Surf VIdeos from Waimea Bay

I took a bunch of photos on sports mode the other day at Waimea Bay and pieced them together so you could watch short video clips.  They aren't amazingly long, but they are pretty cool!  Check it out...

One of the many big wave rides shared.

Riding the shore break in, then wiping out.  The water was super rough.

Body boarding at Waimea, he lands it! Watch closely, it goes fast....

Eddie Aikau Competition 2011 - (almost)

Last week, we had 20 to 40 foot waves predicted and the Eddie Aikau competition was predicted to go off. So I drove up to Waimea Bay and brought my camera and some snacks and waited.  We got to the beach around 7 am, and people had been waiting since 4.  They waited until sunrise to make the call, then till 8:30, then kept waiting.  Finally they made the call and it was a no go.  The waves were an easy 20 feet, but they weren't consistently big enough to hold the competition.  Even though the competition didn't go, the surfers were out in full effect and the waves were amazing.  Here are some pictures that I took that morning.

There were a lot of jet ski guys in the water to make sure the surfers were safe and any wipe outs were scooped out of the water as soon as they could get to them.  This is when they were going through the shore break.  CrazY!

The lineup was huge!

I love these shots...

All in

Checking out the waves before surrendering to mother nature.

So many dogs...

Killer ride, SOLO!

Yep this is a body boarder, and he lands it!

Coming in from the surf, taking a dive.

Just getting out of the water was a challenge, the guys rode the shore break all the way in and up on the beach.

Just a few shots of the guys braving the surf.  More photos to come soon of them riding.  

Laniakea Surf Photos

A drive up to the North Shore a few weeks ago brought me to a place of peace and awe.  The waves were beautiful and the surf was up!  The competition that had been scheduled for that day at Pipeline was cancelled, but that didn't mean there weren't any surfers ripping it up.  I got out my camera and a beer and this is what I saw...

Climbing up the face

Carving back down

Riding double . . .

Splash!  Another one goes in for a wave of the day.

Still riding double

Waves were really picking up!

Ended up being a pretty fun day to go watch the surf on the North Shore.

A Crowded Day at Cliffs

One of my favorite spots to surf on Oahu is Cliffs.  It is one of the breaks off of Diamond Head and is great for beginners.  I was walking above Diamond Head the other day and caught a few great shots of the surf that day.  It was a fun looking day of waves but crowded!  I like to go early in the morning to avoid all the people and catch the best waves with mild wind....

Looking out to the East from the top of the bridge

Look at all those people!

I wanna be in that wave!  So fun...

Surf and Sun - my daily diet

Suddenly I am surfing again.  I had been out of the water for a few months, and now this month I have been in hours upon hours.  I even got a new board.  Super exciting...  Inspired by my return love for surfing, I share these beautiful items from etsy.  All of these items would make great gifts for the ocean lover in your lives...  :) Enjoy the eye candy and get inspired to re-live something you used to love.

Check out this beautiful photo.  Visit the shop for more where that came from.

This is how I have been feeling lately.  The water, the sun, and the waves are a true therapy.

Grab this print here.

Whoa.  Stunning quilt art.  I would like to say if I saw this wave, I would be in it.  But the beauty of art is it could be 2 feet or 20, only the artist knows. :)  Pieced together with batik fabrics, you can find this piece here.

A social session with the girls...  :) What is not to love??

Grab this postcard and more here.

Laniakea - A Turtle Lover's Dream

What makes Laniakea so special?  Is it the beautiful stretch of sand, the great surf, or the large amount of green sea turtle's all in one place?  I love it all, but in the past few years, Laniakea has become a CRAZY tourist destination.  You can't miss the beach, just look for about 50 cars parked on the side of the road and tour buses stopped along the pull off areas.

(One of the many massive honu resting on some rocks just above the surf zone.  I took this last weekend.)

What once was peaceful and serene is now crowded and a little crazy.  What makes Laniakea different from other beaches on Oahu?  There are other places to spot turtle's, in fact, pretty much anytime you are out surfing, you'll spot a few.  But at Laniakea, you can see them basking in the sun, nibbling on limu, or swimming in the waves.  Please be respectful of our turtles/honu and keep your distance.  

This guy was loving the splashing, crashing waves on his back just before he slid into the surf.  

If you want to read more about Laniakea and protecting the turtles, check out this site.  http://www.turtles.org/laniakea.htm

If you have never been to Laniakea, it is located on the North Shore of Oahu.  During the summer, the waves are mild and sometimes non-existent, but in the winter they are world famous and huge.

Here is a view of the coastline from the beach last weekend.

And finally, the reason the turtle's love Laniakea!  FOOOD!  I knew we had a lot in common...

Hawaii Tsunami Warning February 27, 2010

Last night when I went to bed I watched the news and heard about the massive earthquake in Chile, and that we were under a tsunami advisory.  I set my alarm to wake up early and check the news for tsunami updates/alerts.  At 5:30 my boyfriend's dad called from the mainland to tell us about what was going on-that we were under a tsunami advisory and that it would arrive around 11:15.  ! Yikes! 

I have lived in Hawaii for 8 years and have been lucky enough not to have experienced a hurricane, tsunami, or other major disaster.  So we started filling water bottles, packed our freezer with ice packs, showered, washed dishes, etc.

We don't live in an evacuation area, but we live on the other side of one.  (Pretty much right on the line...)  Eventually some of my neighbors decided to go up Diamond Head to see if they could see anything.  We decided to go up too to try and get some pictures or just get a view of the tsunami.

There were so many people at Diamond Head!  News crews, people who had evacuated, people drinking, laying out, everyone was just waiting...and waiting...and waiting.  People started double parking and triple parking so we decided to go back home.

We had a small surge in water levels, and Hilo experienced the river like rushing on it's shoreline, but nothing major. 

At 2:00 this afternoon, they called an all clear!  Yeay!  Disaster averted, Hawaii made it through without major damage/flooding.  I am relieved and happy that we won't have to deal with flooding and the mess that can be caused by a tsunami.  Here are some photos that I took while we were at Diamond Head today...

People lining up on the wall all the way down the lookout

The cars were 2-3 deep everwhere

All of the boats went out to sea to avoid damage

Watching the shoreline for changes...

Beautiful, but a strange site for Diamond Head...  Not a surfer in site, but hundreds of boats.

Watching the Surf at Sandys

I took a visit to the Windward side yesterday and stopped to watch the surf at Sandys.  They were ripping it up and I was seriously regretting not bringing my board.  I probably would have ate it and gotten worked, but it looked so fun!

These two were so cute!  Dressed for a day on a midwest farm the grandpa had a radio, full pants, and look at the mat under their feet!  I wonder what they were doing at the beach??