when i pulled up to diamond head yesterday morning to check the waves, i couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. picture perfect!

how do you know when the waves are good at diamond head? when there is no parking.

these are the glassy days locals wait for all year long. and when it’s glassy, it’s crowded. that’s why i surf somewhere else.

Shun Murakami at the WSL. can’t believe how grown up this kid is, and can’t believe how good this kid surfs.

cool riding on the back of a jet ski for 2 reasons. first is the view, second is i get up and close with all the surfers. most of all i grew up with, surf with, or just know for years and years.

the Hawaiian Water Patrol shuttle surfers in and out to bowls. so i’m sitting on the back talking story to everybody because everybody knows i like to talk story. haha. here is Joshua and Shun on the way back from their heat. it’s pretty nervous when you don’t know who advanced.

Kaimana Jaquias is the son of my friend Kaipo. Kaipo and i use to hang out in japan together surfing the ASP contests back in the early 1990’s. we had some great times in and out of the water. a good father to this amazing kid.

Seth on the ski like a monkey on my back. haha. this was one of my dreams when Seth was a little boy. to be connected through surfing. and it’s not a dream anymore, it’s real! a lot of people say we look alike. do you think so?

i have to say one thing about japanese. japanese support japanese. some of the boys lost early, but they all came back to support each other. i think that is so special and so respectful. Shun was the last remaining japanese in the contest and when he lost, everybody left. so did i.

want to congratulate Joel Centeio for winning the contest! you were ripping dude!

and want to congratulate my long time friend Sunny Garcia for scaring all the japanese boys in the heats. haha. 2nd place for a 45 year old triathlete is awesome. congratulations Sunny!
FINAL:
1st – Joel Centeio (Haleiwa, Oahu) – 13.25points (9.0; 4.25) – $2,300, 1000 ratings points.
2nd – Sunny Garcia (Haleiwa, Oahu) – 12.9 (6.9; 6.0) – $1,200, 750 ratings points.
3rd – Hank Gaskell – (Hana, Maui) – 11.5 (7.4; 4.5) – $800, 560 ratings points.
4th – Kaimana Jaquias – (Lihue, Kauai) – 6.15 (4.9; 1.25) – $600, 525 ratings points.
SEMI-FINALS – 1st and 2nd advance, 3rd=5th place, 4th=7th place
S1: Joel Centeio; Kaimana Jaquias; Kai Barger; Makai McNamara
S2: Sunny Garcia, Hank Gaskell, Evan Valiere, Luke Shepardson
QUARTER FINALS – 1st and 2nd advance, 3rd=9th place, 4th=13th place
H1: Makai McNamara; Kaimana Jaquias; Seth Moniz; Sheldon Paishon
H2: Joel Centeio; Kai Barger; Robson Santos (BRA); Shun Murakami (JPN)
H3: Hank Gaskell; Sunny Garcia; Kekoa Cazimero; Gavin Sutherland
H4: Luke Shepardson; Evan Valiere; Kalani David; Kevin Sullivan
H8: Kevin Sullivan; Kekoa Cazimero; Kain Daly; Kaulana Apo

A Bee’s Life
Good morning 6am.
South swell continues.
Ala Moana solid 3′ and perfect. Sometimes a 4′ set.
Diamond Head 4′ and perfect.
No wind so glassy morning sessions. Onshore this afternoon.
Super sunny and very warm.
Going surfing all day!
Have a wonderful day!

omg again! the waves were omg so freaking good! perfect 3-5′, no wind, and peeling like something you would see only in indonesia. so far, the best summer ever! and the awesome thing is that there are 2 more back to back swells this week! i’m going to surf until i can’t surf anymore. and even more then that.

took Yokomura-san for a surf today. last year it was big, this year it was big too. but Yokomura-san caught way more waves, and had much bigger smiles.

it’s such a great feeling for me to see everybody enjoying surfing so much. Yokomura-san started surfing at the age of 48, and keeps on telling me how it changed his life so much. he wished he started earlier like most surfers, but i think starting late is better. more mature, more calm, more relax, and more stoke. it’s never too late to start surfing, just ask this happy man.

good bottom turn, good view, good surfing, and good day!

even i was so stoked surfing. haven’t long boarded in a while so felt good riding perfect waves for so long. i wish i could even ride it longer.

seen a lot of fish. that’s rare for out there.

just shot some locals enjoying a perfect summer surfing day.

i want to thank my mom for giving birth to me right here in honolulu. she couldn’t have picked a better place for a baby like me. look how beautiful this is!

then ate some pho and called it a day. thank you Yokomura-san for the wonderful morning. went surfing in the afternoon. wasn’t half as good as morning, but still fun.
more mega swells this summer! see you in the water!