Talia Gangini

We got to shoot this new beautiful local talent , Talia.
She is a very accomplished paddler ( regular lay down and stand up) surfing since she can remember, very comfortable in the ocean all around. Also she has a jewelry company and swimsuit brand. her necklace enbrace the cover of Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated this year. this magazine is considered to be the indication of what fashion and models will be in and popular this season. and her necklace was on the COVER! that is big.

And guess what? she is only 16 years old yet.
Tracy ( the photographer ) and I had so much fun getting to know her and her sister (they are making the suimsuits together) and shooting.

Talia has very relaxed atrtitude with good intention and I am sure that she is going to be big name in the very near future.
She is doing theinfamous Molokai crossing race this weekend ( which is a big accomplishment just to do it, many big men gets nervous thinking about doing that rough water long distance paddle) and he has already done it several times ( the first time was when she was 14!)

We are planning to shoot with Talia and her sister with more ideas and fun stuff when they get back and that is going to be fun!

Work work work!

I have been hanging out with couple guys to do some assignment for a Japanese mens fashion magazine, it's a bit diffucult for me because it is not as efficient as the way we always work. we have to be on stand by all day long and hang out. Usually with Tracy or Darrell who I work with the most, we just wait for the good condition and shoot for couple hours and then done till whenever the next condition comes.

it has been a good learning experience for sure and made me realized that I am so blessed with being based here and surrounded by great photographers handy to work with whenever the occation pops out.

I got to go in the water a little while they were shooting sunset shots in Kihei, it was beautiful light and so peaceful, people were out with kayaks, outrigger canoes, long boards , tandem.
And everyone was smiling.
Got some shots of my girlfriend Kana, I think I had more fun shooting than actual surfing part. it was that beautiful.

SUP on both sides of the island

Downwinder with girls!

I think the race inspired many people on Maui, lately many of the girls are interested in doing it.
Today we had 2 first timers Mari and Tomoko , both real good surfers.

Since wind wasn't so strong , we started from Tavares , they did real good and we had a great time. We don't really get to hang out too much but I think they enjoyed getting away from the kids for a bit and had great fun excercise with girlsfriends.The funny thing was when we were done, I went up to their car, they were already pulling up the tab of Coors light and eating crispy cream donuts (kana brought dozen of them!)
Very well prepared , girls!

The funnest paddle race in the world!

Race was on today, so many people were driving around with long race board this morning.
Even though I didn't participate in the race , I went to watch the start of the race. pretty amazing view to see 200 people racing down the big blue water.

There are many of world class top racers like Kalama, Jamie Mitchell, Scott Trudon, Aaron Napoleon, Thibert Lucciaa, Kiva Rivers and so on.
There are also many beginner local riders or doing it stricktly for the fun of it.
It is known as the funnest race ever because if the strong tradewind pushing from behind the whole course so 9 plus miles long doesn't seem too long and you can enjoy catching the wind swell the whole way.

I am not sure what exactly happened but Dave ( Kalama ), the one to beat wasn't on the list for results, I just heard he was leading almost till the end and Scott passed him, he just didn't finish . doesn't sound like what he would do , though.
I would love to see events like this happening more often, friendly , not too serious so that beginners wouldn't be intimidated and still races with top racers so we can get inspired. Maui has so many talents in so many sports and it would be great to see those top performance more often.

our Japanese crew Yoshi Nagamatsu and Tomo Murabayashi did well, too. when they first arrived they were shocked how all the locals were so tuned in with the downwind and they couldn't keep up. but they must learned a lot in the last couple days of last minute practicing. They both got within top 3 in their own divisions! way to go, guys!

My paddle mentor Devin kicked ass, too. I had told Tomo to watch out for her because she is fast, and he told me she was ahead of him all the way till the end and finally he muscled his way paddling and passed her but it was only 15 second away. Devin is very small and not muscular but she is super good at utilizing the swell and she was way ahead of many of the unlimited class guys even. I am fortunate to have her as paddling buddy and someone to follow all the time. She will be doing the molokai crossing in couple weeks which is the real big boy race. I hope she kicks ass in that event as well.

