This is it

The last day of warmth, if you could call this warm, was today. I cannot believe that for all the seventeen days I was off I can only remember one hour of really good surf. I know that now people say Christmas day, late afternoon, was all time at Crossovers. Due to a lapse in judgement, I missed out on that one. But, when all you really want is a sunny day with any size waves and light offshore winds, it hurts to know that this entire winter break has passed without more than one memorable hour.

To add to it, I had to turn down an invitation to go south to New Symrna this morning with Tom Burns. Today was the last day at the mansion, and the crew was returning around 2pm, so there was cleaning to do. I could have never fit that into the schedule, dang it all. But what Andy and I caught this morning wasn't that bad. Today was actually marginally fun. We searched all over for a spot that looked decent before we decided to go back to the original surf check, the pier. We checked tenth street, too fat. We checked Matanzas on the south side, too high tide. We checked the ramp there, too, and Brian was in the parking lot telling us he was giving up on it and going paddle boarding. I almost went out right then and there, so over searching. But, Andy said that FA's had actually looked the best. So, we headed back north.

Once there, it looked pretty fun. It was cleaner than anywhere else, looked shoulder high, so I grabbed my board. Karen pulled up just then, and was headed to get her board. She thought I was crazy running down over the rocks, but I told her I had just seen 'Avatar' and felt like I could hop all over them like the girl in the movie, all nimble and shit, ha ha. We were saying something about being too old when Andy yelled out to stop saying that! Andy good, fire bad.

At first I felt pretty good, but all too soon that feeling comes over you where you just feel that wetsuit like a strait jacket and the booties make your feet glued to the board in the wrong place ... and GOD I HATE WINTER. I had just talked to Bob about all this, and he was bummed too, about adjusting to wetsuits and needing a hood, about missing the Christmas swell and the one in Sarasota. We are in for a bad winter, he said, and things are going to get depressing like never before. We have skirted a bad winter for some time now. The good times are over...

dec 29 sesh

Well, Hookipa was beautiful but 100,000 people out.
Kanaha was small.
This place was empty, but many closeouts.
I had fun and took some pics from the front of the 8.6.

Hey, my thumb is in the barrel!


Lil' right.


As I said, plenty closeouts.


But also some doable sections.


Not this one.


Sorry about that snot.


No need for comment for this sequence...




Hey, I I just realized I have more Honolua bay pics. Stay tuned for those. Got to go work! Oh well...

Honolua bay + more SUP shots

Ladies and gentlemen, Maui's most beautiful wave.






Plenty drop-ins as usual.




Glenn.


Someone's legs. Don't look like Glenn's.


This guy did the monster drop of the day. Catching a bomb like that on a shortboard is for me way more impressive than being towed into a 50 feet wave.


Same guy, same wave.


Still him.


He's already thanking his god for the magnificent wave he sent him.


Well, after such a display of great surfing, I have to be very bold to post these photos of me on the standup taken on the 26th... specially starting with this one:


For the beginner standuppers, a couple of tips and a request:
- notice how I constantly use the paddle
- notice how I move the back foot on the rails to achieve the turns
- please, if you're in Maui and learning SUP surfing, go to the south shore. It's going to be extreeeemely easier/better for you and you won't be a danger for the other surfers as much as you will be on a north shore break.
When I learned it, I spent three months on the south shore before feeling ready to challenge the north shore. These days, every single day I see beginners in the lineup totally unaware of how dangerous they are.












Nothing, I just feel like spending a couple of words about the amazing weather we are experiencing. Here's the 5 days surfline forecast.


And I just checked the 7 days weather map models and there's even bigger surf ahead.
The jet stream is running pretty low and the storms get close to the island.
What's unbelievable is that we get this constant supply of NW swell, but this year in particular, most of the times we don't get to experience much of the weather associated with the storm. No wind, no rain, no cold air...
I mean, check the sky in those standup photos above... it's been like that for most of the time!
It might not be good for the plants or for our water supply, but I'm absolutely loving it.
I understand how the visiting windsurfers can be bummed about the lack of wind. A Maui trip is always an expensive one (well, actually they should stop bitching about it, considering that most people can't even afford it)...
But the local windsurfers... please gimme a break. Learn how to surf, go snorkeling, get a beach chair a book and a beer and enjoy the freaking sunshine!

