Aloha Update

I recently picked up a part time gig writing for www.alohaupdate.com and the previous 4 posts are published on the website. Stoked on the opportunity! Look for a variety of posts to be coming out related to my standard hawaii adventures and more coverage on a variety of other happenings!

aloha,
Drew

Hawaii’s Kohl Christensen Charges Out of the Underground at Nelscott Reef

Hawaii wasn’t the only place to get slammed by massive waves this past XXL swell. A majority of the swell’s energy was focused towards the West Coast. Perfect wind conditions and gigantic surf put up the green light to run The Nelscott Reef Big Wave Classic surf contest held off the coast of Oregon. It has been running for six years now, but this would be the first as a paddle in only event and stop number three on the Big Wave World Tour (BWWT).

The sun was out and the winds were calm allowing for surfers to push themselves to their limits and conquer some of the biggest waves ever surfed at Nelscott Reef. Some wave heights reached 50 feet on the face. Kohl Christensen, from Kailua, Oahu, garnished the win by making some bomb drops.

Christensen has grown out of his label as an ”underground charger” and stepped into the mainstream of big wave surfing. He made his appearance felt at The Eddie this past December and has since been a top contender on the Big Wave World Tour.

The BWWT has a unique judging criteria geared towards rewarding the surfer charging the biggest waves. The finalists of events held in bigger surf will receive more points and this win for Christensen bumped him up to second place in the standings. Other finalist in the Nelscott Reef Big Wave Classic are as follows in order of 2nd to 6th place, Chris Bertish, Jamie Sterling, Kealii Mamala, Rusty Long, and Peter Mel.

The event also included a women’s exhibition, in which three women surfers, Keala Kennelly, Savannah Shaughnessy, and Mercedes Maidana, showed they could handle big waves too.

Keala took the win and described her experience on theinertia.com, “Once the heat started, the first set came through and cleaned all three of us up. I was held under for a long time. I don’t know if it was the extra weight of the wetsuit or the fact that my body was just emotionally exhausted from crying all night [from the death of friend Andy Irons] , but I finally surfaced and was so happy to have a jet ski there to pick me up. I got dropped out the back right as another set approached. This time I was right in the spot. I turned and stroked into it with my teeth clenched, made the drop, and rode it out. Later, they told me I made history with that wave. I was confused. I had no idea that I was the first woman to surf Nelscott Reef.” The women’s exhibition opened up a new window of opportunity for the future of women’s surfing.

The next stop for the BWWT is Mavericks in California. Look for another gut wrenching, jaw dropping, adrenaline pumping contest to go down between December 1st and February 28th. The 10 time world champ, Kelly Slater, is amped and will be competing in “The Jay at Mavericks Big Wave International.” It’s going to be insane!

Pictures on http://www.alohaupdate.com/2010/11/11/hawaiis-kohl-christensen-charges-out-of-the-underground-at-nelscott-reef/

Kahuku Stand Up Paddle Adventure

In the winter, my focus is on surfing. However, when summer time rolls around and the waves go flat on the north shore, there’s still tons of fun to be had in the ocean. This past summer, one of my goals was to explore the coastline of Oahu under my own paddle power or via wind power in my 14 foot laser.

I came up a little short, but the stories and good times run deep. The following are a series of my adventures frolicking around the north shore, with educational messages that run deeper than fun.

In early July, we explored some new coastline and took advantage of the lighter than normal trade winds. Ryan, Becky, Willie, and I stand up paddled from Malaekahana to Kawela Bay.It’s about an 8 mile paddle and the cool part is the beaches are pretty much desolate.

The adventure started out a bit sketchy as I was trying out stand up paddle fishing. I attached a lure and 20 feet of line to the back of my board. The allure of surfing was too much and I couldn’t resist the urge to catch some waves.

After a wipe out that threw me off the board and sent it in towards shore, I realized my fishing lure, still connected to my board, was like a sharp leash I did not want to be attached too. After a long clumsy swim trying not to lose my hat and paddle, I reconfigured my fishing setup.