I love contest and racing , noy because of the feeling of winning but the great focus everyone has to push his limit and meeting new people who shares the same passion.
This race has both great top performances and the very ｆriendly smiles everywhere. Well done everyone!

Downwind Paddle again!

Tomorrow is the big padle race, this one is known for the funnest race in the world as far as paddle race goes. with Maui's strong tradewind pushing from behind, you get glides that you wouldn't experience anywhere else. it is like riding small waves on stop! and the guys on Maui are soo fast!

Anyways, I bumped into Michi on the water and he said there are already more signups than last year and usually people don't sign up till the day before so it will be a big race tomorrow and the wind is supposed to be as strong as today.My body is a little sore from yesterday. the very subtle excercise the trainer showed me yesterday at the gym ( I thought it was like grannie's excercise and couldn't see how that could help me build anything) is working, pretty cool.
So I went to the gym for a little bit to work on the same boring excercise before I went paddling.

Southside is completely flat so Kana called for downwinder. Tomo, Kana and I went out from Maliko and as we were paddling down motoko and Hide saw us and sailed close to us at Hookipa. palyed around like dolphins would do to boats. pretty cool.

It was good sideshore and strong wind and I am starting to feel stronger again. what a fun way to get excercise! I cannot imagine how I was dealing the flat summer without downwinder in the past.

The true meaning of Health

I had a fortunate opportunity to interview Dr. Poskowitz last Jan, it was one of the very inspiring interviews I've done. In his book "Surfing and Helth" he explains the true health. It is more than the mere absense of disease, it is sperior state of being, living vigor life with strong body and mind. He listed 5 things in order to pursuit the true health.

1 correct diet
2 sufficient excercise
3 proper rest
4 recreation
5 good attitude of mind

1 and 2 are easy to understand , 3 as well, but for me, I tend to ignore that and end up getting too tired and get hurt( in fact most of my sickness and injury came from not having proper rest )
4 is pretty interesting. Doc even explained that the word RECRETION means Re- Create so we have to have receation to refresh ourselves and become brand new again so we won't get worn out . I got it! That is why we feel so good after doing things we love . I have plenty of #4 in my life to be healthy.
5 is very important. many physical illness comes from mental problems , we all know that. But it is hard to have a right attitue 247. But I guess if you have good diet, some excercise and rest and do things you love, that will keep you happy and content that your attitude of mind will be positive. and boy I know how well connnected the mind and body is , that is for sure. I was dealing with that all last 4 weeks!

when I think of these list and then look at Sumomo ( my best friend's 3 year old daughter ) she is a perfect example of true health. She is 1 eating well, 2 always moving , 3 take a good nap and good night sleep, then 4 do all kinds of fun stuff and 5 always happy and interested in everything and live in a moment 100% with no judgement, no hangups. That is why she is so beautiful and adorable! Having her aroound is a constant learning experience in a great fun way.

Maliko Bay to Kahukui Harbor

My back is getting better and my stoke gets higher every day!
Even though I am ot doing the paddle race this year, I went out with Tomo to check out the course today, it is about 10 Miles ) I think from the start to finish, but as long as it has trade wind push, it doesn't feel too long and the glide is super fun.

I had only done the whole leg once before long time ago when I could hardly paddle but I realized that it is good to do often because it helps to know which line to take . everyday the wind direction is a bit different, yesterday was offshore and hard to paddle in so we end up paddling a lot on right side, Today I took middle course and still wasn't outside enough so I ended up paddling left side the whole time towards the end, hugging the jetty just to clear it to get to the end. and then the past part , you have to paddle almost against the wnd and that is tough.

Tomo seemed pretty happy with how he did ( he said it took him an hour and 34 minutes , I guess it took meabout an hour and 40 something minutes)
I am just happy I made it without hurting any part of my body.

Tomo and Nagamatsu-kun( another pro windsurfer/paddler guy from Japan) went out one more time for short run in the rain.
They are shocked how high the levels are here but excited to learn s lot from it.

We had pot luck dinner at John and chihagi's . I have a hermit life when I am on Maui and never go out but it was great to see many friends and had great tasting dishes. John and chigahi both used to work at surfshops ( john still does at Hi-Tech) and always helping Japanese visitors Their Open-arms-hospitality is wonderful!

