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NEW CANOE!!!

May 20th, 2009
by Administrator.
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The new canoe, Holole'a

The new canoe, Holole'a

About a month ago, I gave up on my search for a used OC-4, and ordered a brand new one from Jay Dowsett (Kailua Kanu). This is the same design as the red and white canoe we surfed in the “OC-4 at the Mokes” video… After much drooling and anticipation, the canoe is finished! Jay delivered it with his son Michael yesterday evening. Kai and I met them at the boat ramp in Kailua to rig it up, and Roxy met us there just as we were unloading it from the trailer. Jay gave me a quick rigging lesson, and we were ready to paddle. We took a quick spin around flat island, and as it was getting a little late, we paddled over to Lanikai (where she will live). Stace was finishing up with OC-6 practice and joined us. We took one more paddle out to the reef and back, then put her away for the night. I didn’t take many pics, but don’t worry, there will be plenty coming!

Sunset in Lanikai

Sunset in Lanikai

The Canoe is an Opelu (an opelu is a fish – a mackerel scad). Traditionally, an Opelu canoe was used for fishing and laying nets. Now, they are used for surfing and having fun. The wa’a (main hull) is 24′ long, with a beam of 18-19″. The iako are about 7 1/2′ long. The hull weighs about 170#, and all rigged up, the boat is around 200#. It’s fun to paddle and surfs really well. What really sold me on the Opelu, was how well it handles. Even though it is a surfing machine, and has the rocker needed to maneuver on the waves, it paddles efficiently enough to be fun for dinking around (and sails really well when rigged up for sailing – if you have a sunfish rig, let me know…).

I spent a lot of time researching an appropriate name, and came up with Holole’a. Holole’a is a contracted word that comes from holo – “run, sail, ride, go” and le’a (or le’a.le’a) – “joy, pleasure, happiness, merriment”. Put together, it is defined as “a ride, as at a carnival or amusement park”. I think it’s a perfect name for a surfing canoe; riding for joy, pleasure, happiness, or merriment. That is what this canoe is all about. Aloha.

SUP with the GoPro

May 10th, 2009
by Administrator.
2 comments

Aloha,
This is a video made with film I shot back on 19 April. Editing videos has basically choked our laptop. I filled up the hard drive, and it was running way too slow to edit things… So… I bought a new iMac (thanks Nani!)! Now I have a 24″ iMac with all the bells and whistles. It is a video editing power house (thanks Shane!). Now, I have to find some new things to shoot…

As for the SUP run… It was a perfect day, except for the lack of surf. The ocean was like glass, and I paddled from Kailua to the Mokes. There was a small ENE bump moving through, so I caught a few waves en route. There were some better waves between the Mokes, at Channels, so I went over to surf a little. Paddling back out after my second wave at Channels, I got to see why the camera has a lanyard attached… Ever wonder what happens to all the stuff you lose paddling or surfing? Well check out the last portion of the video to find out. I went right to keep from messing up another guys ride, and while making sure I was holding the board, my sunglasses, and my paddle, I managed to kick the camera off the board. I picked some landmarks to pinpoint my spot, and there was a big white rock on the bottom to help mark where I was… I tried to spot it standing on the SUP and looking with my polarized glasses, no luck. I tried to dive for it without a mask, still no luck. Unfortunately, I was out of time. I had 15 minutes to get back to Lanikai so I could watch Kaile while Stacey went to OC6 practice… Kaile and I swam for a while then went home. I got my snorkeling gear, and when Stacey got done with practice (several hours later), I went back out to search for the camera. Luckily, I was able to find the big white rock pretty easily… I spent about 20-30 minutes searching, and then found it! It was only about 20′ from the big white rock. When I brought it up, it was off (It turns off when the battery’s are low). I turned it back on and it worked… I thought it might have some more life left in it, so I tried to film on the way back in. It turned itself back off almost immediately… Oh well, at least I found it! Hope you enjoy the footage…
Aloha,
Eric

The weather improved!

Mar 14th, 2009
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We gave up on the weather, and were headed over the hill to waste some time, when I got a call. The weather is clearing up, and the surf is AWESOME!!! We pulled a U’ey and zoomed back home. I threw the board in the truck and headed to Lanikai Reef. The sets were still pretty giant – the channel between Lefts Lefts and Wraps was completely closed out on the bigger sets, but once I punched through, I took a off on a couple second story bombs. It was SWEET! While I was out, I noticed a 4-man with only 3 paddlers. I paddled over to see who it was, and they invited me to join. I left my board on the Mokes and climbed in. We got a bunch of fun waves, then dropping in on a giant, the steersman broke his (actually, it was Derek’s) paddle and we got donuts. The ama got ripped off and we looked like a yard sale all across Wraps. We swam the canoe to the Mokes to put it back together. No real damage. I had to take off and paddle back home to let Stace come paddle. When I grabbed my board, I saw that someone had horked my leash. WTF??? Who does that? No camera with me on that trip, so no documentation on any of the above events. But take my word for it, it was EPIC.

