north shore surfing shite kara thai panang curry tabemashita. sugoi
oishikatta…
thai panang curry after a surf session? perfect….

good morning. 6:45am and the waves on the north shore looking epic. 4-6′ and perfect backdoor/pipe/off the wall/everywhere. town has a little wind swell if your desperate. north shore is the place to be and that’s the place i’m going to be. have a nice day!!!

everybody, meet legendary diver, USA olympic swimmer, 33 years kamehameha school teacher, swimming team coach, surf instructor, and one of the nicest guys on earth, Sonny Tanabe. want hawaiian history? just ask sonny. i was fortunate to dive, talk story, and hang out with sonny in tahiti for 4 days. he knows duke kahanamoku, and every single diver or swimmer in hawaii knows sonny tanabe. i can go on and on and on about the accomplishments sonny has done for hawaii but he just came out with a book so you’ll just have to read it yourself. but i can say this, sonny is 74 years old and has paved the way for hundereds, or thousands of swimmers and divers here in hawaii. and he’s a great person that i’m so honored to know….

at age 74, sonny can dive deeper and longer than most of my young dive and surf friends. and when he takes a shot, it’s pinpoint accuracy in the head of the fish. i learned a lot by talking and diving with sonny. i just hope he doesn’t get mad at me for asking so many questions. haha.. i’m just a super curious person….

here is his new book called “spearfishing on the island of hawaii”. i think it’s the first spearfishing book published in hawaii and i see it all over the place. the photos in there are amazing. there’s even one of the duke holding his spear. check it out. anyway, i wanted to take this time to thank sonny for yesterdays lunch, and also for giving me one of his signed book. i’ll keep this forever. and i still have millions of questions i want to ask you……
**and last:
WARNING: NorthWest Airlines New Surfboard Charge
before you buy your next ticket to japan, beware. the new rates on excess surfboard charges on North West Airlines just went up this month. from $84/board to $300/board. yes, $300 per single surfboard. they will open you bag and check so if you have 3 boards, do the math. yes, $900 bucks. and just to let you know. delta bought north west so north west will become delta next year. golf clubs are still free, and get this you lucky body boarders. north west said that bodyboards are free. they use to charge but it’s now free. but that’s only for now. double check before you try to save $50 on your next airline ticket because you might end up paying a lot more for your boards. and i mean a lot more….
**and last last:
please don’t forget the benefit for todd tonight at the willow’s starting at 5pm sharp. see ya there…

good evening. our economy in recession, the yen trading at 93 yen/dollar, stock market crash, terrorists in india, bangkok international airport getting taken over, and now this. “Pirates fire on US cruise ship in hijack attempt.” yeah, a U.S cruse liner with more than 1000 people on board almost got hijacked today in the gulf of aden. what’s up with this world? people laugh at me but when ever i go on boat trips in third world countries, i sleep with my passport, money, and my mask/snorkel right next to me. i thought of my plan and if that day ever comes, which i hope not, i will be ready to survive and get help. i’d jump off, stay under the boat, and swim away underwater when i get the chance. call for help, buy a freakin gun, borrow a locals boat, and go rescue the rest of the crew. maybe i’m watching too much movies? haha.. but really, the last thing i want to be is a hostage. no way. i’d rather risk my life escaping then to be held hostage. if i’m a hostage, i can’t surf or dive. that’s hostage enough….

wanted to congratulate russ and yoshika again on their newborn baby girl tia. and sorry yoshika for keeping russ out until 3am the morning before you gave birth. we had to celebrate!!! it’s a guys thing. welcome to america… haha…

i’m still so amazed on babies. so precious…..

i took this photo last year and totally forgot about it. this is the waikiki strip. i call this photo “Honolulu City Lights”. maybe my new screen saver. anyway, waves got big and out of control up on the north shore. i had a great day eating lunch with former USA olympic swimmer and legend free diver sonny tanabe. more on sonny tanabe tomorrow. then i drove around the island shopping for new dive gear. santa told me i could get a new gun. thanks santa….
**and last, check out this slide show of the 2008 pipeline bodyboard chicks going wild at pipe….