Palau the final destination!

Today the swell picked up as forecasted and we were stoked! Got to pull out the bigger boards and get shacked. There were a few nice sized ones that were hard to paddle into like this bomb set James tried for. Luckily he didn't get sucked over the falls.

Saw this other guy stuck in the wrong place and the wrong time and paid his dues. He went over the falls for sure!

Kb Sakuma was pulling in backside and got to test out his new 7'2 clapper board.

I also got a few good waves to keep that dream alive! The search is pau!

My bodyguards

During our stay in Palau we are hosted by the best guide with the best staff who treat us like family. KB Sakuma (left) is da man in Palau! We are blessed to have such great friends. We have our own boat man and body guards who protect and watch us with their life. Junior (middle) just got a baby girl today and we are so happy for this proud father. Fonz (right) has gotten so dark we can't even see him unless he smiles and shows us some white teeth. We feel so safe around them.

The swell is dropping but should be coming up again soon so enjoying our time together surfing, diving, touring, and eating.

Palau Surf Action

Red Sea Group arrived in Palau ahead of schedule and with the jet lag factor we ended up sleeping at 4 am hawaii time. As you can see our pad has all the comforts of home. Our first day we headed to surf the secret right.

James Oshiro put on his helmet and was ready for his 8 hour session. This is the happiest man on earth!

As you can see we scored with perfect waves peeling into a channel. We were the first guys out and soaked it up till the sun went down.

Matt Wakabayashi took off on this gem and his 6'10 was working good. Glassy, hollow, and fun is what we got on this day. We will be doing some diving also so gotta go get the gear ready. Stay tuned.

Mentawai 2011 - Pics Part 4

More fun surf from Mentawais 2011. Lances Right is always good but because it is one of the world's best rights it's often crowded. I just need one good one from here to make my trip complete and luckily Yanto our boat guide was there to catch a photo as well. Thanks Yanto!

There are a few spots that are uncrowded as well and during this surf session we got it all to ourselves. This left reminds me of concessions left that is three times as long and doesn't close out. Well the surf here in Hawaii has been small and I surfed once for 1 hour since I came back and still jetlagged. I think I should fly back to Indo time and get my sea legs back. If you want to join us on our next trip shoot me an email.

Mentawai 2011 - Pics Part 3

More pictures from our recent trip to the Mentawai Islands. Their are hundreds of coconut palm trees lining the shoreline and if you are lucky you can ask a local villager to get you a fresh coconut to drink/eat.

We had a bunch of boys (Steven, Chris, Skye, Rand) who joined us and they had the best time of their lives surfing, partying, joking together.

Steven got this nice barrel at Macaronies which made his day complete. One good wave in the Mentawais will scar your memory bank for life.

Al Ah Nee also speared his first fish with his new Riffe speargun. This surgeon fish did not let go without a fight and gave him a nice poke as well with his sharp fin. Look forward to many more dives together with Al on our next trip.

Mentawai 2011 - Pics Part 2

One of the places I really wanted to visit was the Macaronies Resort as this is where the 3 meter tsunami hit Oct, 2010. I saw this place when they were just about to open and there were bungalows all along this lagoon. Now nothing and they are still not open. I got to talk with a local who was there when the tsunami hit killing about 24 people.

The Naga Laut has a great crew and awesome cook, "Boi" who every day provides us onolicious meals. In fact most of the guys thought they gained weight after the trip.

I did some diving to catch the pupus along with my partner Al Ah Nee, who speared his first fish with his new Riffe speargun. We got enough fish for our pupu hour each day. This little doggie came by my window.

Also got a grouper for the crew to eat which they were happy. But surfing was on each day and for me I enjoyed the opportunity to finally surf good Rifles.

This wave is as long as catching a wave from Holtons through inside Laniakea with several barrel sections along the way. It is very fast and hollow and if you are lucky you can score your longest barrel ever. We got three sessions out here and I had lots of fun.

Mentawai 2011 Pics Part 1

Mentawai 2011 trip comes to a close as group of 10 surfers experience the trip of a lifetime.  Their home, "Naga Laut", a 70 ft charter boat with a crew of 7 to cater to their every need.  Awesome food, spectacular scenery, good friends, what else can you ask for.

Every day they were driven to the surf spot and dropped off right in the spot.  Wave your board and you are picked up.

Waves  like this was only the beginning as we surfed over a dozen spots in ten days.  Here Chris Murphy was setting up for the vertical off the lip.

Macaronies was all time with everyone on it!  But Rifles was the spot...More pics to come.

2011 Indo Season

Last year I got to surf the Mentawais in Indonesia and got one of my best barrel of the 2010. We had 2 solid days of 6-8 ft waves at a spot called Ht's, the rest of the trip was gravy. Beautiful sunsets, perfect waves, and lots of fish! If you ever are considering the Ultimate Surf Trip this is a MUST DO destination! We live on a boat for 10 days/11 nights and surf/dive/fish our brains out.

2011 Indo Season has begun and I'm excited to head back for more barrels, fish, and fun times with a group from Hawaii and hope we score again! Now that the south swells in Hawaii have slowed down, it's time to start chasing some Indo swells. I'll be bringing my camera and taking some photos of the boys so stay tuned!

J. Kashiwai boards

Windy weather for past week kept me indoors working like a slave. Editing shows, planning trips, researching the next destination. So I called my shaper, Jason Kashiwai and put in an order for the next board. Even though I getting older and arms don't paddle as fast the trend has been to go smaller so I'm getting a 5'-5". Jason has been working with me for a while and a huge supporter of Red Sea Ocean Adventures! Thanks Jason!