When I got home, Stace had the one-mans loaded, and we headed back out. With the conditions being so awesome, Mike wanted to take the Opelu 4-man (from the OC-4 surf video) out again, so this time Stace scored the ride. I put Kai on back of my Pueo and followed them out. They stayed inside (and didn’t break anything…) and got some really fun rides. I stayed long enough to snap a couple pics, then headed back (Kai was getting cranky). Kai and I played on the beach for a while, and Stace got her chance to have some fun. Pics are below. Aloha.

My Pueo with Kai's seat all ready to head out.

My Pueo with Kai's seat all ready to head out.

Stace and crew heading out.

Stace and crew heading out.

Opelu on a wave.

Opelu on a wave.

Even on the inside, the waves were fun!

Even on the inside, the waves were fun!

Eric and Kai back at the beach.

Eric and Kai back at the beach.

Kaile made some sand balls while we waited for Mommy.

Kaile made some sand balls while we waited for Mommy.

Here comes Mommy (in seat 1)!

Here comes Mommy (in seat 1)!

You think they had some fun?

You think they had some fun?

Giant NE Swell 13 March

Mar 14th, 2009
by Administrator.
1 comment

When I came out of the tunnel on the way home from work, the whole east side was engulfed in one of the biggest NE swells in decades. When I got home, I had 3 voice mails about the surf… The guys were taking the Opelu out and needed more bodies. We couldn’t find anyone to watch the monkey, so only one of us could go… Stace let me go! I’m in! It was too big and closed out to get anywhere near the reef, so we surfed the reforms inside. We got one ride that went from abeam channels all the way to within 100 yards of the beach (about 1/2 mile). It was friggin’ amazing. That night I had a hard time sleeping, thinking about how awesome it was going to be the next day, but woke up to driving rain. When it let up enough to see, we went to Agnes’ for some muffins and then out to check the surf. Flat Island was flat, and Lanikai Reef and the Mokes was still bigger than normal, but really sloppy and sharky looking (lots of run-off and brown water).

Lanikai Reef is going off!!!

Lanikai Reef is going off!!!

Kaile had fun running around on the beach. The picture below was taken with my iPhone. The light was pretty, so I ran back to the truck for the real camera…

Kaile on the beach Saturday morning.

Kaile on the beach Saturday morning.

Picture below was taken with the real camera…

Kaile still running around...

Kaile still running around...

Rain came back… So we left.

Here comes some more rain.

Here comes some more rain.

Now, we are back home and it’s still raining… Time to find something to do.

OC-4 at the Mokes!

Mar 11th, 2009
by Administrator.
4 comments

OC-4 Surfin’! Join in the fun as Mike takes Derek, Stacey and Eric out for a few waves at the Mokes. This was my first ride in an OC-4, and now I NEED one! That thing is FUN!

I called Mike to ask about OC-4′s and get some info on what to buy / where / who from / used canoes / etc. He responded with “you wanna take one out?”. HELL YEAH I DO!! So we did. Mike borrowed the boat from his friend Robin, and we headed out (thanks Robin!). We dropped the cooler on the Mokes and then launched for the surfing you see below. I wanted to do some cool tricks, but am lacking in the skill department… Derek pulled some head stands, but his head blocked the camera, so they didn’t make the video. Following the fun, Mike let me steer back to Lanikai. I need some practice, but first I need to get a boat…

Barney Boat Surf

Mar 4th, 2009
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Join Stacey for a little trip on the “Barney” boat, nicknamed due to it’s purple manu (endpieces) and mo’o (gunwales). Push off Lanikai beach with Mike at the helm, and ride along for an OC-6 surf at the Mokes. The video only shows one wave, but they were surfing for over an hour before the end. We won’t get into what happened there, as that is another story… Enjoy the ride.

My first Movie

Feb 21st, 2009
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This was my first movie. It was originally played on Beach Walks With Rox (Beachwalks.TV), but I decided to put it on Funhogs, too (for posterity…). It is called Pau Hana, because it was filmed on a Friday following an early dismissal from work (Aloha Friday). I start with my Pueo OC-1 at Kalama Beach Park in Kailua and go to Flat Island, where I catch a small wave. I then go to Lani Kai and run into Kaile who is playing with Mommy and Auntie Rox. I take her for a short spin, and then head out to the Mokes. Her cheesy little grin makes the whole movie for me. From the Mokes I go back to Kalama, wash the boat and take it home. “It’s good to get off work early”. The music is Kaimoku, “Honolulu Shuffle”. I hope you like it.

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