I decided nothing would be more relaxing than to motor a few miles offshore, jump into the water with about 30 pounds of chum and blood to see what might show up.

A little aggro at first. Check out how his jaws are pushed forward, anxious to chomp down.

He even butted out the smaller sharks who also wanted to check out the crazy sick haole trespasser and get in on the feeding frenzy that I was putting on.

After working with him for about a hour, he became my pet shark.

He even lost interest in the chum and fish bits I would wave around and would just come up to me for pets, pats and rubs like a dog.

Gooooood sharkie…. Who’s a goooood sharkie?

- Paul

Talis dressed up for Halloween

Alea was more interested in Paul’s shield than her own costume. She saw it as a frisbee.

Then we got ready to go…

Actually… We didn’t have any real plans. So, all dressed up and no place to go, we headed down to the Waikiki strip. There were tons of people dressed up walking around. There were also SO MANY international travelers that were particularly facinated with anyone dressed up as American icons. Paul and I could not take more than two steps without being stopped to pose for pictures with at least ten different tourists. It was as if we were Disney characters and everyone wanted their kid’s photo taken with us… only EVERYONE wanted their picture taken with us. I thought that was unbelievable….

UNTIL….

Oh man… then did they REALLY go crazy!!

Then we eventually ran into Wonder Woman and Superman.

It was a fun night. But, then it was time to go home.

I know everyone would think Superman and Supergirl would be an “item”. BUT, you should all remember that Superman (aka. Clark Kent) has Lois Lane; and he’s too honorable of a man to cheat. So… I suppose that would make Supergirl and Captain America less of an unlikely couple. Right?

We didn’t have a camera with us. So, these are all the photos we have.

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween.

Our team flew to Molokai in a private jet.

We stayed in nice condos near the beach and had a big carb-up dinner.

The next morning we were up by 4am. They did a Hawaiian blessing and off we went.

This is where we start:

There is one escort boat for every canoe. The escort boats have to stay a ways away from the canoes at the beginning of the race. Our coach was taking pictures from the boat, so I don’t have pictures for the very beginning of the race. The escort boats have to stay a ways away from the canoes in the beginning, so we don’t have any pictures of the actual start.

For the actual start Jenny and I modeled the latest of Dave Young fashions – this season’s fashion being bright orange oversized cut out tank tops to wear over the team jerseys. (My sister’s personal fav – I shall find them and send them to her and Eric). The concept behind this fashion is to help the escort boat find us after the initial start. Jenny and I modeled for only the first 40 minutes of the race. So, there are no orange jerseys here. (It was a good idea though! And it did work!)

Here is part of the beginning of the race. I’m climbing back into seat two. No… the boat does NOT stop for you. Drag your legs and slow your team down. Miss the boat and REALLY slow your team down (and get whacked up side the head by a disappointed teammate). Go ahead and laugh at my butt sticking up in the air. I think it’s a funny picture too.

Then, I suppose I should show you some actual paddling pictures…

Then we near the finish line…

I wasn’t in the crew that came in third. But, the girls that I paddled with still kicked butt. We all started paddling our very first season this last March. I don’t think crossing the Molokai channel this year was even a remote aspiration six months ago. I think it was something we all wanted to do… but thought we would do it next year “if we got good enough”. Well, we had great coaches and really worked well to support each other. So… we got “good enough” faster than expected!

There were more girls than there were seats in the boat for races. Still yet, the girls would continue to help each other strive instead of step on others trying to get into that race seat. I think that’s what made us the Hawaii State Champions in August 2008 (Regatta). When it came time to the distance season, all of us novice paddlers were thrown into the open women category. The experienced women paddlers were a great support and paddling wtih them made us even stronger. The group of us really bonded and had a great race this September. We finished the Na Wahine O Ke Kai together after 6 hours 34 minutes.

Luckily, our team is composed of hard core paddling junkies. Our team has social paddling for the “off season paddling season” for those of us who can’t go without. Our next race is November 2nd – a fundraiser for the US Coast Guard Foundation, in memory of the crew of USCG-6505.

