it was in 1999 when i was invited on a surfing life magazine trip to south africa. after over 28 hours of flying, we finally arrived at cape town. we checked into a house overlooking the beach and everything seemed perfect until our guide told us that cape town was rated the most dangerous city in the world for murders and aids. and also great white shark attacks. honestly, i was scared…. anyway, we ended up surfing there for a few days and drove 12 hours up to jeffery’s bay. 2 cars speeding at 140mph non-stop. why? so we wouldn’t get stopped and kidnapped. it was crazy, but it was cool….

since it was too dangerous to go clubbing or to bars at night, we just stayed in our rented house and drank $2 bottles of fine wine. a lot of bottles, every single night…. then what do 5 drunk surfers do? act nuts. shuji kasuya, sekiya, tetsu urayama, shorty, and i fooling around in a little house on the other side of the world. i still don’t know who’s idea this was. but now that i look back at this photo, it was a great memory for all of us. that was an awesome trip. surfing j-bay 6′ and perfect every day, eating oysters, abalone, 1 kilo steaks, drinking wine, bbq’s, wild safari’s, almost getting attacked by huge elephants, and a lot more….

chris van lennep took awesome photos from the water swimming with the sharks, or from land. we ended up getting a huge 16 page article in the magazine and shuji kasuya got the coolest cover shot. i ended up getting 4 two page spreads that are right here in my portfolio. a trip i will always remember. back then we didn’t have emails and stuff so i just want to say this to the crew. “thanks guys for the awesome trip. it might be 10 years ago but i remember all the great moments of that trip. let’s do it again”…..

good morning. 6am and it’s so lighted outside. i guess the dawn patrollers can surf at 5am? lucky yeah? the waves look small and fun. it looks waist high and then a big head high set will come in every 15 minutes. 16 surfers out at bowls. north shore has some small waves but onshore winds. i’m getting kind of bored surfing small waves everyday. i’m going to find something else to do today. umm….

this is ren murakami, shun’s younger brother. he’s got a personality that is totally opposite from shun. this kid makes me laugh….

ren was walking around the TSSC contest with these sticks in his nose making seth laugh. that’s how they communicate… all these kids do is laugh at each other…

and speaking of seth. i was trying to take a much needed afternoon nap when i was in japan. even though i had my ear plugs in, he was laughing and taking so loud that i couldn’t sleep. he was video chatting with his friends back in hawaii and it was driving me nuts.. oh, kids, kids, kids….
**wanted to say hi to toda-san. i got your email. i will pick you up from the airport. don’t worry, we will go to yogurt land. and eat shoyu chicken, and eat steak. and surf queen’s and catch every wave. see you guys soon….
**and wanted to say hello to jared katakura. thanks for the info on sign language classes. i would love to go but i won’t be back to hawaii until june 24th. do you think i can jump in? i’ll probably be lost yeah???? gosh, i reallly want to learn how to sign language. i’ll send the info out because i’m sure there are more people that would want to learn.
**and to all of you who’s inquiring about my spear guns i put on craigslist. i’m meeting 2 guys tomorrow who want to buy both guns. i put the price for cheap and i didn’t know 30 guys would call me. i’ll keep you posted when i have more.
**and to mayumi-san from kyoto’s question on dolphins. dolphins are amazing creatures. if you ever encounter them in the ocean, you will see their beauty. they will make you happy. and how do i feel about dolphins in captivity at places like sea world? i think it’s sad. i’m not a supporter of dolphins taken out of the ocean and kept in small tanks for amusement. before i didn’t think about it but after i see them all the time swimming freely in the open ocean, i makes me sad to think that some are kept in such small tanks. kawaiso….

good evening. wow, what a chilly day here in hawaii. felt like winter again. cold north winds making for cold surf. i surfed bowls. the waves were chest high with freak head high sets. fun fun fun….

i just got my new dove wetsuit. i ordered a 2mm rubber suit for cold days like today. it was the first time i wore a rubber suit and i was the warmest guy in the water today. now i’m going to order a full suit that will keep me warm whether i’m surfing or diving. it feels like i’m wearing nothing. the naked feeling… i’ve been getting a lot of comments on my wetsuits by both surfers and divers. and i’ll tell you the same thing i tell them. dove makes the best quality wetsuits in the world. and if you want to stay warm, you should be wearing one too.. CLICK HERE FOR DOVE SURFING WETSUITS DOT COM…..

this is susan nishida MD. yeah, an internal medicine doctor that surfs. always happy and smiling… check out doctor susan’s killer airbrush that jeannie chesser did. that’s what you call…. ART…..

and last, little kid meets big bell. seth moniz. april 7, 2009 in wakayama, japan…..