went out for a quick dive today and on the way out from the harbor, got stopped by the Coast Guard. they told me to pull over, show them my fire extinguisher, flares, CB radio, life jackets, drivers license, and boating license. then they asked me if i had a weapon on board. i told them, “yes, i have a speargun on board all the time.” everything checked out ok and i was good to go. it’s just routine to make sure everybody is safe. i’m always organized when it comes to safety and following the rules. one of the Coast Guard was stoked to come on the boat because he wants to buy the exact same one. i told him “you are a very smart man. this is the best boat in the world.”

then i went out and enjoyed this beautiful day. i couldn’t believe how clean and calm the water was. it doesn’t get any better than this.

just thought i’d take a panorama. did a quick dive looked around, seen a big Ono come in but not close enough. lucky fish. found a new secret fishing spot with so many fish in about 130′ deep water! can’t wait to go back with my bigger gun and fishing poles. for sure i’ll catch something.

ever flew Trigana Air before? i did once in indonesia a very long time ago and was really scared because the airplane looked old.

come to find out, another one crashed! omg, no survivors and $500,000 cash that was onboard gone. next time i’ll think twice before boarding this airlines.

and ever been to thailand before? terrorist set off a bomb in a tourist area and a lot of people died. what a scary world we live in these days. not too motivated to travel to third world countries anymore. i’ll just stick to japan and hawaii for now.

last, this girl that works at McDonald’s in taiwan is being called the “McDonald’s Goddess.” very smart marketing plan. good job McDonald’s. i feel like eating chicken mcnuggets now. haha.

Sorry!

we are expecting a Godzilla El Nino this year! good for us surfers because warm water means big storms means big waves. BUT, the weather will be unpredictable too. super storms, super rain, landslides, and all sorts of natural disasters. get ready for a crazy year!

paddling out with Masamune-kun yesterday was fun. we went over some big waves on the way out. normal people would be freaking out, but this kid was laughing. it’s been a year since he surfed so Masamune-kun was super stoked to be back in the water.

first wave perfect! he remembered everything i taught him. so surfing was super fun and pretty easy!

we were riding so many waves. a super happy day!

i asked again what Masamune-kun’s dreams were. he said the same thing as last year “i want to become an engineer, or become a doctor.” i’m pretty sure he can become both! see you again tomorrow Masamune-kun!

found these photos in my super old hard drive. this was about 15 years ago in north sumarta, indonesia. we were one of the first to explore that area by boat. in fact, we were the only boat there, no surf camps, or absolutely nothing around. turned out to be good waves and excellent diving. now, there are lots of boats, and too many surf camps. this place will never be the same. anyway, back then, i would dive every afternoon for our evening pupu’s. each drop on each dive was like walking through a fish market. i would get to the bottom, wait around, then pretty much choose what i wanted to eat. 30 minutes later, i’d be back to the boat with a mixed bag of sashimi. that was the easy part. the hard part was cleaning the fish, filleting it, and making the sashimi platter.

this would go on 11 days straight. there wasn’t a day we didn’t get to eat fresh sashimi, including lobster too. it went very well with the bin tang beers. gosh, i really miss those very simple living days!