ServeCrow?

Well have owning over 20 used cars in his lifetime, my dad picked up his first new truck! Mahalo to Jason Hijirida over at Servco who patiently answered all his questions. I think the company will have to change their name to "ServeCrow". If you want to buy the best brand of car from the best salesman in Hawaii, go see da "Hij". Congratulations on the new truck! I can borrow? Ha ha!

A Christmas Message

There was once a little boy who wished for a star. He couldn't fathom how far away it was but knew in his heart if he tried really hard that his dream would come true. He worked hard, saved his money, went to school, and one day...

He was able to buy lots of presents for his family and friends. He wasn't rich, nor was he poor but having a family with lots of friends who believed in him made him feel adored. He realized that the star that shined from above even if it couldn't be seen at times, still was there burning bright as before.

The young boy then grew to a wise old man and realized it's not about the money or fame or amount of toys we have, but about having a loving family, good health, and time to enjoy them. We have lots to be thankful for this Christmas! Tink about it! (Message by Pastor Crow)

Red Sea Salt

Today we planned to spend the day making "Red Sea Salt". This is the secret ingredient for any Iron chef who wants to make their fish, meat, chicken, taste awesome. Lots of chopping, special herbs, spices, and tender loving required to make a batch. You cannot burn the salt so decided to bust out the blender to speed things up. The fumes make your eyes water so I put on my mask and it worked perfectly.

After hours of work the Red Sea Salt is ready for food. We don't sell it anywhere "yet" but if you join us on any Red Sea trip you will be able to sample this secret ingredient. For those of you who travel with us you know what I mean. Have a great weekend everyone!

Pipeline maxing now

North swell arrived on schedule and this morning 4-6 ft pipe doubled to 8-12 ft now. This is maximum pipe and guys are getting barreled out of their minds. When it gets this big, the 2nd reef starts to break and the men are separated from the boys. You gotta want to catch a good one here if you want to survive and live to tell another day. Swell will peak tonight and begin to drop off slowly so hurry up and finish your shopping so you can go surf!

North shore coming up!

Got my feet wet at jockos today! Oh no 10 days before Christmas, I better start shopping soon.

The Perfect Wave

Red Sea Group just returned from a surf trip to Micronesia and stoked out of their mind! Commander Damon Schmidt, Lieutenant Barry Niau, and special forces Terbo and Teddy went undercover to the remote island in Micronesia to find the perfect wave. Their hum-v was out of commission so they drove their tank to the harbor to meet up with our guides.

This place is known for it's 200 ft visibility, tons of fish, and lots to do, oh and did I mention the good food? Here the boys went for a day of fishing.

But they were there to surf and surf is what they got! This place is uncrowded, perfect, hollow, and I can't wait to go there in a few months. Here Barry is setting up for the barrel of his life!

While Damon was right behind him on the next wave getting stand up barrels. You can catch 4 great waves here at Backdoor with 40 guys in the water or you can get 40 awesome waves here with only 4 guys out. You choose...This place is Palau! Welcome home boys and thanks for sharing your pictures!

Kieren perrow wins!

Congratulations Kieren, you deserve to win!

Pipe finals today: heat of the day!

Kelly slater at work

More surf coming...

a perfect present

Lot of people don't know what goes on behind the scenes of Hawaii Skin Diver and effort involved in making it all happen. Sonny Tanabe (center) was kind enough to invite us all together in celebration of his new book coming out. Marc Inouye, Clifford Cheng, Sterling Kaya and his son Brayden, and myself were there for this kodak moment. It is such an honor to be a part of this team of hard working and humble guys. Thanks Guys!

Even the girls Cathy, Karen, Vicky, Tracy, Kayla, Danelle, and Julie (left to right) were there to support Sonny and we all had a great time together! Of course these women are the backbone who unselfishly support us though it all. Thank you ladies!

December 17th at Hanapa'a Pearlridge Sonny will be there signing autographs of his latest book on the Evolution of Freediving. This will be the perfect gift for any diver and make sure you get one before they sell out!

New Plan + Palau catch

This weekend flew by so fast...where did it go? Surf subsided on the northshore but should be coming up again this week. South shore looking small. My phone plan was due to expire so decided to join the club and got me a iphone. Hope to be able to share more live updates on location with this new gadget.

