Fiji Relax day

Today is a dive day off for us here in fiji so we are learning the Fiji culture and lifestyle.  In other words learning to RELAX!  Let me introduce to our house maid "Una".  She didn't know I took this photo as I was busy working on my computer because she suppose to be hard at work cleaning up our villa but instead she is sitting down in our living room watching discovery channel.  We haven't been in our villa during the day and she was surprised to see us at home but a really nice lady who knows how to relax.  Her husband is outside doing yard work but Keaka caught him sleeping on the job too. They like to work 5 minutes then rest 5 minutes.  ha ha! We had a nice lunch and guys are getting a massage for we will be diving hard tomorrow!  For now we will learn to relax "Fiji style".

Fiji day two

Day 2 ended up on the reef again after hours of blue water hunting. Owen Adams Sr. is used to shooting thus in Hawaii so when this blue uhu came by, bam! No mercy.

Owen is 61 years old and he has a great bottom time!  There are not many 60 year olds who have good bottom time as this man does.  Tomorrow we are going big and I'm positive he will get his personal best fish.

Jaga is our guide here and he also landed this nice Uku on the reef.  We took it to the Pearl restaurant and paid $15/pp for dinner.  They steamed it up along with a nice mu we got and all the guests at the hotel were admiring our dinner.  Today we will rest up for the next 3 days of diving.  

Fiji Day One - Reef Diving

Day 1 diving in Fiji with Keaka and Owen Sr. is complete.  Started off at 7:15 am and headed out to the local reefs.  Rain made the water little dirty so had to head further out.

Visibility was around 80 ft+ so no complaints.  Keaka Ching pulled out his 115 cm reef gun and after not diving for months it was like riding a bike.  He got right to it and started shooting fish.

Here was the catch of the day.  A nice marble grouper that didn't get away.  Tomorrow gotta wake up early so time to go to bed.  good night! 

Fiji Villa

Bula! We made it Fiji on time! Perfect weather so far with light winds and no surf so gearing up for our dive tomorrow.  This is our place and boys are loving it!  Internet is super slow here, no such thing as high speed internet only dial up modem.  Well time to gear up and get going!  Stay tuned

Time

...to travel. The journey starts now!

River Monster!

Rain and wind continues in Hawaii but at least we don't have snow and sleet.  I think the next north swell will be coming March 1st. With the ocean so rough with small surf, not much surfers or divers can do so you gotta improvise.  Meet diver Joe!  His been on HSDTV shooting big yellowfin tuna but today he decided to go spearing in the fresh water ponds in Hawaii where river monsters reside.  Yes river monsters! He got his trusty or rusty spear and headed down in search of the creature from the black lagoon.

This monster fish kind of looks like a mix breed of a pirahna and a carp?  He said there are more in the waters there so next time he goes spearing for river monsters I'm coming with my camera.  I think people will freak out if they saw this on Hawaii Skin Diver TV.  Congrats Joe on the fresh water catch of the day!

Ready Set Mix

Windy weather continues all week with poor surf so decided to head over to one of my favorite hardware stores to buy some cement.  33 bags to be exact. If you want to buy ready mix cement, Home Depot or Lowes is the cheapest place to go, but City Mill will match their price if you show them your receipt.  Since the Red Sea boat can't go out diving or fishing, I better call the Red Sea crew to come help.  

Here James and Alan began the mixing process.  Luckily my neighbor let us use his mixer otherwise we would be severely hurting (Thanks Malcom).  Alan is a great baker so we let him control the mix to get the right consistency so we would have a good hard crust.  James got down and dirty and was the jack of all trades.

Kekoa moved the mixed cement into the form and instead of 5 shovels he moved 5 gallon buckets of cement at a time.  What a great productive workout he had this weekend.  Just think of it as cross training:)

Me and Crow shaped the slab to perfection one mix at time.  You need the right tools to do the job and the right crew!

Final float and finish was completed just in time for lunch that was provided by the rest of the Red Sea crew.  Thanks for everyones help today!  

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day! What a beautiful day in Hawaii. Blue Skies, clear waters, perfect for any water sport you can think of.  This has to be one of the most spectacular views in the world.  I love Hawaii.

Today's plan was to catch a few waves before work.  Packed up my 3 boards and headed to the northshore.  First stop, Jockos!  4 guys out and overhead.  Couldn't believe how empty it was so waxed up and went out.  Got my share of waves, then paddled over to chuns to get a few more.  More like a dozen more.

My buddy Kekoa came out and got some nice ones at Jockos too.  Great day surfing.  This weekend should get even bigger but winds will pick up as well.  

Fish Printing 101

A few months ago a friend of mine's son caught this 40 lb. Ulua and being his first one had to get it printed.  They brought it over to gyotaku artist "Crow" and he got to work.  Step one is easy, just apply some black paint and print.

Step two is hard, this is where the fish is brought back to life.  With a lot of attention to detail, this fish looks like its alive.  He even is about to eat a piece of fresh tako in front of him.  Next fish print a 14-lb. red uhu taken by a local skin diver.  More windy weather with moderate swells up north.  I smell spring in the air very soon.  Time to start packing again!

Maile Surf Report

Today's waves had overhead lefts with not bad crowd.  Surfed with my buddies Kekoa, Al, and Matt and seen some other friends in the line up.  Swell dropping a few days then should come back up later this week.  Lots to do today so gotta get busy.  Watch out for the traffic mess near H1/H2 freeway.

Today's lesson

Maika boy learning how to be patient.  Good fisherman all have this skill.

Winter Waves Now

North shore came big today as a new northwest swell arrived after lunch.  Lots of current meant constant paddling until a big wave broke in front of me and got washed in.  Tomorrows another day at the office.

Next Stop!

One of the most fascinating places in the south pacific is Fiji.  Here young boys are groomed into fine young men who carry on the traditions of old.

Last time we were able to see a traditional firewalking ceremony and these guys were amazing. One of our guests tried and burnt his feet too.

Since a few years ago a few named resorts have lost their exclusive rights for surf breaks which has opened up world class waves for those on the main island of Nadi.  There are other spots like this "Frigates Pass" which is all time, hollow wave, with power.  Well guess where we are going next?

HSDTV - Coming Feb. 5

Hola Amigos!  Well we've been busy all week editing the next Hawaii Skin Diver show.  We got some amazing footage from a baitball we filmed during the 6th annual mexican shootout!  There were a host of Hawaii divers who got to experience this once in a lifetime event while helping to support the local community.  I've seen 2 baitballs in my lifetime and its probably the neatest underwater event one can witness.  

We got a mixed bag of fish on the reef and some onos too.  Here Puna Apio got a nice rooster fish which makes a killer gyotaku print.  Looking forward to another great event July 19-26th so mark your calendars and sign up as spots are limited.  

Tune in to OC16 on channel 1012 or 12 Feb. 5th, Tuesday 8:30 pm or visit our HSDTV page for showtimes.  If you are overseas you can watch online at www.oc16.tv anytime it airs in Hawaii.  Hope you all enjoy the show!