Let's have a look at tomorrow's forecasted temperatures in some of the major world cities:
New York 17 34 (-8 1) cloudy
London 37 41 (3 5) heavy rain
Milan 36 43 (2 6) rain
Paia 67 81 (20 27) sunny and high surf advisory.

Today I surfed a total of 5 hours. Tomorrow it's going to be light kona and epic. It's 9pm. Even if I knew for sure that all those chicks of the previous post were waiting for me at Charley's, I would still go to bed right now and get some sleep.
That's how much I'm loving it.

Ok ok, maybe I would go there, get the numbers and call them when it's flat...

Goodnight!

Another Fine Day

For once, can you believe it, the pier was breaking ... even tubing?

It was so cold when I hit the beach this morning. There I was, the only surfer in sight, running to change into my wetsuit in the public restroom because to put it on at home would jinx me. There they were, chest high green waves coming in, groomed by the WNW wind. It was freezing outside, but today I brought the booties. I called Karen and said, "Get out here fast!" There was not a surfer in sight. I yanked on the wetsuit as fast as I could, so afraid the wind would change any moment and ruin everything. I paddled out, not believing my eyes. Clean, green waves peeled off in the sun. There was a tubing right in front of the walkway, and I raced out towards it. It felt so much warmer with those booties. I knew I would have about an hour before the shaking would begin, so I furiously went after anything that moved. One right was so gorgeous, it swelled up so nice with the perfect shoulder. I dropped in, looking out of the almond eye, popped out the other side and the stoke was back! There was this one left I remember that just peeled off in the sun... The Dominator flew.

Soon there were about five of us out, but there were plenty of waves for everyone. I saw Karen get one nice right! After a couple hours, the tide seemed to drop enough that I began to wonder about Crossovers. I was getting cold. 50 degree air and 58 degree water start to wear on you when that chilly wind begins to blow. I reasoned that I would warm up on the drive to north beach, and headed in.

Over on that side, the waves looked a tad smaller, with no one out. At first it seemed a mistake. It seemed longer inbetween sets, and I sat around waiting for a set for what felt like an eternity. Soon enough, it started happening, and some pretty good lefts came in. Two guys paddled out, and then the right started working. Tom Coates paddled out and asked me, "Which way to Hawaii?" as we complained about the cold. He said his son was up on the beach taking photos, they were taking turns. Finally a really good right came in, and then a nice left that made the trip worthwhile. But, after a while the cold just became too much. It began to feel like I was semi-paralyzed, and all I wanted was a hot shower. I hate winter. I could have stayed for hours if I hadn't been so cold...

The forecast calls for a bitter cold January, with loads of polar cold fronts - and only brief moments of warmth in between. Nooooo.

surfing and windsurfing

Kite-surfing is a sport which is a mixture of paragliding, wakeboarding, surfing and windsurfing. All you need is two meter long board that weighs between 3-5 kilos, a kite that folds up to rucksack size, a control bar and kite lines.

To start with, it is very important to know power-kite flying so that you know about the kite’s power and the technique of handling it. You should be able to control the kite and cope with its tremendous pull in every situation. It is important to learn how to manage a safe start and landing.

The real kite has even more pull and when you go on it, you do all sorts of exercises with it on the beach. This is the groundwork for becoming a successful kite surfer.

The idea behind kite-surfing is very simple. A kite-surfer stands on a board with foot bindings and uses the power of a large controllable kite to drive himself along with the board across the water.

Kite surfing is a sport which you can learn really quickly because all the exercises can be simulated on dry land. It may look like a sport for top athletes but in fact it’s easy to learn for anyone with average ability. If you’re already a windsurfer or wake-boarder or do any of the other board sports, then you’ll take to kite-surfing even more readily.

Even if you don’t have any experience of this sport, you can try but keep in mind that you don’t try to do it yourself. It’s necessary to take part in a course so that you are aware of the potential dangers and above all you know how to cope with them.

Be smart and learn the sport properly!

Solo circumnavigation

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has completed his ssecond Solo circumnavigation of the globe aboard Saga Insurance. Participating in the VELUX 5 Oceans yacht race, he concluded the 30,000-mile epic race 37 years after his pioneering solo voyage in 1969.

At the age of sixty-eight and now a grandfather of five, Sir Robin has halved the time it took him to complete the journey when he was just thirty years old. This voyage has taken 159 days compared to 313 days in 1969, when he made history by becoming the first person to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world in his boat Suhaili.