Damon Schmidt along with Barry Niau and his their friends are having a good time in Palau. Check out this huge coral trout they caught and having for dinner. Surf is looking promising also with new swell marching their way.

HSD47 NOW on NEWSTANDS

HSD47 mag finally hit the newstands! Cover shot by Kirby Fukunaga and many other sick photos of our Red Sea group in action. Here Brent (left) was helping Junior (middle) with this big grouper Kb (right) speared a 100 ft below.

Brent Ching had his dreams come true diving to his personal best depths and spearing his first pelagic fish in addition to many other unique types of species not found in Hawaii. Congratulations Brent on a job well done! We got two more groups already packed up and ready to go back to paradise called Palau. Crystal clear waters, Epic surf, Big fish, and Good Friends is a recipe for success! Get your passport and see you there!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Winter is finally here! North shore swells are about to kick in and everyone wants to surf! It seems there are not many spots so secret anymore where you can pull in without others in your way. I remember this wave at one of my favorite rights with all kinds of people right in my way. Luckily I didn't run anyone over and thankful to be alive.

I am thankful for those glassy days when the ocean is flat as a lake. When we can go out for a day with friends and catch some fish for dinner. The ocean is full of surprises and you never know what you will receive. Whether its the best wave or your life, a prized catch, or just surrounded by water as it refreshes your soul and allows you to dream.

As we look to the future we want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for all your support with Red Sea Ocean Adventures! We got a lot of great trips and HSDTV shows coming up in 2012 and look forward to having you join us. Enjoy your day off with your family and friends and see you in or on the water!

Love my job

Windy weather, who cares...no waves no problem...go dive today! Go-Naminori CEO, Kirby Fukunaga sent the text message to attend the business meeting. We put on our uniforms (Dove Wetsuits) and game on! Highlight of our meeting was finding another ulua house where a couple omilus were at home. I saw the couple pacing back and forth inside their cave so slowly peaked inside their front door and waited. This one came around again and I was able to stone it with my 90 cm. riffe euro. I noticed there was two so I left it in the hole to keep the second one around.

Kirby went down immediately after and plugged the 2nd one right in the gill plate. He had a good holding shot and luckily both came up and got in the boat. These were perfect size for our upcoming thanksgiving parties, but may not last till thurs. if we start eating them tonight.

Captain James Oshiro was there to put on the spot, pick us up, and kept an eye on us the whole time. Thanks James, u da man! We pulled up to a private beach, cleaned fish, and called it a day! Thanks Kirby for a great day and for the pictures. I love my job!

Gaji Lures = Catch Fish

People ask us what lures do we recommend for fishing? Answer: Gaji Lures! Allan Sato has been making these fabulous lures that works every time. We put the lines in for 2 minutes and bam! The port rigger goes off and Ron reels in another great catch. Mahalo to my friends Allan Sato and Dean Imanaka for hooking us up again and again!

Punta Mita Reflections

The other day, Jonathan and I (aka Fred and Barney) got in the flinstone mobile and went for a ride around the town. We didn't get very far, in fact we never moved location except to take this picture.

Our Red Sea Ocean Adventure trip to Punta Mita, Mexico has come to and end and another great experience goes down in the books. As I was enjoying my chocolate ice cream bar reflecting on what we've seen it doesn't get much better than this for blue water hunting.

We got a nice fish on film for another exciting episode of Hawaii Skin Diver Television and great pics for the magazine. We met lots of cool people and got to hang out with old friends. Thank you to our hosts from Punta Mita Expeditions (Sebastian, Ymell, and Bella), our group Jonathan, Corrine, Ron, Jason, and Cathy, all our crew Chilo, Nacho, Rauel, Emmanuel, Chuey, Daniel on board for keeping us safe!

More tuna sightings

Another beautiful day in Mexico! Been burning the midnight oil on both ends diving hard, filming hard, working hard. We have lots of gear but brought the main essentials for targeting certain fish. Water temp in the 80's so 1.5 mil wetsuit is perfect.

Every morning we head down to the harbor on our golf carts and wait for our boat to arrive and we stay out all day. I wake up at 6:30 am, eat a light breakfast, dive till 4 pm, eat lunch, then dive another 1 hour until the captain says it's time to go. Yesterday I made a drop on a heard of tuna "Cows" which took me by surprise. I saw a shadow that seem to be a big fish, dove down and saw this big boy in the distance. Then he swam toward the rest of the pack and I was in awe. I passed on shooting any fish below 100 lbs because I saw the larger ones beyond. They were not feeding and I just so happened to be right there but not close enough to pull my trigger. What a sight to see! I also saw a manta ray with a wingspan about 16-20 ft. Huge! I thought it was the reef but it moved so I dove on it and realized it was a manta ray. What a awesome day of diving!

