up to my surfboard.  I just sat there and enjoyed natures free show.  It doesn’t get any better than this.

As the pod swam by, I got this lucky shot.  This was the first time I saw a pod swim so close to the surfers like this.  Look at the cute baby dolphin.  We all saw it today and now we get to see it again now.