Photos by Dave Young and Andrea Messer

Last week I had another race. This one was 32 miles, from Hawaii Kai to Nanakuli (past Ko’Olina on the west side). I didn’t have very much rest. So, I’m guessing I did about 25 of those miles. The girls change in and out of the boat during the race… while the boat is moving. You can’t drag your legs when you climb in or you will slow your team down. Miss the boat completely, and you REALLY slow your team down. I never did a change before this race. My coach showed me a video on “You Tube” and told me to “do what they do” and “whatever you do – DON’T miss the boat”. Needless to say, I was a little nervous for my first change. But, thank God I did not miss the boat. It was my first distance race and a great experience. Our club came in 3rd, 10th, and I don’t know what the other two places we got were. There were about 25 canoes racing in this one (maybe more).

I don’t know how many deaf outrigger canoe paddlers there are out there. If there are more out there, I’d really like to meet them. In these canoes, we alternate which side we paddle on. But, when we change which side we paddle on, the girl sitting in the second seat yells, “HUT!”. My crew team has incorporated a stomp on the bottom of the boat with the “HUT”. I can feel the stomp, the other girls hear the “HUT”.

We have another huge long distance race coming up. I didn’t think I would make crew for any of the races this long distance season. I missed half the season with the honeymoon and wedding stuff. I only went to two practices before last week’s race. But, surprise, surprise. I just will be racing the Na Wahine O Ke Kai after all! That’s the women’s version of the men’s “Molokai Hoe”. We race from Molokai all the way back to Oahu.

While I was recovering, Paul set out for yet another fish adventure….

and

This is Ulua #3 for me and 11 pounds lighter than my last ulua lesson…

Where: Somewhere on the east side in the upcoming Fall Shootout tournament grounds while scouting. 15′ deep.
Conditions: Glassy waters, moderate swells and currents
Time: 2:30 PM

I was a bit bored. I had been diving for most of the day already and was rather unimpressed with what I had seen so far. Some small mus, some uhus, one papio and one omilu that was about 10#. Earlier that morning, I had done what I thought was blue water until I dove down to 80′ and found that I could actually make out the bottom. I informed C. Carcharias that I could see the bottom and he went down to check it out. He came back up reporting seeing a large uku. I tossed a spoon and followed it down and confirmed the sizeable uku that was deeper than I was comfortable in going. I estimated it was in 130-140′ of water and a 20 pounder.

Anyways, at about 2:30 that afternoon, I decided to swim towards some dry land just to see if there was anything interesting there. I saw my biggest pair of onos of my life right next to a cliff off of Niihau, and I shot my biggest White Sea Bass in only 3′ of water in San Diego. One just never knows.

I came upon a trench in the rocks with surging waves. It looked like an open trench but when I got closer, the trench was clogged nearly shut by coral and rock formation just a foot or two underwater. Upon closer inspection, I noted that there was a cavern below the coral and rock formation following the trench.

A dive buddy swam up to me to confirm that I was OK as I was breathing up. I flashed him the thumbs up sign and dove down to the cave opening as a big wave crashed on me, churning white water everywhere. Visibility was bad, but I could make out the cave swallowing me up. It was sucking in water and not pushing water out so I knew it had an opening somewhere. I allowed myself to be sucked into the cavern and darkness. As the bubbles lifted, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I saw a big ulua swimming straight for me as I tumbled deeper into the cave.

Like a lone gunslinger under a harsh noon sun in a western movie, I squinted my eyes, and casually, I swung around my overpowered 55″ Wong Carbon Hybrid with brand spankin’ new Aimrite shaft. The ulua turned barely 5 feet from me. My trigger finger tightened.

BLAM!

Right through its cheek and out the backside of its gill plate. It did not even blink, change it’s turning speed or react that I could see.

s–t, did I miss or something? Why is he turning away and swimming away slowly as if nothing happened? This is just like my last ulua!

Within seconds, the 300# mono shaft line was taut and all hell broke loose. The brute charged deeper into the cave, hauling me along for a ride. I quickly grabbed a piece of rock hanging off the side of the cave and put a strong stop to the Ulua. I then pulled it towards me, turning it. I was able to swim backwards out of the cave, hauling hard. I swam out of the cave, waving with my free arm for the dive buddy to come and put in a back-up shot.

