the airlines are getting so strict now days with excess baggage. before, the domestic flights in japan had no limit but now? only 20 kilos? what? i pulled up to haneda airport with 44 kilos. they told me that i had to either pay, or carry on 24 kilos with me. so what did i do???

carry on 24 kilos…
i flew with ANA and that will probably be my last time. i have a magic vip card from JAL and all my luggage to bali and okinawa was free, including my surfboards, and everybody else’s….

check out this photo of the happy BARRELS FAMILY….

there is a place in okinawa where:
if you wear okinawan made slippers, you get a free beer….
and if you wear a okinawan hat, you get 2 free beers….

and if your a girl who wears a bikini in the restaurant, you get half off your bill. haha.. how funny is that? in okinawa, it’s ok. but in america, this bar will be sued. why? because this is a classic act of discrimination. but america is america and okinawa is okinawa. see you at that restaurant this summer…

hello, just got off the boat from mentawai. awesome trip. score!! big barrels. i wrote a few blogs on the boat but had no internet connection so couldn’t post them. check it out.
hello from the mentawai islands. going to lose my signal so going to make it fast. first, the waves are going off!!! i thought nothing could be better than last year but i was wrong. we’re only on day 4 and i’m ready to go home. surfed out!!! barreled out!!! HT’s was going off!! we pulled up 2 days ago and nobody was out. 4-6′ with huge 8′ sets doubling up and barreling. we scored!!! then today? same thing but cleaner. took over 3000 photos and already have enough to publish in 3 magazines. not to mention a DVD. the weather is perfect, the swell is pumping, and the vibe is awesome. i don’t think anybody on this boat could be any happier..
we’re all having a great time so please don’t worry if your love one is on this boat. we didn’t have an internet signal to now. so here i am typing away while everybody is sleeping. we’re traveling 11 hours tonight to the southern tip of the mentawai’s. we surfed 7 spots already and are going for the record of surfing the most surf spots in a 12 day period.
aah… i’m getting tired. better get to sleep because we have lots to do tomorrow. first, check out this sneak peak….

when you travel, you have to travel with good people. this trip, there are great people. people from all walks of life having a great time in the middle of the ocean. gosh, i wish you were here….

since this is a huge project that will be featured in 3 magazines, i better not reveal too much. this was how HT’s was yesterday and today. this guys name is RedDog and he’s over 6′ so imagine the size of the waves. BIG and BARRELING!!! AND UNCROWDED!!! i shot over a thousand photos in this session, got barreled out of my mind, and broke 2 boards. it’s a tough job but somebody has to do it. wait till you see all the photos and video. it’s going to blow your mind….

if you go on boat trips with us, you will be able to eat fresh sashimi every night. we surf, then we dive for our evening sashimi platter, then we surf again. then as the sun sets, out comes the bintangs and the sashimi. diving is always a team effort and so is preparing the fish. wanted to thank everybody involved in making our evening pupu sessions a success. i can’t wait to see what we catch tomorrow…

this was sashimi platter for day 3. fresh fish and fresh poke. i’ll introduce all the members on this boat trip in an upcoming blog. but for now, just wanted to tell my family and friends around the world “Hello and wish you were here.”
and as for my emails, haven’t been able to check it. get back to you after i return to hawaii. mahalo…

i was at the honolulu airport waiting for my flight when i opened up the latest hawaii fishing newspaper. in there, there was an interesting article somebody wrote about how the DNLR is screwed up. for all of you who don’t know, the DNLR stands for DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES. it’s this government organization that makes and enforces the laws of our oceans. they make the rules and we have to follow. no overnight fishing? what? anyway, the person who wrote the article was really upset on how the DNLR is operating. lies? nonsense? ridicule? yeah, i read a lot in the article. but because i don’t judge something by just one side of the story, i’m a lot more interested in it now. and when i get back to hawaii, i’m going to look more into it.
but one thing in the article that made me stop and think was this sentence this person wrote:
i like tourists. i really do. believe me, i do.
we are a tourist destination remember.
be nice to the tourist. they make our economy.
go round and round and up and down.
but what i do not like is when the tourist
come to hawaii and forget to go home.
make house and tell us locals how we supposed to live.


WOW!!! strong words. i had to read that over and over. the reason he wrote this is because the DNLR chairperson is named laura thielen and she’s not from hawaii. that thought was stuck in my head as i almost missed my flight. yeah, the door was closing and i was just sitting down thinking about this. as i rushed onto the plane, this was still in my mind. want to hear my point of view? no? sorry, your going to have to.
being that the ocean is part of everybody’s life in hawaii, i feel that unless you fish, dive, surf, or appreciate the ocean as much as the local people of hawaii, you shouldn’t be in the top seat making rules. i think that position should be run by a well respected local that knows the ins and outs of hawaii and it’s oceans. nobody outside of hawaii should be in that role when making decisions on culture and traditions. it’s almost like somebody from india becoming the president of japan? yeah, think about it.
when i get back to hawaii, i’m going to look more into this issue because it’s not about me and now, it’s about our children and the future. keep you posted…