good evening. gosh, the days are just getting better and better. sunnier, calmer, better waves, cleaner water, and just everything is getting better. i went to the north shore again early morning and oh my gosh!! pure beauty… but first, let me introduce you to my new toys i got yesterday..

the newest canon 40d camera with all the goodie lenses, including a new fisheye…

and the newest SPL housing and ports for the goodies.. just to let you know, updating camera, computer, and digital equipment costs bucks. so when the next guy that’s not my good friend asks me for a free photo. i will get his address and send him the $5,000 bill. how’s that? and in the meantime, i want to take this time to thank ALL the photographers these past 20 years that gave me free photos. you guys are great and i will never forget it…. but please don’t send me the invoice… ouch….

so here it is. same as yesterday. pulled up to backdoor and seen a perfect aframe barrel. the weather was still dark so i wanted to get in the water before the boys got there. as i was paddling out, i was thinking that i’m going to wait for a big perfect one and if i make it, that would be enough for today. i got a few waves and there it was. a 6′ aframe set coming right at me. i heard ross williams yelling “go” and so i went. took off, bottom turned, seen it running so i pulled in high and just drove all way through the barrel. made it out but the spit blew so hard at my back that it blew me off my board. shit, i was stoked. maybe the best barrel of the year for me…. actually probably…. so that was it for me. more epic days coming so don’t want to be too greedy…

so what do kids do when they get new toys? right, play with them… this is the first shot i took with my new equipment. when i seen this on the view finder, i tripped out and couldn’t wait to get into the water….

i got insane shots of all the boys. sunny garcia, jamie obrien, tory barron, and shuji kasuya. too good to waste on a blog. already emailed them to surfing magazine and i don’t see why they wouldn’t run it. it’s that good…. i don’t know who this guy is but i’d be stoked if that was me….

all this time, i was wondering how guys like scott aichner and u-ske get such beautiful photos. i think i figured it out today. besides being expert swimmers and photographers, they had something that i didn’t. a fisheye lens. you can’t get shots like this without it… this is tory barron pulling in at off the wall….. this is how beautiful today was….

and last, besides traveling, surfing, diving, photography, fishing, and drinking. i have other hobbies. one being ice skating… i skated for 2 hours last night and i’m getting better and better. so if there is anybody that wants to challenge me in speed skating, meet you at ice palace next friday 7pm sharp…. haha… just joking…

did you know that one of every 100 american adults are in jail or prison? and did you know that prison costs are six times greater than for higher education spending? what is this america coming too???

and get this. the 2008 WCT billabong mundaka pro is cancelled!! the competitors must be bummed….
***and now to leave you off with a killer clip from jake shimabukuro’s “while my guitar gently weeps”….. that’s if your not one of the 2.1 million who saw it already….

good evening. woke up 5am, picked up micah at 6am, and got to the north shore before 7am….

pulled up and seen 3 perfect backdoor waves been ridden by surfers i haven’t seen before. that’s how i knew it was uncrowded. we grabbed our boards and was out there. and yeah, it was uncrowded. the waves were 4′ in the beginning. then it seemed like it was dropping around 8am, then it started coming up again. i’d say solid 6′ with 8′ sets. there was even a second reef wave break catching everybody off guard. as for the condtions, epic. no winds and just sheet glass. the cool thing about today was everybody was mellow. nobody hassling or dropping in. it was a fun session at one of the world’s most famous surf spots…. i came in after a few hours and just couldn’t leave. the waves were just too beautiful. after hanging on the beach talking story, i’d figure i’d paddle back out and catch one more wave and call it a day. only one….

so there it was, a perfect backdoor wave out the back. i took off, bottom turned, and looked down the line. i was too deep and couldn’t make it so i straightened out and went in. with the next 10 day forecast expecting 3 swells with perfect light trade winds, i knew there would be more, much more…. i’m going to surf smart in march and catch waves that i can make so it will lessen my chances of getting hurt and lessen the chances of breaking magic boards. by the way, off the wall was epic and nobody was out. and no photographers in the water too. i guess that’s why it’s not crowded. the photo sluts went home. i’m the only one left. haha… i’m a pretty happy guy right now. thanks gordinho for this photo from today…

on the way back, i dropped micah off at haleiwa. gosh, haleiwa was going off too. the waves were 3-5′ and so fun. but i’m still in barrel mode so i’m just going to focus on getting my barrel or barrels of the year at backdoor. then when it’s all done, i’ll get my small board out and play around. gosh, i’m so happy that i’m going to have a hard time sleeping tonight. can’t wait till tomorrow. guarantee epic surf on the north shore…. good night….

by the way, the women’s pro bodyboard contest at pipeline gallery is up. check it out by CLICKING HERE…..