Several wipeouts later, the lure was gone. Somewhat of a relief, I was now free to surf without the fear of hooking myself, but disturbed at my lack of forethought and loss of tackle. Becky and Ryan had their fair share of crazy moments as well.

Becky lost her shades and Ryan lost his board to the rocks near shore, which made for a difficult retrieval of both. Becky also got dry-docked on a lone rock 300 yards from shore and had the blood wounds to prove it. Willie on the other hand, came out unscathed with sailor like style.

Stand Up Paddling this stretch is filled with hazards and if you chose to paddle here, make sure you don’t make our mistakes. Wear a leash and steer clear of the rocks. There’s a lot of rip currents, so be aware.

It was great exploring a new area and only seeing a handful of fisherman and a lone kayaker along the way. Unfortunately, the desolate beaches of Oahu usually have many remnants of society.


I went ashore to investigate a green sea turtle nest and noticed the beach was filled with plastics, so I loaded my pockets to the rim with what I could. It churned my stomach to think about how these plastics impact lives beyond our own.

On the east side, the prevailing tradewinds blow it all to shore. Amongst the rubbish I did find a gem in my eyes, an Opihi shell. Something naturally made from solar energy, that will smoothly transition back into the sea.

Later, I found out that I am not the only one realizing this trash heap piling up. There are several organizations working together to keep the beaches clean and the local population of wildlife healthy. A non profit called B.E.A.C.H. , Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii, has been doing their part to educate people about the plastic problem and also help clean it up.

If you are interested in volunteering some of your time to keep our beaches clean and animals lively check out B.E.A.C.H. or NOAA’s Hawaii Monk Seal Response Team. You can also head over to our Beach Cleanup section to see the latest news on a cleanup near you.


A simple way to return the favor to the ocean is to leave the beach cleaner than you found it, bend down and pick up some trash. It helps everyone breathe a little easier. Check back to hear more about the Kahuku Beach Cleanup.

HIC Sunset Beach Pro Photos and Recap

Billy Kemper from Paia Maui took home the win at the HIC Pro Sunset Beach. It was an emotional win for Kemper, 20, who dedicated it to Andy Irons and his brother Eric Diaz. On the final day, the sun peeked out in between passing rain and shed light on the younger generation.

Keanu Asing and Alex Smith, who placed 3rd and 4th respectively, surfed on spot throughout the event. Keanu posted one of the highest heat scores of the day,a 9.4. Clay Marzo, 21, had some of the most progressive backside turns of the event, but not enough to get him past the quarters. Jack Perry, 26, had a gouging forehand attack and stomped his way to second place in the finals.




In the end, it was Billy Kemper who was escorted off the beach to the podium. He received a $12,000 check for the win and a chance to surf in the Vans Triple Crown. You could feel the energy of the event culminating at the final moment of the ceremony when Kemper raised his finger high to the sky with Andy Irons and Eric Diaz on his mind.

Check out the photo gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/dawilkinson83/HICSunsetPro2010#

Dust off Your Guns, It's Winter in Hawaii!

The winter season showed it’s face today on the North Shore of Oahu. The predicted swell lived up to the hype as Waimea Bay came to life. The large swells were maxing out most of the north shore surf breaks.

Unless you had a jet ski or some crazy kohones, Waimea Bay was one of the few “Surfeable” waves on offer. With wave heights ranging from 15-25 foot faces, it took some courage and confidence to charge these waves.

Some surfers, like myself, live for these sessions. The thrill of pushing your limits and experiencing a blood pumping adrenalin rush is why year after year surfers flock to Waimea Bay. When the high surf warnings are posted and surf forecasts are calling for 12-18 foot Hawaiian style surf, it’s time to wipe the dust off your big wave gun and get out a fresh bar of wax because it’s on!

Butterflies fill your stomach as you paddle out and get into position. The first big set that stacks on the horizon nearly provokes a heart attack as the pack paddles out in a flurry to greet the waves.

