good evening. what a day today. pulled up at pipeline before 6am and it was pitch dark. but you know what? the parking was full, boards were out, and everybody showed up. i’d say 200 plus, a couple of boats, couple of jet skis, and a beautiful morning. we formed a pretty big circle and you could just feel how lester touched every single person there. it was pretty amazing… as lester’s brother said “Lester loved everybody”…. that says it all…. i’m going to miss lester answering his cell phone in the lineup, sharing waves, and that big smile…..

as i was sitting in the lineup at pipe this morning, i was checking out the reef. it was super shallow and you could see all the caves and rocks. i was thinking about if the japanese surfers that surf pipe know what lies below them. i was swimming out at 10-15′ pipe last winter and was pretty much standing on the reef shooting photos. then i seen kamogawa’s yukio ogawa take off on a bomb, bottom turn, and pull into this closeout. i thought he was nuts. and still do. this year, i’m going to think about it twice before pulling into some monster closeout like this….
**and last, yesterday was the 7th anniversary of 9/11. where were you? i was sleeping when my friend bobby woke me up and told me to turn on the tv. right as i turned it on, the second airplane went into the second tower. i thought it was a dream. and still do….

Diving Ikitai na…..

good morning. 4:30am and north shore bound. have a nice day…
**turned on the news last night and seen todd doing an interview after being attacked by a shark at crouching lion. yeah, crouching lion. the same crouching lion i’ve surfed many times, took my japanese friends to surf many times, and also the same crouching lion i dove many times. makes you really think. shit, it could have been anybody. then they closed laniakea and chuns yesterday because of a big tiger shark in the area. then they closed a few beaches on the big island because of sharks. what? is it breeding season? you know, experts say that the chances of an average person being attacked by a shark is one in millions. but these experts don’t factor in that us surfers and divers spend most of our lives in the ocean so the odds are much higher. yeah, the chance of a tourist that swims in waikiki once a year chances are slim, but for us? much more… makes me think. makes me really think….

i took this photo of todd murashige in the finals at the surf into summer contest at bowls a few months ago. i think he won it. i hope he recovers soon. ganbatte todd….

and last, wanted to say what’s up to reyton from kauai. here he is dropping in on an outer reef on the south shore of kauai. reyton, surf safe and watch out for the sharks out there….