Tomo Murabayashi on Maui

After paddling yesterday, my back was not too sore and I felt like I can keep going.
I have been feeling weak and unhealthy for so long , it is such a great feeling to be Ok to play in the water again.

My friend Tomo Murabayashi( kiter/ standup paddler) from Japan arrived yesterday to participate in the paddle race which will　be held this coming weekend. So we went out paddling together　and had bast, he doesn't have a top of a line race board but he has been training hard and just won Japanese big standup event ( all 3 disciplines)
He was pretty fast ( way faster than me to say the least ) but we saw Dave Kalama and his friends going out from Maliko at the same time so I told him to watch Dave so he can learn some tips. But even though he started a lot later than us, before we even got to Hookipa , Dave passes us in a flash and we didn't even get to have time to watch him. Sooo fast! pretty amazing to watch ( for maybe 2 second and he became a tiny dot)

Anyways, Tomo will be in 12ft board division so I think he has more chance ( all the good serious racer guys are in unlimited or over 14 ft class) I hope he does well.
For me, I'd better not think about racing now and focus on healing. there is always another event. I am just happy to be able to paddle and get wet. That is more than enough.

Road to recovery

After trying out to go stand up paddling on the south side, I had heavy headache. I didn't know what it was from but that kept me from going out and do stuff, I was sooo sick of being weak and unhealthy but there was nothing I could do.

Keiko told me she has exactly the same headache on full moon . I do get affected by full moon a lot , not being able to sleep but I never thought that I would get headache . Strange enough the head ache is pretty much gone today. And I went out for downwinder paddle with Motoko.
I was a bit nervous because unlike standup paddling in the small surf on the southside, you are constantly paddling and it is a bit long , I wasn't sure if my back can handle it. Overall I had a great time just being out there with my best friend and I did figure out I can paddle if I don't paddle hard trying to catch the swell, when I try to paddle hard, than my back can feel it .
I wanted to do the race on 12th and was determined to train after Baja ( which was may so I was supposed to have whole month of June to train ) but I decided not to, if I go in the race, no matter what I would try to paddle hard and right now my body is not capable and my main focus should be healing and getting stronger so ... maybe next year.
At least I am out in the water a little bit. I am happy about that.

Ahi Dinner with Keiko and Skip

Now that my back is finally getting better, surf is going down . Typical, but it's Ok, if the surf is going off, I probably get too excited and go a lot more than I should. I should take it slow since after 4 weeks or laying in bed, I lost all my strength and muscles.

I invited Keiko and Skip for dinner , they were so wonderful while I was down , they fully took care of me, coming and bringing food, ice, whatever they can think of, every day, couple times a day! it was a lot and I really appreciate that and hope I can be that way when any of my friend gets hurt or need any kind of help.

Anyway, I had some fresh ahi that Jamie caught and cut it out for me, so I made seared ahi and Tahitian ceviche( my favorite dish) we also had salad and Annin dohu for desert, in additin to that Keiko brought us icecream with yummy chocolate powder so we had a feast. it was a very relaxed peaceful fun dinner.

Keiko said that she has exact headache that I have and it happens on full moon night so my headach may be caused by the same reason.
hmmm interesting. if that is the case my headache should be gone tomorrow so that is a good news.

I really want to get back in shape and go full force in the water but at the same time I am abit scared that I may aggrevate my injury so I have been very careful and hesitant.
Hopefully I can talk to some trainer or physical theapist and find out what to do and what not to do very soon.

Water Therapy!

After 4 weeks of recovering , I finally decided to try to go in the water .
the surf has been pretty good on the southside the whole time I was down.
I got to Thousand peaks, and it was not that big but fun size for me to go after 4 weeks of no exercise.
my old windsurfing friend and living Aloha , Joni Demello was there so we went out together to this one little peak where no one was out and had a mellow cruising session. the waves weren't that great but it didn't matter , I was just happy to be back in the water, I could feel that every time I fall in the water, all my stress and worries and depression was literally being washed away and I came out cleaner, more refreshed.
This is the best therapy I can ever get, as long as I don't push it to aggravate my injury.
I have to keep remind myself not to go off too fast and go slow.
I rbought my waterproof camera out so I would shift my energy off from catching waves to takling photos of my pictures, that worked well!