Heres a shot of some of the local long lining fisherman at the harbor. They tireless work and fish all day to provide for their family. Here you have the very rich and very poor. Not much in the middle class.

We eat out a few times but with this fabulous villa we eat in often. Fresh sashimi, spicy tuna, garlic ahi, rice, nori, and saimin is all we need to make this family happy! Here Jason and Ron was first in line.

First Time Fish

Another awesome day in Punta Mita, Mexico. After gearing up and getting our feet wet the boys were excited to jump in again. Jason Matsumura (left) is super fun guy to hang out with. He's a newbie when it comes to blue water diving, in fact he's never done it before and never shot a pelagic fish...until this trip!

How's this for a first time blue water dive and first time pulling a trigger. Beautiful mahi mahi swam up to him and he nailed it! He landed it all by himself and we got it all on film. He was so excited! I was so happy for him.

We take turns diving and fishing and here Corrine is hooked up. We try all sorts of fishing from bottom fishing, jigging, whipping, live bait, and trolling. On this drop she bottom fished and she hooked up to a nice fish.

They call this Kagami in Hawaii and its already in our freezer. They will be bringing these two babies home for Crow to Gyotaku! Get ready to work!

Punta Mita Tuna Cowboy

Hola Amigos! sorry been so busy diving I haven't been able to update our blog. It's been a fun trip here in Punta Mita, Mexico. Hanging out with Jason, Corrine, and Ron (left to right) here in luxury. As I said before this is 5-star diving. Trust me it doesn't get much better than this...

Jonathan Muratsuka also joined us and here he is enjoying his 3rd mojito cocktail upon arriving at our pad. We started the dive the following day and straight away we got 2 nice fish in the boat. Jason landed his first ever pelagic fish (mahi) and Jonathan got his first yellowfin. Both were their personal best fish and they were elated and their dreams came true on the first day.

Here's a shot of Jonathan's big tuna clocking in over 200 lbs. This fish was amazingly powerful and took him over 40 minutes to land it. Inch by inch he pulled it up and by the end of the fight he was exhausted. We got some awesome images but too tired to download everything yet so stay tuned for more. Gotta wake up early tomorrow so good night..zzz

5-Star Diving

As the waves wind down, winds pick up, its time to put away the board and pull out the dive gear. I've been to some really remote places in this world, where there are no airport runways, no clean water, with almost guarantee getting sick. However there is one place that is totally opposite. This place has three 5-star hotels, gated community, good food, and awesome weather.

Last time we dove this rock and it was happening! A perfect pinnacle with loads of fish. You can find reef fish or pelagics. You can dive in the shallow or go deep.

Our guide Sebastian Melani took us to his favorite grounds and got this nice pargo on our last trip.

We visited Sayulita and got to eat the best burritos ever! Great place for family, fun, surf, and dive. This place is Punta Mita, Mexico! Stay tuned for the next Red Sea Ocean Adventure that begins tomorrow!

Calling Doctor Mike

One of the greatest things about my job is meeting new friends. Some people take their friends to the green to go golf, or the bar to drink, I take my friends to the beach to go dive or surf. I had the pleasure to go for a dive with Dr. Michael Tripp. He's been traveling with us on a number of Red Sea dive trips and when he told me he was coming to Hawaii I had to show him around my neck of the woods.

Mike recently went to Mexico and got a load of groupers. He is a great diver and if he's not working he is in the water. We got to see Ono, Rainbow runner, Dolphins, and huge Tiger Shark all in one dive. Thanks Mike for a great day! Next time stay longer!

Another Doctor Michael Wall, went with us on a trip to Mentawais this year and he and I shared some of the best waves of the trip. He had his go pro camera rolling as we surfed on of the best rights in the world. He got caught inside while I took of in front of him. This spot is finicky and doesn't break often. In fact in all my 10 years of traveling here, this is my second time surfing it. A 300 yard plus wave that barrels and is twice the length of Laniakea on a good day. Thanks Mike for sharing this pic with me. Can't wait to go back next year!