The ulua had other plans. He turned around and dragged me back into the cavern. I looked behind me as I got pulled back into the cave again. Dive buddy no where to be seen. C’est la vie. Darkness again. Eyes adjusted. Bounced off the ceiling. Grabbed a piece of coral on the ceiling. Arms straining hard. Pull hard on the gun. the big brute is turned again. I swim back out of the cave. Look around again for my dive buddy. Nowhere to be seen. Must breathe. The ulua pulls me back towards the cave.

I let go of the gun and watch it as it rapidly disappears back into the cave, bouncing off of the ceiling. Luckily, my float line is attached to the gun so I’m not too worried about losing the gun. I surface and gasp for breath. I see my dive buddy about 50 yards out to sea looking at me. I wave frantically. He sees the urgency and immediately sprints over.

I tell him I’ve shot a big ulua and that I need a back up shot in it asap, preferably a kill shot. He looks at me as we get churned around as if in a washing machine barely feet away from sharp rocks rising out of the water. A wave crashes, spraying water all over us. He looks under water. Looks back at me. Shakes his head as if to say “No way Jose.”

We watch my dive float come cruising past our faces. We both know my float line is 100′ long. This is not good news.

(blurred to protect location until after tournament – those that know the spot extremely well might recognize it from the next photo – keep it to yourselves please)
The current pushes us into the trench above the cave and we are getting bounced on the rocks, reef and each other. I finally decide that yes, this is indeed dangerous, especially for him. I tell him to move back out to the open sea and he does so.

As he kicks away, I go under again, blindly following my float line, unwrapping it from various overhangs and pieces of coral. I surface again for several more breaths as I try to slow down my racing heart. My dive buddy is looking at me from the open sea and starts towards me again.

I go under again and unwrap enough of the float line that I reach my gun again and feel the monster still fighting at the end of my line so I know he’s still there. I look harder and see an opening at the end of the cavern. I can see the shape of the fish filling up most of the opening. Looking above, I find another opening in the roof of the cavern and squeeze through.

On the surface, I swim to the back door of the cave that I had spied earlier. Sure enough, I can see the ulua swimming in circles there. My dive buddy joins me there and askes what the hell is going on. I point below him at the brute. He gives a jump of surprise. I tell him to shoot it. He goes under, aims with the muzzle just a foot away and pulls the trigger just as another wave hits and he completely misses. Now his line is tangled up in mine as the ulua circles.

It seems to be tiring and I am worried that the shooting line is going to break with all the coral/rock rubbing that is occurring at the back door. I dive down and grab it by the tail with both hands. Holding on TIGHT, I haul it up to the surface. I let go with one hand and jam another into it’s gills which clamp shut on my hand, trapping it there. I let go of the tail.

The knife comes out and plunges. The battle is over.

Cost:
Cut/shredded shooting line: 20
Shaft: 75
Water Proof Camera Stopped Working: $99

Total: About $195, a $105 improvement over the last incident.
Swimming along, I notice something strange in it’s mouth…

It’s an freshly eaten eel!

Scale issues (made in China) so an accurate weight is uncertain, but my favorite estimate by an experienced spearo is 67# and I agree so that’s what I’m calling it.

-Paul

and

Jen

P.S. Thankfully, this fish isn’t as big or bigger than his last Uhula catch – no pressure for me to eat it . However, now Paul is wanting to buy those big horrible freezer chests to put out on the lanai. This is coming from the same man that vetoed a kitchen table because it would take up too much room.

Haole Tourist Diving/Watching on the North Shore! Not For the Weak
So I was bored yesterday…

Decided to go on a Haole Tourist Dive.

hao·le (hou’lē, -lā)
n. Hawaii
A white person.

tour·ist /ˈtʊərɪst/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[toor-ist]
noun
a person who is traveling, esp. for pleasure.

How often does one get to view these unique creatures outside of a major tourist area? It was difficult to find a boat willing to take me out to the area I wanted to for the purposes I wanted to. They kept saying it was too crazy and dangerous.

But money talks as everybody knows.

A small, leaky inflatable boat owner agreed to take us out when the offering price got high enough.

Three of us ventured forth, all of us armed with under water cameras and a video camcorder.