What a difference!

I started walking outside a little bit yesterday because one of Motoko's friend who happened to be a doctor told me I should be moving as much as I can, and even though I was trying to take as little drugs as possible, he told me to go for it and make the pain go away so I could move.
After reaggrevated my injury, I was so scared todo anything because I didn't want to keep reaggrevated again and couldn't stand taking so long to heal.

It still doesn't feel strong or well but I started moving and popping the drugs as the doctor told me.
one thing I notoiced is how I feel. I may feel a bit soreness on my back or some heaviness but so far it hasn't gave me any sharp pain or disk slipping feeling. and juts being outside and wallking a bit made me feel like I am worth something.
I must admit I don't take very well not being active or being injured, it makes me feel like such a loser. Laying in bed for 4 weeks was not good for my selfesteem.

Yesterday I tried to wear shoes and realized that I am not used to it and ended up getting blisters after just 10-20 minutes of walking. how could I get blisters from comfy soft sneakers, that's pretty bad but I have done it and I don't remember when is the last time I had anything on that had heals covered. ( I usually wear slippers or clogs) So much for trying to look official.

So today I wore Tevas and that seems to be Ok, but still I got a little more blisters. I have to admit that I never really walk much and maybe I should stat now to get my legs in shape to support my back.

Anyway, walking through the forest was great, it felt like my life is meaningful again.
And now I am motivated to explore other trails. There gotta be many great falls that I haven't seen .

Root of the Japanese watermen

Last weekend, the 10th annual Sabani crossing Race was held in Okinawa, Japan.
I was fortunate to join that race couple years ago, it was full of big adrenalin rush, bonding with friends, humbling and learning experience in the open ocean. I was blown away how ancient Japanese fishermen used to handle those boats to go everywhere alone to travel and fish. It was very hard to control and required a lot of skill and knowledge of the ocean, it sure made me want to be better at at, too.

I didn't get to join the race this year but I was following how my friends were doing in the race.
The captain oftThe team I was in couple years ago, is a professional windsurfer named Naoto and he is born and raised Okinawan. He is a typical islander and his passion for Sabani seems to grow every year, he ended up buiding his own Sabani this year. And that's a pretty big deal.
The skill to build Sabani boat is considered almost extinct, there are only handful of boat builders left and they are all getting really old. So I thought it was a wonderful awakening of younger generation , trying to figure out to build a good Sabani boat.
Even though the boat turned out to be heavy and not go fast for the race, I think Naoto shook many people's motivation to learn more about Sabani and even to build one.
Yvon once said Sometimes it is the process that matters more than the results. I think the fact that he wanted to learn how his ancester used to build and handle those boats is such a wonderful thing that it doesn't matter the boat wasn't fast enough to win the race. Seems like not doing well in the race only put gas into his inner fire for Sabani anyways.

Talking about process. another friend of mine, who I really respect is Nakata, he is a fisherman in Ishigaki where I visit almost every time I go back to Japan. It is far down south of Japan and almost tropical. the water is so clear and beautiful, full of bright corals. He is also a long time windsurfer/ kitesurfer and standup paddler.
He has been leading a team for Sabani race for 4 years now but this year, they decided to go traditinal way.
It means they won't attach outrigger( without it, it is extremely hard to balance the boat) and they will only use the traditinal paddle for stiring( manual stiiring with that skinny paddle called EIKU is mind-wearing and physically demanding)
He said it was as hard as they were afraid of but they managed to finish the race and got 5th in the traditional sabani division.
I am sure it gave them a whole another respect for their own cultture and ancesters who used to travel across with the boat that way.

I always think going back to simple way can be good sometims, it requires more of your own judgement, your own body strength and skills and knowledge.
Just think about crossing island to island, for instance. We depend on GPS, engines to go fast, and maps and phones to travel safe, which keep us from learning about current , weather patterns, all the signs that ocean gives us and also not gaing all the physical strength and mental toughness that come with it.

Sabani Race raise the awareness and the pride for the Japanese traditional skills and knowledge of the ocean. and people in the race all have mutural passion and connection among them, it's a great feeling.
I sure hope I can make it back to be part of it next summer!

photo is Team Unajura with traditonal Sabani.