Yesterday once more:  Mighty Mouse at mighty blue Waikiki!

Good morning 3am.
Ala Moana shoulder high and good.
Diamond Head head high and bumpy.
Trade winds at 20mph.
Sunny and warm.
Going to surf.
Have a wonderful day!

Early morning at Bowls was super fun.  Lots of waves and all the boys ripping!  Mika Akima on the NEV surfboard.

Today was 100% locals only.  Pretty cool that this spot is somewhat controlled.  And I hope it will always be.

After seeing all the chaos in Waikiki yesterday, I told myself, “once a year at this place for me.”  I would be a very upset man if I had to surf there everyday.  You can feel the tension in the air.

I took my friends son surfing out at Queen’s to get a couple wave.  Good to see kids enjoying Waikiki like this.  It’s a beautiful place, but still once a year for me so you won’t be seeing me there for a while.

When we went for Round 2 today, the waves seemed like it got bigger.  So we grabbed our 7’6 guns and paddled to the furthest reef outside of Waikiki.  We waited patiently and when the sets came, it was 5′ and good!  Also steep and dangerous as this girl got smashed by this wave.

For an hour, the waves kept on coming so we kept on riding.  You need a big board to paddle into these waves.  Last time we didn’t, this time we did.  So it was pretty easy taking off and doing these deep bottom turns.  Then the tide got too high and the waves disappeared.  We were already content and paddled in very happy big wave surfers on this happy Sunday!

“While sailing the Mediterranean Sea in 1962, the American aircraft carrier USS Independence flashed the Amerigo Vespucci with the light signal asking: “Who are you?” The full-rigged ship answered: “Training ship Amerigo Vespucci, Italian Navy.” The Independence replied: “You are the most beautiful ship in the world.”

Yes, that’s the story on why this ship is called the most beautiful ship in the world.  And after going on it and seeing all the fine details, I must agree.  It’s nearly a 100 year old ship, has 450 crew, length measured to 100.5 m (329 ft 9 in), and has 26 sails.  You won’t see anything like this, let alone board a ship like this.   So if I were you, I would check it out it as it sails around the world this year.

Next destination is Tokyo, Japan on August 26-30.