Once in position, 6 + guys swing there boards around towards shore and start paddling as hard as they can. An assortment of grunting noises can be heard, similar to a battle cry. If you don’t really want it, you better get the hell out of the way.

Throughout my two sessions today (check out photos here), I caught 3 amazing rides that got my heart going from the start looking straight down a 25 foot face. One wave really sticks out from my morning session, there was a big set coming in with at least two solid waves. I was sitting deep and the first one popped up and jacked right in front of me. At first I thought, “Not a good idea,” but Kalani Chapman and another respected local both let it drift by and I told myself, “I gotta go!”

I swung around and scratched hard, jumped to my feet and used every inch of my 9’11 as I glided straight down the face. Mid way down I prayed the nose of my board wouldn’t pearl and send me cartwheeling. That was the first test passed.After the steep drop, I had no angle to ride the wave face and went straight for shore.


This set me up perfectly for the “Rodeo,” something I look forward to every Waimea session. It happens when a massive wall of white water explodes (hopefully) right behind you just as you lose momentum from the high speed drop. This places you in a precarious situation because you have a huge mountain of water moving faster than you trying to gobble you up.



If the whitewater bucks you off you experience what it’s like to do underwater carwheels. On this particular wave, I thought my chances at the rodeo were slim. I assumed my rodeo stance and braced for impact. A sheet of water exploded over my head from behind. It looked as though I was watching a shower of white water come down in front of and on top of my head.

“Yeeehaaaw!” Somehow I survived round 1 and the pulse sent me accelerating again. Round 2 was much more mellow and the 3rd round did me in. At least now I was out of the impact zone and stoked! I started laughing at the silliness. The euphoric feeling, the adrenaline, the giddiness…It’s what we live for.

Despite the rumors of fewer big wave events this season, due to La Nina, big wave surfers across Oahu have already shaken off their pre-season jitters and washed away the dust accumulating on thier big wave guns.

Look for more uncontrollable outbursts of laughter, fist pumps, screams, and a variety of other claims to arise as the north shore winter season heats up.

A Dreamy Indo Surf Trip of a Lifetime

A childhood memory floods my mind as I begin to recap my 3 week trip to Indonesia. I was 12 and headed for the Bahamas with my dad and his friend. We motored in Jay's boat straight across the gulf stream current to West End. It was here that I learned how ocean currents affect navigation, how to spear fish, catch lobster, and floss with a strand of my hair. Throughout those four days, I began to understand the peacefulness of living in sync with the ocean.

Fast forward 15 years, and I set out on another adventure to live on a boat and explore new lands in search of hollow perfect barrels.

I arrived to Kuta airport at 1:00am, after I showed my passport, I was pulled aside by an immigration guy and told I wasn't allowed into the country. "You go home now. No entry, passport is not valid for 6 months." Be aware of that if you ever travel to Indonesia! After some explaining of my life long dream of surfing perfect waves and downright begging and some bargaining I got in with a quick $250 into my donation funds to Indo. But I was in and G-land was on my mind.

The next day I made it out to the Bukit Peninsula desperately in need of a cleansing session. Insert surfing playground here: Uluwatus! I caught fun waves, coming close to some illusive barrels, and then the tide dropped and the Race Track section was breaking in less than two feet of water. mhhhmmmm...Then I nose-dived one and came up to see one unloading on top of me, and thus the Welcome to Ulus experience transcended. The bulldozing mass of white water flipped me 180 degrees and jammed me and my board to the reef. Cut up and winded, I went in and my trip to G-land materialized from there.

As I was doing the beat-up walk of shame, getting hounded to look at my surfing photos, and people offering to fix my board I met "Doggy the Man." He organized my trip to G-land and that night me and my bruised body and ego were off to the jungle.



9/1/2010 G-land Awakens!

