Outdoors, action and adventure

Surfers expect large swell for start of Billabong Pipe Masters

The season-ending Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons looks as though it will begin Thursday, the first possible day of competition, because of a large swell that already has arrived on Oahu's North Shore.

Waves were 8-10 feet on Tuesday and the Surfline forecast calls for sets in the double- to triple-overhead range on Thursday, with face heights exceeding 15 feet, and brisk offshore trade winds.

The swell will fade only slightly Friday, and slightly more Saturday, but overall conditions should be outstanding for the first three days.

Though Kelly Slater has already clinched the ASP World Tour title, there's plenty at stake for surfers hoping to improve their position in the standings, and for those in the running for the prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing title.

The top five in the World Tour rankings are Slater, Joel Parkinson, Owen Wright, Adriano de Souza and Taj Burrow.

Leading the Triple Crown race is Hawaii's John John Florence, 18; Adam Melling and Michel Bourez.

The competition window for the event, which is being held in honor of the late surfing icon Andy Irons, closes Dec. 20.

-- Image of Pipeline as seen from the beach Tuesday is courtesy of ASP

Top surfers hail Hawaii's plan to add sport in high schools

News item: Hawaii announces it will become the first state in the nation to make surfing a sanctioned high-school sport, available to students in public schools throughout the islands, placing wave riding on par with mainstream sports such as football, baseball and basketball.

Reaction: Had the high school I went to offered surfing during the 70s, when I spent many days of each semester choosing surfing in favor of school, I might have attended more classes, knowing I'd be surfing anyway.

Hawaii is to be commended. It's the birthplace of modern surfing and the legendary Duke Kahanamoku is the one of the sport's founding fathers. Most kids growing up on the islands are passionate about surfing and as any serious surfer knows, if there's a new swell on the way, attending school becomes secondary.

Maybe this will keep more kids in school.

Kauai's Bethany Hamilton, whose inspirational life story was portrayed in the recent hit movie "Soul Surfer," said via email:

"I believe bringing surfing into the school system will encourage the kids in their academics and keep them in school; and I think it will be a fun healthy addition to their daily life, which a lot of kids need these days."

Hamilton, who lost an arm to a shark in 2003 but continues to surf at a high level, is a courageous and determined young woman, idolized by kids and admired by adults.

Another inspirational figure in Hawaii is Oahu's Carissa Moore, who during the summer clinched the 2011 women's world surfing title. She agreed that surfing, like other sports, can help a person overcome adversity.

"You fall down over and over again, but you keep picking yourself back up until you ride one all the way to the beach," she said. "I know that's kind of cheesy, but I think surfing is definitely a really good outlet for a lot of teens and young kids. It's a way to channel a lot of energy into something positive."

Surfing will be included in curriculums, for boys and girls, as early as 2013. The Duke would be proud.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo shows the late Andy Irons, a three-time world champion from Kauai, surfing at Pipeline. Credit: Vince Cavataio

Shane Dorian invents inflatable wetsuit in hope of saving lives

Surfing giant waves might become much safer thanks to the development of a revolutionary new wetsuit that contains an inflatable air-bladder that promises to drastically reduce the risk of drowning.

Renowned big-wave surfer Shane Dorian, who in 2010 experienced a near-death situation after a major wipeout, has teamed with Billabong to invent the first-of-its-kind survival wetsuit, whose bladder is activated with the tug of a cord.

"The wipeout was terrible," he said of the incident, which occurred at notorious Maverick's near Half Moon Bay, Calif. "I got held under for two waves and almost drowned. After that I had an idea to incorporate an air bladder, something like the airplane vests where you pull the tab and it inflates immediately with a CO2 cartridge."

A news release announcing the development of the Billabong V1 wetsuit -- which is not yet available to the public -- comes just months after Sion Milosky drowned after a wipeout at Maverick's.

The project, spearheaded by Billabong product manager Hub Hubbard, also involved Barbara Mau at Express Wetsuit repair and, of course, Dorian. The key component is a Mustang Survival Corporation bladder that is installed into a compact zipper pocket in the back of the wetsuit, but still allows the surfer to be face-up after surfacing.

"A pull cord runs over the shoulder to a handle on the upper chest," Hubbard explained. "You pull it like a parachute and up you go."

