Here in Hawaii!
Tadaima!!!!!!

BOTTOM:
REIKA NORO
ALYSSA WOOTEN
AYAKA SUZUKI
ASAKA MIZUNO
HIKARU OKURA
KYLE NAKAMOTO
YASUMORI TOKURA
TOP:
TAKAMI TODA
TOMIYASU TODA
MASATOSHI KONO
KIRBY FUKUNAGA
KOSEI YASUDA
i just went through the 5000 or so photos from our trip and all i have
to say that it’s been a long 2 weeks since i left hawaii. so many good
memories and so many great experiences. just as you think you’ve been
thought it all, more things come your way. this group was the toughest
groups i’ve been with and i still can’t believe nobody threw up. haha.
putting these trips together is a lot of work but when it’s all said and
done, it’s worth every minute. i’m going to start planning for next
years trip and the bummer thing is only 11 lucky people can go. i’m
still smiling about our last day of the trip when it was sunny and the
waves were perfect. we had the spot to ourselves and the waves couldn’t
have been any better. then towards the end, it was just zuccho and
myself trading waves with nobody out. you couldn’t have asked for a
better way to end a trip.
traveling is a part of my life. i just can’t get enough and where will
i go next? your guess is just as good as mine. i’ll go home and look
at my world map, point out somewhere, and that’s where i will go. but
for now, i’m going to get on my airplane, sip on a champagne, say a
cheers to all the people i’ve spent time with this past 2 weeks, say
“otsukaresama desu,” and go to sleep. and when i open my eyes, i’ll be
back to my beautiful paradise island called “HAWAII.”

nothing beats eating fresh sashimi and poke every evening for 10 days. this is like a daily routine on our boat trips for the past 10 plus years. i’d estimate thousands of dollars each trip ranging from lobster sashimi, to ika, to tai, to GT, and much more of a selection. my favorite has to be the spicy poke wrapped in nori dipped in ponzu and yuzukosho. OMG!

add a bintang and friends, then you got a floating party every night!

somebody asked me how i know Kosei-san. the answer? my blog. it was over 2 years ago when this successful family/business man sent me an email expressing his passion for surfing and traveling. i could read between the words that he really wanted to enter our world. now, he’s in it living and surfing his dream. his surfing level went up 5 levels from 2 years ago and we were all stoked to see him smiling after every session. big bottom turn at Bintangs!

Alyssa Wooten on her first boat mentawai boat trip. good to see this young talented energetic girl chasing her dreams. we had some great conversations on the boat and now i know this girl 10x more than i thought i did. good to watch her growing up.

we hardly got to dive on this trip. maybe only 4 times? but this dive outside HT’s was my favorite. Asako and Reika wanted to learn how to free dive so the came out to the blue water and i couldn’t stop laughing at their faces and screams. i was down 50′ on one dive and could hear the girls screaming on the surface. classic!

to tell you the truth, i couldn’t believe our boat didn’t break in half, crack, or flip over during the first night storm. i slept with my mask and snorkel just to prepare for the worst. but after surviving that, the Naga Laut proved it can take a beating and keep on ticking!