1st Sesh: After 7 days of patient waiting, the swell arrived. 6am I'm out there. Six to Ten foot faces. I waited at the top of the reef at Money Trees. Crowd wasn't so bad. Dropped in on a bomb and drew out my bottom turn and slid back into the pocket and waited for the overhead lip to pitch. Deep in and out. Tunnel Vision! Awwww...G-land barrels can be much more welcoming than Uluwatus.

Yummy breakfast omelet and mellow rest, then out for session 2. More peeps on the peak. I waited and kept my position paddling against the current. Finally, "My turn!" Is all I remember saying as I stroked into a 10 footer. "Hmmm" I thought to myself with a sloppy faced grin starting to form, "What do you think is going to happen here?" I know the barrel is around here somewhere, I just have to find it. So I went straight towards shore on the drop and drew out a long bottom turn, small carve..."Oh look! There she is. I found it." And I was slotted through a sick section, deep, zoomed out with tons of speed right into a carve. "Alright, there's more fun to be had." A put down a soft bottom turn, and took a high line into the inside barrel section. I made sure to keep all hands and objects inside the cavern for fear of getting them ripped off and then shredded on the bottom. "Yeahhhhhh!" Stoked!



3rd Sesh: Last wave of the day. Found a decent sized one and tried to slow down for the barrel, but moving too fast. I saw the wave lining up for the next 100 yards. "Plenty of time to try that again. Ohh! What do you know an inside drainer! Butt and hands in close..." Zooooom. "Wooooooooo!"

Beautiful Sunset! Magical...Thank you G-land!

9/2/2010 Barrel Hunting Continues

The morning session was fun, but no whomping barrels. One giant carve that felt oh soooo good on my 6'3 Bushman. Couple more long waves up at Kongs. I came in, ate breaky, took a nice nap, and had some lunch before I paddled out for round 2.

I paddled up to Fan Palms and waited for a goody which came and provided a beautiful canvas for an assortment of carves and turns,5 or 6 to be exact, all the way to Money Trees, legs burning and out of breath. I surfed at Moneys with my friend Curry from California who was already stoked out of his mind on the barrels he was getting this session. He let me in on the secret end bowl section and I picked off a juicy one nobody could get on the outside. You know the routine by now...Draw out the bottom turn time it right, what for it to throw, and head high barrel. Nice and easy! Stoked, paddled out again and repeat...except 2 barrel sections. Da barrels are so mellow, love it!

After G-land, I cruised Uluwatu for a few days and booked a 6 day boat trip to some barrel worthy Islands to the east of Bali. Here's a short recap of what we found.

9/10/2010 Boat Trip!



Barrels of a lifetime today! Straight out of my dreams becoming reality. I woke up on the boat at 5:30am, walked out of the cabin and saw 8 foot barrels grinding down Scar Reef off the coast of Sumbawa. Matty and I were the first to hit the water and it was epic. Right when we got to the lineup a monster set stacked in. I let the first two go as we paddled out farther and spun on the third. It was the first of several 8 foot tubes. This went on for about two hours. Another one I got was sooo good. I was on the outside and no one was around. The last wave of the set rolled right to me and I was laughing from the take off until the end. I was in the pit standing tall with my arm straight up. Epic!

4:04pm: Mountains to the sea. Distant rain and lightning, skip jack tunas popping the surface, strong currents, and glassy waters. This is it! The boat trip I've always dreamed of. We just scored Super Suck! Heaving 4-6 foot barrels for 200 yards. Screaming down the line, section after section. So fast...Insane...Oh my god... Last wave my toes were holding tightly gripped to my board as I settled into the only position possible as the barrel went square in one foot of water.

The next day we motored back to Super Suck. I injured my shoulder the last session yesterday and decided to take the role of camera man. I videod the boat crew. The Hawaiians, Nicky and Matty, were ripping. Catching tons of waves and boosting airs, and gnarly floaters, and then something happened. The airs sections morphed into barrel sections and they started pulling in.

