of the 70 days or so Seira-chan came to Hawaii last year, i couldn’t take her free diving because of the conditions.  it was either too windy, too rough, or the water was too dirty.  so yeah, it never happened.  yesterday, everything came together.  it was as beautiful as it gets and it couldn’t have been a better day for her first free dive experience.  so i took her to my favorite turtle spot to free dive with them…i had to even teach her how to use a snorkel.  then i gave her a few tips, then she just did it.  swimming down effortlessly into the deep blue.  towards the end of the day, i dove down 40′ to the bottom, and when i turned around to go back up, she was right behind me.  OMG!  this is 30′ deep and she is totally relaxed.  i’ve never seen anyone hit 30′ on their very first free dive experience.  i was so amazed, but at the same time, i knew she could do it.  can’t wait to take her again and go even deeper.  and maybe bump into some dolphins…    there were so many fish!!!  i kept on diving down and they wouldn’t run away.  so i go back to Mayuki to grab my speargun.  once i got back in, the fish saw my speargun, they just vanished.  that was pretty crazy because i never seen that before.  they just knew i went from snorkeler to hunter…thank you Seira-chan for being so brave in the ocean, and for all the wonderful snacks from Japan.  that Tokushima nori is my favorite!and thank you also for the freshly baked blueberry muffin.  it was delicious!

Dawn Patrol Surf Club…

Good morning 5am.

North shore small in the morning but coming up later today.

Ala Moana small all day.  Waist high sets.

Diamond Head bumpy and getting windy.

Trade winds back at 20mph.

Sun, clouds, showers, and rainbows.

Going surfing.

Have a wonderful day!

good to see Seira-chan out surfing by herself.  in total control, and enjoying each moment…and inspiring others everyday…it was day 2 for Maruyama-san.  in the 2 hours we were out, he must have caught 20 waves.  when i said “go,”  he went!  today we were practicing style.  how to look cool and in control he is…and how to look cool and in control he is doing a cutback. thank you Maruyama-san for the great morning.  so stoked to see you ripping!   then loaded up Mayuki for 2 rounds in the afternoon.  when it comes to free diving, i have everything ready to go!  it was a last minute tour.  got a call from a friend that was looking for a boat for a photoshoot.  yeah, Mayuki is the best for that.  and i told him, “today is the best day out of the year for weather, warmth, calmness, and water clarity.”  it was absolutely perfect…the models jumped in, they shot in the most crystal emerald color water, and i’m sure the photos came out amazing.  shooting from under water, and shooting for over water.  i think every single photo must have been so nice.  then took them to see the turtles.  they were so excited to see 20 turtles!  the girls were happy, so was i.  and as i was heading in looking at the cleanest water ever, i thought about Seira-chan.  she wanted to go diving ever since last year but the timing was never right.  so i called her and said “jump on a bike and meet me at the yacht club right now!”  20 minutes later, we were free diving.  it was her first time and like i imagined, she was an instant mermaid…