Sir Robin has completed the race on board a sixty-foot carbon fibre racing yacht Saga Insurance, which is capable of a top speed of over 30 knots and equipped with the latest computer technology.

Saga Insurance is a very physical boat to sail and in between carrying out the many tasks on board such as navigating, weather routing, steering and boat maintenance, Sir Robin has survived on freeze-dried food, desalinated water and short bursts of sleep.

Sir Robin faced many problems during the voyage. He kept his spirits up by eating his 100-year-old Aunt Aileen’s fruit cake and sipping the odd whisky. He is likely to be ranked fourth overall.

SURF THE BIG WAVES

What are the dangers that you face when you go big wave surfing? From icy cold waters, hypothermia, broken bones, dislocated shoulders, drowning to shark attacks but the thrill of conquering the wave beats the dangers down

Big-wave fever is relatively new to the surfing world, only in the last 15 years have surfers tackled the monster breaks with any regularity. The addition of jet-ski watercraft in the early 1990s opened up more possibilities, towing surfers into waves unreachable by conventional paddling. Today, surfers scour the planet looking for ultimate waves, from Maverick’s in northern California , to Jaws at Maui, to Chile, Australia, Africa and Tasmania

New Zealand’s biggest wave is on the south of Dunedin. That means the thought of donning a super-thick wetsuit, hood, gloves and booties and crossing a snow-covered beach to get in the water.

Gary Elkerton is organizing New Zealand’s first big wave surfing challenge, known as the Mt Woodgee Challenge, on the south coast of the South Island. He is quoted to have said:

In the South Island there exists a wave that could be the biggest in the world. We know there are waves in the 30ft (10m) to 50ft foot (16m) range - we’re shooting for the 50-footer.

It’s totally different to competitive surfing where you’re catching waves less than half the size of these big waves. There’s just a lot more of a rush.

Alfredo Going Right Jaws

Elkerton is aiming to pinpoint the arrival of the really big waves, at which point he’ll bring together the bravest and maddest surfers in New Zealand and Australia for a competition, in which riders are towed on to the wave by jet skis. Watching daring surfers take on these huge waves will sure be fun!

SWIM IN COOL

Can you even imagine how it would feel like to swim in water that is -1.8 degrees Celsius (28.75 degrees Fahrenheit)? An average human would probably freeze to death in under four minutes in waters this cold but a British adventurer and swimmer Lewis Gordon Pugh had the courage to swim in the icy waters of the North Pole.

With the aim of raising the awareness of how global warming is affecting the polar ice cap, Pugh undertook this task and has become the first person to swim in the icy waters of the North Pole. He took 18 minutes and 50 seconds to swim one kilometer in waters created by melted sea ice at the coldest temperatures a human has swum in.

This isn’t the first time he’s accomplished some the amazing feats. He is the first person to swim 1km in the Antarctic Ocean, and he holds over 20 swimming endurance records, including swimming the whole length of the Thames River, the first to swim the length of the world’s longest fjord and first to swim round the most northerly point of Europe.

Pugh suffered unbearable pain throughout the journey and even made up his mind to quit on few occasions. No, doubt it was the hardest swim of Pugh’s life but he undertook the task courageously and succeeded. He hopes that his swim would inspire world leaders to take the climate change seriously.

WATERMAN

In the recent past Dave Mullins from Wellington astonished us by making a world record of swimming underwater without a breath. Once again he made an attempt to swim underwater without breathing and has successfully accomplished the task.

DOLPHIN GIRL

Sara Campbell, popularly known as Dolphin Girl, has earned her sobriquet for her unique free diving skills. She can hold her breath for astounding four and a half minutes. She holds world record for diving 90 m deep. She is planning to go farther and attempt what has been accomplished by the few.

She is preparing to take over the most challenging of all, The Arch in Dahab, Egypt. It is a huge archway, or tunnel, connecting the Blue Hole - a massive abyss - with the open ocean. To complete the dive, Sara must first swim down 55 meters to the tunnel entrance. Then she will try to swim another 35 m through the tunnel and then up to the surface. In all she will be covering around 145 meters in all, while holding breath at the same time.

crocodile adventure

Kerry Shaw, a South African media executive making the adrenaline-pumping feat.