I put the camera down and paddled out one armed. I threw some froggy leg kicks as I approached Nicky in the water. His face beaming a huge smile, stoke emanating from his pours. We were once again flipping on the scenario; minor crowd, surrounded by an arena of rocks and mountains, and a barreling left point break! We proceeded to get shacked silly. Laughing and smiling so much our faces hurt! Two barrels go down in my history. One was an airdrop to lip in the face around the section and park in the barrel foreeeeevvvvveeeeeerrrrr. Like time stopped and ultimate relaxation blowing through my body. Another I took off and saw the section standing 30 yards away, pump pump pumped to it and speedy tunnel vision ensued. Everyone eventually paddled in as the tide inched lower and lower and the reef shallower and shallower and the barrels more and more square. I stayed out and waited and got one more smaller grinding barrel.

I came in and realized this session was why I came on this trip. I reached that giddy point. The ultimate high. I'm sure some of you have seen this face and it's what I live for. Need I say more?





Click on the title to check out the other photos from the trip.

Sailing before the Flight

The Summer is coming to a close and the first hints of a North West swell are in the forecast. What an amazing summer it has been! Just before I went surf trippin in Indo, I had some memorable adventures in Sea Peace. I sailed solo down to Turtle Bay on August 17th. Willie and Somer cruised around in his boat, while I hung closer to the shoreline and brought in two Papio by the time I parked the boat for the evening. Catching fish in the sailboat is so exciting. You seriously have to multi-task; steering the rudder, controlling the sail, reeling in the fish, staying off the reef and away from rocks. Intensely fun! Can't wait to do it again!

The day before my flight, Somer, Willie, Roxanne and I rallied together on a mission to sail Sea Peace out to the Mokulua Islands on the east side. Quite a mission loading up all the gear and driving out to the Moks. We narrowly missed some protruding coral heads on the way out. And upon almost beaching the boat I had the urge to ride some waves. Willie wanted no part of this thrill ride as we just saw a 4 man canoe flip over trying to ride a wave. It was quite funny seeing Captain One Eyed Whisky Willie squirming in his trunks. I swung out anyways and tried for a couple, but it was a safe option to just save the wave action for a better day. We beached the boat, frolicked in the surf on Willie's long board, and tromped around the island. I soaked up the last minutes I was spending with my sister before we journeyed on our different island paths. Looking back, it has been a pretty bleak summer in terms of surf, but to be honest, that didn't phase me. It put things in perspective and gave me time to focus on other things I love to do in life.

For now, Sea Peace is tucked into her bed on the side of the house, but the swell doesn't hit till Sunday and it's beautifully flat right now with some brisk trades, Willie's been out catching something everyday, and it's a been over a month since I've caught a fish. I need to get back out there!



Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/dawilkinson83/SailingBeforeFlight#

Kalalau Camping

Day 2:

Kalalau! People! 2 Many! Time to hike! Explore! Find Fruit Somer and Chet! They started the hike yesterday and I forecasted their arrival to be about mid morning. The valleys were beautiful and reminded me of Waimanu on the Big Island. SO much mana and energy radiates from these sacred places.


While hiking the shallow depths of the Na Pali Coast, I found signs of guava in a gulch. I tuned into hunt mode and scanned the perimeter. Lots of trees, just not much ripe fruit. (On previous hikes in the woods, guava has served as a staple and could be eaten at will.) I finally found a good tree, but the guavas were 30 feet in the air. I chucked some rocks at the tree and sure enough, Somey and Chet pop their heads from around the corner. Reunited!




Rest and Relaxation were on the menu for the rest of the day. Lounging in the woods. Reading "Ham on Rye." Nap time... Aww... We talked about our treks and they saw me paddling. I felt their presence when they were hiking, but never saw them. Here's the birds eye view of kayaking the coast.



