Kona Winds

Kona winds....go dive! That was the agenda for today. Get fish for the New Year's party. Got to the harbor at 7:00 am and the parking lot was full. Boats were making a dash for the buoys and the first thing we see is this awesome double rainbow that was picture perfect!

The Hanapa'a boys were out on a troll and Reid was anxious to get out as soon as possible.

We spent our time for pelagics but to no avail so reef action it was...Kirby got a nice Omilu and we got enough fish for the rest of the week.

Kirby's protege, Maki even speared her first fish! Look out Kimi Werner, you may have a new dive partner calling you soon.

We were so hungry after diving we fillet one of our fish right on the sidewalk, took out some wasabi and shoyu and it was sashimi time. Surf coming up tomorrow on the north so wax up and go surf!

Pipe Dreams

Another perfect day in paradise! I woke up early today with no alarm clock and decided to go for a quick surf to get the day started. I haven't got to surf pipe recently so took out my bigger board and was the 10th guy in the line up. My eastside buds Wade Tokoro, Jon Taba, and Rick Shimabukuro was out and it felt like old times again. Jon would always be pushing me to charge when the lip was throwing over and I had to go or wouldn't hear the end of it.

Mike Stewart was out and 25 other guys but everyone was taking turns and was cool to get a few good ones. Now I remember how good this wave is and how heavy as well.

Backdoor was also working so it helped with the crowd factor. Guys were getting pitted and spitted out the barrel both ways. Buoys coming down for a day but back up tomorrow night. I need fish for New Year's Party so gotta go dive!

North Shore Up

Today Northshore is up! I drove up around the eastside and it wasn't happening so I was forced to make the drive to the country. After checking all the spots I was tired of driving so I fueled up on a Ted's bakery pastry and paddled out Sunset Beach. Luckily I had my quiver in the van so I could go out. Saw the heavy weights out along with Randy Rarrick, Dennis Pang, and Waimea boys.

Took a spin past the Pipeline and it was going off too in the 6-8 ft. range with spitting barrels. This week should be full of surf, sun, and sea breezes so catch it early if you can.

Christmas Grinds

What a day of food, family, and fun. For starters we began with the appetizers from Crow's Creations. Fresh opihi, sashimi, poke...

I tried my luck with a frozen uhu and pulled out Kimi Werners Ti-leaf steamed uhu recipe but the uhu was too big so I baked it. 45 minutes in the oven was perfect for this bad boy.

There was so many grinds enough to last through the new year!

After lunch I had to make sure my new wetsuit would still fit. Thank goodness I bought the larger size with room to expand and strech for holiday feasts like this.

We ended the day with a afternoon surf at one of my secret spots where I could burn off those calories for the next New Years party. Kona winds are here! You know what that means?

Merry Christmas!

This morning I started my Christmas shopping and heading straight for one of my favorite dive shops, Hana Pa'a. Owned by the Kaya ohana they have it all!

Next April we are heading to New Zealand so I needed a 5-mil wetsuit and just so happen they got their new "flounder" suit that just so happen fit perfect. Thanks to Sterling I'll be able to represent the HSD Team behind the camera. Hopefully I won't blend in the reef to much where I loose my dive partners.

My friend Bert Akuna called me up to surf a secret spot on the "west side". These guys have been traveling on our Red Sea Boat trips and now that is all they do. Surf around the island on boats.

Eddie Sakoguchi, Dennis Tsutsumi, Jeff Mizuno and his son joined us on this adventure. The waves were like Indo! There were two boats out so we waited 5 minutes, then jumped in! I thought I was at Macaronies for a moment.

What a day! Now gotta go wrap my wetsuit and put it under our Christmas Tree. Have a Merry Christmas everyone and thank you for supporting Red Sea Ocean Adventures! May all your dreams come true!

South Shore Dive

Today the winds were north so that meant go south! Kirby Fukunaga called me to test out his boat that was under repairs so off we went.

Joining us was Ryo Kubota who was lucky enough to make the research expedition. We was doing some close up research in preparation for his doctorate in micro biology. Good thing he had his 3-prong in hand. ha ha!

As we were able to get a few fish for dinner tonight. "Nitsuke" style is the call for tonight and some fresh sashimi for the week. Winds should be moderate for the next few days then light and variable for the second half of the week, just in time for Christmas. Shop now, surf/dive later!

Big Monday

This morning was day 1 of GIANT SURF in Hawaii so I set my alarm and actually woke up! As I approached Waimea Bay the lines of spectators blew my mind. Traffic was crazy! But I found a spot on the railing to see if the "Eddie would go"...

Across the bay you could see hundreds of people like it was the Aloha Stadium. Standing room only with only 4 surfers out at 7:00 am. I heard there were over 40 surfers by noon.

The sets were inconsistent but there were a few big 18-20 ft sets that made the watchers ooh and ahhh...Conditions were not perfect so the "Eddie did not go".

So I left and headed for my favorite bakery on the North Shore to pick up my favorite pastry.

Drove to Makaha hoping for more rideable surf but it too was inconsistent but a few bombs did roll in. The traffic in Waianae is super slow with the road construction so better stay away. Tomorrow should be BIG and little cleaner than today so maybe "Eddie might go".

Fresh Fish

Today was the day to dive! I haven't dove for at least a month with all these waves so when the window opened up I was there! Santa came early and delivered a nice load of uhus, goats, and other fish for dinner. Kirby and Erick was diving with me and after we dove..

Kirby asked Erick to pull out some stitches his doctor forgot to take out. No numbing his hand, Dr. Itoman went to work. We pulled out a razor blade and tweezers and...

Ittaaai! Classic kodak moment. Now Kirby can use his right hand to eat his fresh fish tonight. Surf's coming up so wax up "daniel-san".