As the captain steered us miles out to sea, his face was easy to read. He did not like this job and was scared.

I was all smiles though.

After a quick lesson in how to use the military-spec tourniquets in case we were attacked by the haole tourists while in the water…

It was time to hit the water. I was the first overboard, and promptly lost my mask. Everybody on the boat looked at me in concern as I fumbled for my mask and put it back on. Then I looked all around in the water.

WHEW! No haole tourists to be seen! I flashed the okay sign, and indicated “zero” with my hand so the others knew it was safe to enter the water.

A few minutes later after chumming the water with sharks, we found them! Yes, the crazy haole tourists!

Savages the lot of them. No wonder they had to be kept in a metal cage with bullet-proof windows on the sides. They were staring at me with crazed eyes while blubbering on the surface. They also appeared to constantly be trying to break apart the bars as evidenced by how often they held on to the bars and even used their legs on the bars too. See below photo.
I was wary at first, but as I watched their unsuccessful attempts at escaping from their cage, I felt more confident and got a bit closer. I even observed some intelligence in these creatures. They actually took pictures of me taking pictures of them. However, I wrote this off as just imitation after I observed them waving back at me when I waved at them. They’re just like monkeys at the zoo.

See Video clip:

We got bored with those three and we kept looking for other haole tourists. We didn’t find any others, sadly.

How big? Use photo below for size reference.

Aku Tuna (skipjack) – I shot one of these but…

A bunch of sharks promptly charged me and my fish, ripped my fish away without biting me and tore up my shooting line. I couldn’t even try again since they also took my shaft away. Bastards.

I had to settle for hitching free rides on the back of these apex predators each time they cruised by instead of doing more hunting shoulder-to-shoulder.

See Video Clip

We heard from the boat that was chumming and landing the akus that a Great White was just a few blocks away from us. We made a bee-line to the area but didn’t see it. Just more sharks…

Good times. Scary tourists.

-Paul

It’s been a while, but we’ve been BUSY!!! We’re so glad that most everyone was able to come to our wedding. I’m sending some pictures that I’m betting you don’t have.

As you may already know, I had a big race the day I flew to California. I didn’t think I would be able to race at all. But, it was the state championships… and since I made crew, how could I not race? The race was at 11am and my flight left at 1pm. We dropped off all my stuff at the airport and then went to the race. The Waikiki Beach Boys Canoe Club came in 1st and 7th (out of 14).

Paul brought his camera, but left the battery at home charging. So, instead, here’s a picture from a prior race at the Waikiki Beach, in front of Duke’s. We won this race too.

Even though I was the one who would have a good excuse to miss my flight, PAUL was the one who wasn’t on his plane in time. Apparently, he got the times mixed up. Luckily, he was able to fly in on the red eye from Honolulu to LAX to San Jose. He arrived the same day as his bachelor party. I don’t have much to say about his bachelor party since I wasn’t there. They did some kind of car racing thing….

Their van was VERY FULL. So, they drew straws (or sticks rather) to see who had to sit in the trunk. You think I’m kidding??? Poor Eric (Kim’s boyfriend). Good thing he’s a good sport.

Then there was our bon fire….

After the wedding, we drove up to see Paul’s family in Mill Valley (just north of the Golden Gate bridge). On the way back, we stopped at the same place Paul retrieved my first starfish. Actually, the starfish was more directly under the bridge. But, they have a fence there now that keeps people out of that area…. Maybe there were too many people hopping down the rocks like Paul.

Then there was our honeymoon. We sailed from Oahu to Molokai to Lanai to Maui, back to Molokai and then back home to Oahu. I never got motion sick until the first time I got in the car with Paul. I had a feeling I would also get sick on a boat with him. I was right. Despite the patch behind the ear, the accupressure wrist bands, and the motion sick pills, the first 8 hours was hard. After that, I did get used to it…. a little too used to it. By the time we got to Maui, I had a hard time walking on land.

You can see Diamondhead in the distance. We left from Hawaii Kai.

This is as dry as I ever saw Paul….

And at the harbor in Lanai…

I’m getting ready to sent part II. Stay tuned… Paul has some stories coming up….