The Hawaii State Championship surfing contest is happening right now at Bowls so the best of the best surfers from all islands are here. We surfed the past 2 mornings before the contest and it was very crowded. All the best kids ripping Ala Moana Bowls. It was good to see how they approached the wave. I learned a lot by just watching.
Sometimes you catch the wave, and sometimes you miss. That’s surfing.
I still remember pulling up to this secret spot on a secret island in Japan over 10 years ago. A few years before this, I kept a 7’0 gun on the island just in case of a day like this. It turned out to be the perfect board because nothing shorter would have worked. Somebody asked me how big that day was and I just told them “big!” Look how small I look and look how small my 7’0 surfboard is. That’s big and pretty dangerous when you think about it because there are no lifeguards or nobody will save you if you got into trouble. Typhoon season in Japan is basically “surf at your own risk.”
I want to wish Tokura-san a Happy 76th Birthday! It was a pleasure surfing with you here in Hawaii. I wish you another year of good health and happiness! Let’s go Japan Typhoon surf trip!
