Last week, I got a call a from my fishing buddy Matt. He said the waves were really starting to pick on his side over in Haleiwa and I should come up to whip into a few waves I was down, but a little nervous because I'm relatively new to the tow game. Long story short, I swallowed my anxiety and met up with him over at the boat launch. Sure enough, he was there. The jet ski was gassed up, gear was ready, and the surf conditions were thumping. I was super nervous on the ride out to the lineup. A swarm of skis hovered around the oceanic mountaintops. We stopped the ski outside the lineup and waited our turn. Matt told me to get off the jet ski and to hold on to the tow rope. I gulped and held on. All the sudden, out the back, a couple solid set waves started heading our way. Matt looked at me and said, “Come on, it’s like wakeboarding” and started towing me with extensive force. Next thing I knew, I was riding a wave double/triple the size of me. It was remarkable how clean the wave was, almost riding the beautiful giant with ease. Matt towed me into about 7 waves afterwards, and yes I survived! Matter of fact, I am pictured hear surfing the second wave.

The driving range is a great place to hangout and practice your swing. I try to go to the Hawaii Kai driving range at least once a week. Generally, the range is not crowded and has a lot of room for golfers to spread out. I like the end section of the range where they have real grass. The end section is nice because it has shade and grass similar to a real golf course.. The range is less than a mile away from the ocean and has a beautiful backdrop of hills. A 55 ball buckets costs around 6 dollars, making the range a fun and affordable activity.

It was a good day to get out on the water. Summer is gone and the only presentable surf was on the other side of the island. I was feeling lazy, but had the desire to get my feet wet. Therefore, I collected a few necessary items and headed out to my garage. As my garage door creaked open, there sat my 10 foot Livingston dingy. “I haven’t taken this thing out since August” I thought to myself. So in a matter of minutes, I had the boat trailer hitched to the truck and was on my way. I arrived at the boat launch feeling a little anxious that I didn’t start my engine beforehand. I plopped my boat into the ocean and found a convienant parking spot for my truck and trailer. I ran back to the boat and prayed for the motor to start. “Vrooom Vrooom” the engine cried on my first attempt on starting it. We were on our way. As I boated through the bobbing channel markers, I let out a few lines with lures on them to see if  I could get lucky. I drove around for around 30 minutes, checking the local surf breaks and drive spots. When all the sudden, my reel let’s out with a cry. My pole was bending like a stick under stress. I set my boat in neutral, grabbed the pole and began battling the fish. After all is said and done, I had bagged a nice size oio is my boat. I came in about an hour later and made some great fish patties!

      It was the first day off in a long time. The surf has gone dormant around the Hawaiian Islands this week, so I concluded it was a good turf day. I had some extra money to spend and decided to play a high quality golf course. I called up the homies and we decided that Royal Hawaiian Golf Course was the call!
      This course is the bomb! It’s located in the heart of the Jungle. This 18 hole, par 72 can bring any golfer glory or to their knees! These narrow, beautiful fairways are etched into thick rainforest scenery. Make sure you can hit the ball high and straight or prepare to bring a lot of golf balls! There are various holes one must hit over valleys, jungle, and ponds making for excitement and challenge on every shot. I strongly recommend this course to anyone who can break a 100 on their scorecard.

Yesterday was rainy and not an easy morning to get out of bed. Yet, I harnessed the courage to get up and throw my trunks on. The wind was light and I had a few hours before class, so I decided to head out and check a few surf spots. A cup of coffee in hand, two boards strapped to the truck, I was ready for the morning mission. After aimlessly driving for about 20 minutes, I ended up at Kapiolani Park. A few little reef breaks along the park contained some fun looking waves. I took my damp surfboard out of my truck and got out there. The surf was nothing too big, maybe chest high. However, with an extremely low tide and no wind resulted in some nice little barrels. Only about 8 guys out and 5 of them not knowing how to properly surf enabled me to get all the waves I wanted. I must of caught 25 waves in a about an hour an half, making for a super fun session. I made a couple barrels and hung some toes on the noes. I even bounced off the reef twice and didn’t get cut. Today was a good day.