Pictures:

Na Pali Coast- Day 1 and 2

Kayaking the Na Pali Coast

Day 1: July 21st, 2010

I headed off in a double kayak loaded with food, an assortment of liquids, and miscellaneous camp gear. I temporarily blew off my plan to sail around Oahu for a last minute trip to explore Kauai's infamous Na Pali Coast. My starting point was Anini on the Central North Shore of Kauai and then paddle and fish my way down to Kalalau. The first leg was about 15 miles. The conditions were beautiful; glassy with a chest-head high swell rolling in. I could see the intricacies of the coral below and watched the fish meander about. I loved the coastline, it was GREEN and alive. No massive slabs of concrete screeching into the sky. Green mountains filled the horizon.

It took me 3 1/2 hours to get past Hanalei Bay and finally to the edge of the Na Pali Coast. Slugger and I chugged along at a max of about 3 mph. You can infer how she got the name. The next photo serves as a good overview of the next 6 miles. 1000 foot seaside cliffs, waterfalls leading into caves, and solitude. These were some of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

The heaviest experience occurred when I paddled into the cave pictured here. First, I went through the waterfall and then it hit me, like the feeling you get standing on the edge of a cliff or the giddiness that fills your body after surfing a huge wave. My hands were almost shaking. I felt I was entering a very sacred place with heavy heavy mana. A very spiritual experience. Shocked and in awe, I surveyed the scene and breathed it all in.

Paddling ole Slugger was like towing a bucket behind the boat. But I pressed on, the cave experience rejuvenated my spirit and gave me strength. The wind was at my back and small wind chop was pumping along and bouncing into the cliff. This was annoying because the closer you got to the cliffs the bigger the waves. The next two hours were the most challenging of my trip. In an nutshell... Physically exhausted. Surrounded by beauty. Feeling queasy. Solitude. Damn boats flying by with their speedy motors. Hello Bird! Land! Land! Stop eat! Keep on keeping on!

It took me 7 hours to reach my final destination of Kalalau. As I rounded a corner thinking but mostly screaming in my head "Where is this Kalalau!" I saw it, large beach, small waterfall crashing down, people, and kayaks. I beached Slugger and began looking for a place to call home for the next 3 days.

I felt claustrophobic in more ways than one as I walked under the Hau Bush Canopy. Lots of people, lots of campers, weird. I found a spot and set up my hammock, ate a tad bit of peanuts and triscuits, watched the sunset, and fell into a sound sleep.



Day two adventures and more pictures coming soon...

Kahuku Paddle

We explored some new coastline today and took advantage of the lighter than normal tradewinds. Ryan, Becky, Willie, and I stand up paddled from Malaekahana to Kawela Bay. It's about an 8 mile paddle and the cool part is the coastline is pretty much desolate. The adventure stated out a bit sketchy as I was trying out SUP fishing. I attached a lure and 20 feet of line to the back of my board. The allure of surfing was too much. I couldn't resist the urge to catch some waves and after a wipeout that threw me off the board and sent it in towards shore, I realized my fishing lure was a sharp leash I did not want to be attached too. After a long clumsy swim trying not to lose my hat and paddle, I reconfigured my fishing setup.

Several wipeouts later, my lure setup was gone. Somewhat of a relief, now I was free to surf without the fear of hooking myself. We surfed a couple spots and scored some super long rides. Becky and Ryan had their fair share of crazy moments. Becky lost her shades, Ryan lost his board to the rocks near shore which made for a difficult retrieval, Becky got drydocked on a lone rock 300 yards from shore and had the blood wounds to prove it. Willie on the other hand, came out unscathed with sailor like style.

Beautiful stretch of coast. It was great exploring a new area andonly seeing a handful of fisherman and a lone kayaker along the way. Unfortunately, the desolate beaches of Oahu usually have many remnants of society. I went ashore to investigate a Green Sea Turtle Nest and filled my pockets with plastics from around the area. Typical for the east side, with prevailing tradewinds that blow it all to shore. Amongst the rubbish I did find a gem in my eyes, an Opihi shell. So far I have explored 18 miles of the North and East Shores and I have about 140 miles of Oahu coastline left to see by sea. Cannot think of a better way to sea peace in Hawaii.

