good evening. i pulled up to sandy beach this morning. i went there for 2 reasons. first, to get my timing back. i’ve been surfing perfect waves all year and ever since i got back to hawaii, my timing has been off. from taking off to doing a simple off the lip, i’m confused. i miss taking off, doing a bottom turn, and pulling into perfect barrels… anyway, surfing sandy beach is the hardest place in the world to surf. the waves are shifty, bumpy, powerful, and tricky. i remember watching kelly slater surf for the first time out there. he was lost. and he lost 1st round in a contest that he was supposed to dominate. so surfing sandy’s will get your timing back….
the second reason i went there was to go back to my roots. i grew up surfing there and it’s been a long time since i seen the boys. i was so happy to see guys like greg stubber, john morikami, and marshall crum still ripping out there this morning. the waves were 3-4′ and only 5 guys out. i usually surf for 20 minutes or so but i stayed out for 2 1/2 hours because i liked the vibe and the waves were fun. everybody is so friendly out there and it felt good to hear “happy holidays” and “merry christmas” and all the laughter. then i went to costco and seen a few friends in there. same thing, “happy holidays and merry christmas”.. gosh, i miss hawaii kai…. after today’s session, i decided to surf sandy beach more often. makes me feel the true aloha spirit without all the negative vibes i sometimes get out at the north shore. nobody needs contest points, nobody needs photos, and nobody needs fame. people surf sandy beach just to surf!!! that’s roots….
when ever i go to japan, people always give me gifts. this one is super special. junko-san from the TSSC showroom gave me this custom made piece of art. i was amazed by her skills. she carved a stamp out of an eraser. i’m not joking!! this stamp is handmade and it takes a lot of talent to do something so creative. i have it on my desk and every time i look at it, i get happy…. thank you so much junko-san!!! see you in shikoku next year!!!!
this is me. surfer/diver/photographer. look at the details in this stamp. pretty amazing…..
you know how japanese have their hand stamp or “hanko”, which they use to sign important documents and stuff. it’s like their signature. it’s usually round with their family name in kanji. well, since i don’t have a “hanko”, i’m going to use this as mine. next time i have to sign an important paper, i’m going to stamp it with this. i’m so stoked!!!