Adrenaline junkies are always in search for something new and thrilling. Do you fancy yourself as a bit of an adrenaline-junkie? If yes, then I can suggest you the latest must-do diving experience, Crocodile Cage Diving. You are right if you think I’m talking about swimming with killer crocodiles.

best surfer

Every year thousands of surfers flock to the Western coast of Portugal, an area often overlooked by mainstream tourism but well known to surfers for its solid surf. The offshore breezes bring swells across the Atlantic seaboard generating ideal sized waves for surfing. The variety of waves at various beaches suit surfers of every ability.

A number of surf camps offer bespoke lessons for beginners.

Situated West of Spain, Portugal has a very mild Mediterranean climate. The country receives swells from the North, West and South at a variety of consistencies.

Accommodation in Portugal is cheap. For instance Portugal Villa Renters offers a number of apartments and villas that are as affordable as €100 per week. The site puts you directly in contact with the property owner thereby cutting out the middle man and saving as much as 40%.

Wetsuit - Moderate Quiksilver Clothing

Quicksilver clothing are the torch bearers in the field of fashion and style. Easy to wear and easy to take off. However it looks like your second skin the moment you open the zip. It is off!So you can wear and take off without any hassle. The fabric is extremely gentle on the skin. Everyone loves to use the wetsuits of this brand. It means you are free from all those loads of sun block. You will not have rashes because the suit fits perfectly and does not rub on the skin like other wetsuits, causing less irritation and dark spots.

The stitching of this brand is undeniably good and sturdy,hence it is enjoying the excellent reputation in the market. The 3/2mm thickness of most of the brand’s full wetsuits is thick enough to withstand waters that are 50 to 55 degrees cold. The wrist and the neck area are all cuffed and taped to perfection, so that water will not surge into the skin causing cold.

High flexibility and the light weight are the main features of this brand. As there are no seams , no chance for irritation. The fabric also has hypoallergenic which is user friendly. What is also very special about the suits from this brand is that the fabric can stretch four ways, if you are in between sizes, you can still find the right one for you. The Quiksilver offers a shipping discount for customers.

what a lineup!

Till yesterday afternoon I had a terrible problem: I had too many good photos to post and didn't know from which ones to start.

But then I swung by Hookipa and ran into this kind of lineup...





And I even missed the group shower shot! I sincerely apologize for that.

In the meantime, french sailor Jean-Claude tried to sail, but the wind was way too light.


Forget about windsurfing, you guys. Maui these days is ALL about surfing. And what surfing!
Gosh, now I have again the problem of where to start from...

Let me use the usual chronological order.
December 25th, yet another gorgeous day. Yet another massive NW swell hit the islands. Blog reader Paolo went to Jaws and sent me these two pics. An unknown tow surfer and Kai Lenny. I'm sure there's plenty more pics on the net...



I instead, went the opposite way and scored a couple of fun surf sessions.
First one at 1000 peaks on the standup. I finally put the GoPro mount on the board and tried the "photo every 2 seconds" feature. The result was way beyond my expectations. I just have to figure out a way of keeping the droplets off the lens. So far, I tried Rain-x and sunscreen and neither one really seem to work.
Any water-photographer secrets to share out there?

It might be particularly hard for the ladies, but if you can actually take you eyes off my spectacular 47 years old body, please admire also the beauty of the sky and of the West Maui Mountain. It might not be the most high performance wave in Maui, but the background is classic Hawaii.


Just a few seconds later, such a display of strength, power, self confidence and balance is put into ridicule by the relentless shutter of the camera...


A photo every two seconds means no privacy whatsoever.


And now a few shots on the wave.




After that, I had a lovely two hour shortboard session in Lahaina. Clean belly to chest high and two people out. Me included.
After a lovely lunch, the plan was to go take photos at Honolua Bay, but a couple of excited windsurfers called me saying that it was kind of windy and people were getting ready to go sail.
Plans are done to be changed and I drove from Lahaina to Kanaha to find out that it was too light.
Mildly disappointed, I got back in my car and said:"oh well, it's only 3pm. I'll be at Honolua at 4 and shoot till sunset". One of the excited (not so much anymore) windsurfers joined me and between a chat and some good music, the drive went by pretty quickly.

But I have to interrupt the story now. Today I surfed 3.5 hours in the morning and worked 4 in the afternoon. I need rest.
Also because the buoy readings from 12 seconds just went back to 17 seconds. Yet another NW swell is on the way. Yet another sunny, no wind, glassy, surfing day... I'm loving it.

I'll try to finish the post tomorrow, don't forget to come back and check the pictures from Maui's most famous surfing spot.