Logging Water Time

Check out http://picasaweb.google.com/dawilkinson83/LoggingWaterTime# for pictures.

If I were break down an hourly track record of my day, I think about 70% of my daily adventures exist on or in the water...

Sailing adventures have been killllller dudddddddeee! My farthest expedition went down last week. Jenny's mom, Anne, came along on first mate. She was sooo stoked to get out on a boat and glide with the wind. We had some great conversations of past stories and books and peaceful views. It was a soulful ride. We made it down to Keiki Beach and back....alive and afloat...barely... :) We had to make two pit stops at sunset beach to drain the water. Total of about 9 miles. Oh and we Pirated Willy for some beers on the sail back. We came in after the sunset, shivering, and buzzed.

Oh yeah, we had the V-land Midnight flotilla crew going off a couple nights in a row. Stand up paddlers was a great way to balance off the playful energy we were filled with. We Sailed around, SUPed into some waves on the inside rights at Yards. Conor and friends took out some random kayak boat sled and flipped it in the surf zone. Willy had a fire on the beach. We sailed my boat. I lost the plug earlier so I filled a bag with sand and stuff it in the hole. Worked enough. Even with stood a flip generated by Willy showing me how to sail with no wind. Nice job...One eyed Whisky Willie!

Chester has arrived and he is now an honorary member of the V-land yacht club. Our inaugural sail was smooth and dark. As we sailed away from Sunset we noticed an interesting outline of a wolf's face on the horizon illuminated with a unique configuration of lights. Oh yeah, a upgraded my plastic bag for a wind cork plugger. Works mo bettah.

The 4th of July was a great day of logging water time. After a run in the am, I went for a quick snorkel, then did the Hui o He'e Nalu Paddleboard Race from Sunset to Waimea. Great experience! I haven't competed and forgot some of my challenging mindset and how much I push myself in competition. The race was basically a sprint the whole time. my board was quick. Strategy involved trying to catch waves and drafting other people. I got 6th place in my division with a time of 33:51 for a 3.5 mile race (ages 20-29) and 20th overall out of 100 in the stock paddleboard division. I am excited to do some more races. One of my goals is to sea all of the coastline of Oahu by water, either sailboat or some kind of board! There are many different races offered and I look forward to putting some more under my belt as well as training for Indonesia and the winter season!

After the race I went into my daily vampire like state where I sleep and get some shade! I was back on the water around 5pm and sailed to rockies with a fulllll boat. Blake, Chet, Stacy, and I coasted downwind. Sea Peace provided some free entertainment for some other peeps rocking out at Loren's new pad with ocean front Rocky Rights and Gas Chamber views! If you check out surfline.com Rocky Rights cam, that is in her backyard. If you ever see a picture of a small flat day when it's firing, I may have/have not put that there.........Let's see, definitely some booby cruise rides where everyone was Seaing Peace everywhere. Classic adventure sail of the day goes to the fireworks sail. Chet, Kendall, Loren, and I launched as T-bay was exploding there $ into the sky. Very short is my description of the show. SO we made our own action, Chet walked the bow and I tried to make him fall in, but ended up dumping Loren and Kendall. I turn and come back, extend my arm and Kendall just hands me her nearly full and unsalty beer. Classic! and Classy in my book. On the second pass we got them both in the boat. Yew!

Most recent sail was yesterday returning from Rockies. I took Stacy along as a companion and fisherwoman. She always catches fish on Willies boat so I tried her out on mine to no avail. Dangit! Fun sail anyways!

Now I am off to surf! Aloha!

Stand Up Paddle

Dead Man's curve to Puena Point... 10 mile stand up paddle with a couple friends... One for my record books. We were escorted by the wind and at times the waves too. A very beautiful way to see the north shore coastline. The highlight of the paddle (besides jumping off the rock at Waimea) was the desolate stretch of coastline past Laniakea Beach. No houses and massive green sea turtles everywhere. Basking on the beach, frolicking in the shorebreak, munching on limu, and cruising down below. After this trip, I gained a new respect and appreciation for Stand Up Paddling (SUP). When a destination is in mind and small waves are on offer, it's a great way to Sea Peace in the Ocean.

