the waves were absolutely perfect yesterday! i couldn’t believe how many empty unridden waves i saw barrel flawlessly. welcome to perfect ala moana bowls!

Local Motion Maki Yamamoto always enjoying every wave.

super stoked to see Sara Wakita making the finals!

such a cute girl and great surfer. i’m sure her dad Wakita is proud of her.

and another Wakita, Taichi. following in his dad’s footsteps. i can’t wait to see this kid charging 15′ pipeline!

Angela Vernon in the finals! i can’t believe this girl just started to shortboard a few years ago and is surfing so good!

as a photographer, these are the split second moments i like to capture. doing the bottom turn, coming up to the top for an off the lip, sprays coming off the tail, determination, nice colors, totally focused, and beautiful diamond head in the background. one of my best shots of the day.

the final could have gone either way, Isaiah or Seth as winners. the scores must have been really close as both kids were unstoppable. Isaiah Moniz on top of his game!

Seth Moniz is the youngest of the 5 Moniz kids. through the years, i’ve seen him get pushed around, seen him always in back of the line, and seen him always get the short end of the stick. not in a bad way, but in a natural way of growing up as the youngest. i use to tell my friends that Seth is going to be the most fierce competitor of the family. now the time has come. this kid doesn’t want to be last anymore, he wants to be first in everything he does. the little kid taking down the bigger kids fair and square. i love it! congratulations to everybody who entered the contest. you guys and girls are all winners!

HUGE!
Good morning 6:20am.
South shore down.
Waist to chest high at Ala Moana.
Shoulder high at Diamond Head.
Trade winds at 15mph so nice off shore conditions.
Clouds, sun, showers, and welcome back rainbows!
Going surfing.
Have a wonderful day!

wow, i got the front row seat today for the contest. super stoked to spend 4 straight hours on the back of the water patrol jet ski enjoying the day, the waves, and the surfing. Kyle was my driver and we kept talking and talking about surfing, diving, and fishing. super cool guy!

it’s days like this that i’ve been waiting for ever since these kids were in their diapers. to see my 2 little nephews so grown up and on top of the hawaiian surfing world makes me so happy. Seth and Isaiah Moniz in the finals of the pro am. it all started with 48 top pro surfers, and these 2 kids got 1st and 2nd in the whole contest. i couldn’t be any more proud then i am now.

super stoked to see the girls in the girls division surfing so good too.

and super stoked to see the women in the womens division surfing so good too.

and the juniors ripping!

the men ripping too!

and my favorite heat, the masters! all friends and all good people.

1st place Seth Moniz! the youngest, and i think the hungriest.

then i took my skateboard and went to the other side of the park to check out my friend Brandon and his super cool house on wheels! he told me it’s for sale and if i had a place to park it, i would buy it right now! if you’re interested, let me know and i’ll hook you up with Brandon.

then they were getting the lantern ceremony ready for tonight. gosh, i wish i could have stayed but i was so tired and sunburnt. 4 hours straight on the jet ski, 400 photos taken, lots of excitement watching all my friends compete. what a wonderful day here in hawaii.
and wanted to welcome back the tradewinds! cool and offshore for the next 4 months!