October has been a great run of swells for Hawaii. Last week we had our first big country swell, along with back to back South Pacific swells for town, keeping every surfer busy. The hardest decision to make was where to go surf. Lately, I have been on my school grind. With classes three times a week, I need to stay close to campus. However, my classes do not start until the afternoon so I surf every opportunity I get before and after. I wake up a few hours earlier to get a head start on my day and go surf. Typically, I go check a few spots and analyze their conditions and size to sum up the best spot to surf. Last week, Thursday was different. Diamond Head was the biggest I had ever seen it and there was no time to check other spots. Generally, a mushy point break is ideal for longboarders and beginners. Now there were tree sized rights pumping across a 200 yard section. Two hours before class, I had no time to waste. I slathered on my greasy sunscreen and grabbed my typical country, step up board for the action. I ran down the cliff as fast as my feet could take me. In a matter of moments I was in the water, battling my way out to the lineup. Diamond Head was producing waves so big and perfect, I couldn’t believe I was on the south shore. I was in hog heaven and got some of the best waves I had all summer. Needless to say, I was a little late to class.

I woke up today and looked out my window. Minimal swell and strong winds did not make for the ideal surfing conditions. Therefore, it was deemed a golf day. I rallied my golf gear and cold beverages and headed to the east side of the island to a cool local course named, Bayview. This modified course has a great vibe with unbeatable prices. The scenery is astonishing at the golf course, with a perimeter of rigid mountain peaks and vast ocean views making one feel like they are walking on a beautiful hike. The course itself is in good shape, with fast, well-groomed greens. The layout of the course is creative and challenging for any golfer. Large gaps between the tee box and narrow fairways can plague the score of a golfer who produces errant shots. Overall, the course is beautiful regardless of the players score. I had an especially good round, playing bogey golf throughout. I even had a birdie!
IMG_0659.MOV

Today I got a call at 3:45 in the morning. I rubbed my eyes and looked at my phone. The call was from my friend Matt, and I knew he would be calling only for one reason. He wanted to go fish! Matt owns a nice 28 ft Hawaiian Hawk fishing boat and fishes only when the weather  and conditions are optimal. I knew it was my chance to finally deckhand, and the word "no" was not in my vocabulary. I answered the call and agreed to his terms. I began gathering my things, slowly regaining consciousness from the deep slumber I was awaken from. Beer, water, chips, poles- did I forget anything else? I quietly crept out into the morning darkness trying to not wake up anyone in my house. I drove to meet Matt at Waianae Harbor, where we would launch his boat. It is basically on the other side of the island, but with zero traffic I cruised along. I met up with Matt in the parking lot near the boat launch. He was pumped up and probably already on his 3rd cup of coffee. I immediately started helping him prep the boat while talking story about what he's been up to. After all the gear, beer, and snacks were packed, we were ready to go.

We spent the day chasing bird piles and trolling around buoys approximately 25 miles out. Deep sea fishing is an exciting game of patience. One has to wait for the action to happen, but when it does it's all hands on deck! As one outrigger snapped, it became a clear indicator that we had a Hanapa'a and there was a big fish on the line. It became an arm wrestle with the fish, battling him to get closer to the boat. After about 30 minutes of Matt I and taking turns reeling in the fish and steering the boat, we finally began gaining ground on him. When the fish got close, I got a view of him and his substantial size. It was a Sailfish and he was estimated at around 170 pounds. Matt came in like a viking warrior and slammed his gaff into the fish to secure its head. My heart pounded. I secured the pole to the boat and ran over to grab the rope gaff to secure the fish's tail. "Hurry, hurry before the f****** sharks come," Matt screamed as he held the unstable gaff. The gaff I grabbed had a grappling hook at the end of the rope. I ran over and didn't hesitate to chuck the hook to secure the fish. "Alright, at the count of 3 we both pull up!" Matt struggled to say. Once I heard the number 3, with a synchronized motion, we both pulled up with all our might. The fish flopped onto the deck. We let out cheers and profanities at the accomplishment. After that, we called it a day as Oahu was a faint landmark in the distance. Our ride back to the harbor was nothing but laughter and excitement. We ended up selling the fish and our other bounty to the Honolulu Fish Market. We made some good money and had some wild laughs. It was not a bad day on the water.
   

Today I took my dog, Tiki, to the beach. Trust me, that is no easy task. We went down to Sandy Beach, which is near my house. Even though Tiki is huge, he is only 10 months old and is still considered a puppy. Tiki is a super friendly dog, so I didn't mind letting him off the leash so he could run around and enjoy the beach. He chased sand crabs and ran after sticks that I threw. Overall, it was good fun. However, when I went to bodysurf a wave, he chased after me into the rough water. When I noticed him following me into the lineup, a solid set came through. Tiki is a good swimmer and rather strong, but it was dangerous because he doesn't know how to duck dive. I scrambled over to grab him before the head high wave swallowed us up. Once I grabbed him, Tiki and I got fully barreled. He was calm and I had a sturdy stance.  We didn't get as pounded by the wave as much we should have gotten. This picture was taken right after. I would say we both had a good day at the beach.