He rips and here at Macaronies in Mentawais he was going off the hook, under the hook, and on top of the hook, throwing big sprays. If you haven't ordered his boards, just let me know and I'll connect you. We had a great time in Indo and can't wait to do it again.

So ordered me my ticket and booked a group to the Mentawais next month for some more epic surf! I catch my best waves each year traveling and there is no comparison to the quality of these waves. You will never know unless you go!

P-Pass going off!

One of my favorite right handers can be found in micronesia, pohnpei. If its on, its on! And this weekend while we had 2-4 ft surf, pohnpei was solid 8 ft. I got a email from the owner of the Pohnpei surf club saying to get over so Wade Tokoro and some boys went down and scored! This is probably as good as it gets and with more north swells headed our way if you want to surf this then shoot me a email and you can be there in a day.

Hawaii forecast looks like trades for first half and breezy konas for the second half with a mix of north swells coming so plan your week accordingly. Also congratulations to my friend Chris Palignawan for spearing the new state record Ono at 87 lbs! I can't wait to see the pics:)

Father Damon

He is a surfer, lawyer, and knows how to have a good time! Meet Damon Schmidt...If there was one person who put in his time in the water on our last trip to Indo was this guy! I think he surfed 8 hours a day and drank beer for 8 hours at night. I don't how did it but you can see by this photo how much sunscreen was left on his face and the big smile after a good session.

Damon caught so many good waves his arms were like spagetti by the end of each day. Here is was in the right place at the right time at a secret spot all by himself. We had a great time traveling with him and look forward to many more Red Sea Ocean Adventures with him in the future!

Indo day 2 pics

We made it on board the Moana and the boys are spoiled after day 2. Poncho (left) Eddie (right) and the boys relaxing after a 5 hour surf session.

Jeff and Casey ready for lunch

Do we have enough boards?

300 yard lefts at a secret spot. Need to go dive now.

Indo day 1+2

Red Sea Group made it to Indo after a full day and half of travel. China air was the airline used and all went smooth for the whole group. Day 1 of surfing provided head high surf with roping right handers in the morning, then double overhead sets at a long left in the afternoon. Guys are pounding the bintangs (100 beers per day). Day 2 surfing was head high with 300 yard lefts and 12 guys out in the lineup. I need to take some photos next and get some fish for pupu hour! I'm getting pressured from the boys to get the fish! I love my job!

Tomodachi's for life

Every trip I go on people always ask how was the surf or diving? It's all good, but the more important question is who did you go with? Lots of times we meet new first time travelers and on this trip I got to meet lots of new people. Kosei joined up by himself, got the pass from his family, never went spearfishing, but loved to surf.

He bought a new 100 cm Omer speargun, extra shafts, and was so stoked to go diving with us. I could feel his energy as he listened intently to our instructions on what to do and what not to do. We taught him how to breath up, relax, hold the gun and on his second drop he speared his first fish! I can guarantee his life will never be the same.

I've heard so much about "Dove" wetsuits also that when I heard Tokura-san was on board, I was humbled to meet him. I was a little embarrassed wearing my worn-down, ripped up wetsuit but maybe some day I will be able to purchase a wetsuit from him. They use the best quality rubber and all the top Japanese surfers use "Dove" wetsuits. He loved his sashimi and we were stoked to be able to celebrate his birthday with him in the Mentawais. Check out www.dovewet.com for more info.

Mentawai Surf Trip

Day 1 arrival in Padang, Indonesia. Weather was hot and humid and I met up with our group of 13 other travelers from Hawaii and Japan. Our game plan was to surf, dive, film, explore for 11 days and everyone was super excited to get on the boat.

We arrived in the Mentawais and for those of you have been there before, it has the most beautiful sunsets with spectacular colors. We surfed 3 spots on the first day to warm up then heard a big swell was coming in 2 days...

So we motored to HT's or Lances Right on day 3 and no boats were there and waves were going off! 6-8 ft with outer reef take offs, doubling up into these sick hollow ledges. We got barreled out of our minds and took thousands of photos and hours of video capturing every good wave that came through. I have surfed this spot on every Mentawai trip and by far is one of the best right handers in the world. If this was backdoor or big rights there would be 100 guys out easy, but it was just us and some surfers from the surf camp.

We also got to dive in between surf sessions and catch some fresh fish for our pupu hours. They had this surgeon type fish similar to the opelu kala but looks like a herepoti (tahitian fish) which I really enjoyed eating so on this dive and got some for the group. More to come on this boat trip later...

Dream on

Lot's of fun surf been coming through our islands so not much diving at the moment. Today is small so good day to get on the computer and get some work done to start planning our next trip. Last year we got some great surf in Indonesia and I think we will need to revisit some of our secret spots real soon. Here's a shot Renee Vento captured at a fun right-hander with just four of us out. I can't wait to surf it again! Until then, I can only dream on!

Team Hokulani

Team Hokulani just returned from another epic "Mentawai Surf Adventure". Ten local boys from Hawaii scored double to triple overhead surf and came safely. This was their second trip on board the "Naga Laut" and with their Captain, Guide, Cook, Deckhand, and Mechanic they were surfing their brains out. Mentawai's is one of the most consistent surf spots in Indonesia and with over a dozen "world class" spots to choose from it's no wonder why it's called the "Ultimate Boat Trip". Welcome home guys!