Too Much Wind

I tried out a smaller "radial" sail today. Not... With gusts to 30 mph, it was a horrible day to try something new. The sail didn't fit my mast and boom properly so it sent Somer and I sailing around crazily.

After contemplating having Somer jump out and swim us back to shore, I came to terms with the wind direction and sailed us to shore.

We swapped out the sails with my trusty massive sail and plowed headstrong into the wind. Too gusty...Almost out of control... We were planing on the tack in. But the wind was just too strong and made us shut down our hopes of sailing to Waimea via Sea Peace. It will happen in the future...

Summer Style North Shore Morning

Somer and I went out for an early morning sail in hopes of breaking in Sea Peace. I have yet to catch any fish from the boat. We got on the water around 8am and sailed out past V-land. Right as we were about to make our first tack, Somer’s face lit up in excitement. “Fish On!” She was cranking the little bugger in really fast and it started skipping across the surface. I did my best to slow the boat down. She got the small papio right up next to the boat and as I was about to grab the leader, he slid off the hook. SOooo Close…. That was the first exciting part of our sail.

We trolled for another 15 minutes and decided to sail on over to Sunset Beach. Somer came prepared with her surfboard; a small swell was coming in. It was all downwind so smooth sailing. I dropped her off right at Sunset Point. The waves looked about waist-chest high. I cruised past Val’s reef, which is an inside wave that breaks on really north swells. Surprisingly, it looked pretty good today. I beached the boat and pulled the plugs to let some of the water out. It was a bit tricky timing the waves. There was a waist high shore break that doesn’t play nice with my boat.

After a safe landing, I got back on the water feeling a bit lighter. I cruised by Kammie Land and did a few passes by Sunset. I got going at a good clip and zoomed right by everyone just squirting the boundary between the channel and the reef. I caught one wave in the boat and was hauling ass. It is one of my favorite adrenaline pumping activities. To ride a wave in a sailboat is incredible. While steering the boat, an internal instinct kicks in, and minor adjustments are made concerning direction, the amount of wind in the sail, and finding the correct balancing point. It’s way more intense than just riding a wave on a surfboard. (If the waves are under chest high…)

I passed by Kammie land a few more times and decided to spice things up by sailing standing up. So much fun! It’s a combination of surfing, sailing, and boating all in one. You can practice cross stepping up to the bow or if things get gusty you have to lean out on the rail like you’re doing a backside bottom turn. I had good balance going out away from sunset, so I tacked around and headed downwind. As soon as I stood up the boat started to flip and I jumped down into the water to keep it upright. I hopped back on and tried again with the same result. On the third try the boat flipped over. Oops! I got in position and jumped on the dagger board, swinging the boat upright and then it caught some wind and flipped back over in the other direction. Finally I got it upright and stable.

I saw my water bottle floating and after two drive by attempts, I hauled it into the boat. “Ok,” I thought to myself, “time to head back to shore and regroup.” Things did not go as smoothly beaching the boat this time around. I forgot to look behind me and when I did there was no turning back. A waist high wave was about to crash on us right as we hit the sand. I scooted to the back trying to keep the bow up as the wave slammed us. It smashed the rudder to the side and cracked the handle piece. “Shit!” I pulled it up, lowered the sail, and took a couple deep breaths.

The great thing about these boats is how easily they are to fix. After some further investigation, I realized I could use the drain plugs as a flat head screwdriver to remove the broken rudder piece held in by a screw and slide the remaining end into the old spot. Easy enough, I was back out on the water. I cruised by the lineup at Sunset again and as I headed toward shore I noticed out of the corner of my eye Somer riding the same wave I was on with the boat. I picked her up and we tacked our way back to V-land, both stoked about the session that just went down. From fishing at the crack of dawn to flipping boats and catching some playful waves, we just had a full on summer style North Shore Morning.