Several prototypes were tested by Dorian, in all kinds of surf. The ultimate test was in huge surf at the Cortes Bank seamount 100 miles off Southern California.

Catch of giant marlin off Kona is nothing short of 'grand'

It's blue marlin season off Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, and the hunt for prized but elusive "granders" has intensified now that the season's first 1,000-pound specimen has been caught.

The enormous billfish was landed on May 13 by angler Garrett Handwork aboard Monkey Biz II, skippered by Chip van Mols.

It tipped the scale at 1,062 pounds and was subdued after a surprisingly short fight of about 20 minutes.

Hawaii Fishing News posted the catch on its list of granders with the comment: "After a boating his first mahimahi, a long day of trolling on the Grounds eventually produced a strike on an Aloha Lures "Smash" on the short corner by a 1062-lb Pacific blue marlin -- Garrett's first marlin and Capt. Van Mols' third Kona grander."

Hawaii's largest recorded grander is an 1,805-pound monster blue caught off Oahu in 1971. That fish was landed by multiple anglers and did not qualify for recognition as an International Game Fish Assn. record.

The IGFA's all-tackle world record for Pacific blue marlin is a 1,376-pound specimen landed off Kona by Jay de Beaublen on May 31, 1982.

For the sake of comparison, the all-tackle record for Atlantic blue marlin is a 1,402-pound, 2-ounce specimen landed off Vitoria, Brazil by Paulo Amorim on Feb. 29, 1992.

Monkey Biz II is typically booked through The Charter Desk and Sportfish Hawaii.

-- Image: Angler Garrett Handwork (with fishing rod) poses alongside 1,062-pound blue marlin caught recently off Kona aboard Monkey Biz II. Credit: The Charter Desk

Hawaii beach closures ordered after shark bites surfboard

A surfer on the Big Island of Hawaii on Wednesday experienced a dangerously close encounter with what's believed to have been a tiger shark, which bit down on the tail end of her surfboard at a spot called Lyman's.

The surfer was not inured in the incident, which occurred at about 1:30 p.m. Lyman's and nearby beaches were subsequently closed by the state's Department of Land and Natural Resources, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

A similar incident occurred four days earlier, when a shark bit a paddleboard, knocking its rider into the water.

After Wednesday's incident swimmers were asked to get out of the water at Lyman's, Laaloa Beach Park and Kahaluu Beach Park. A helicopter patrol failed to spot a shark.

KHON News posted a photo, sent by a viewer, showing what appear to be teeth marks in a semi-circle around the board's fin (pictured, at right). It's unclear whether both incidents involved the same shark.

Shane Dorian scores epic paddle-in waves at Maui's Jaws

For surfers in Hawaii on Tuesday, March Madness entailed paddling or being towed into monstrous waves, thanks to the arrival of a late-season north swell.

The swell, which also will generate giant waves at Maverick's off Half Moon Bay over the next few days, has put the world's premier big-wave surfers in a scramble to post last-minute entries in the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards.

The contest accepts photo and video entries in various categories from thrill-seeking pros who spend each year traveling the planet in search of the biggest waves. The window closes on the 2010-11 event Sunday night.

Hawaii's Shane Dorian, who is pictured above and below at Jaws off Maui, presumably has become one of the favorites to claim the Monster Paddle award after for his paddle-in exploits at the legendary tow-in spot.

As for Maverick's, the swell will arrive but wind and rain might prevent any waves from being ridden. Thanks to Mike Neal for providing the copyrighted Shane Dorian images.

-- Pete Thomas

Tsunami exacts heavy toll on albatross chicks at Midway Atoll

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service employees stationed at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge fared well as tsunami surges generated by Friday's 9.0-magnitude Japan earthquake washed over part of Sand Island and most of unpopulated Eastern Island. But the events appear to have exacted a heavy toll on albatrosses and other birds that nest on both islands.

Midway, which has the world's largest population of Laysan albatross, is a low-lying North Pacific atoll located about 1,200 miles northwest of Honolulu, or about a third of the way between Honolulu and Japan. The tsunami could not have come at a worse time for albatross chicks, which are hatched in January and February and cannot fledge until mid-June or July.

Pete Leary, a USFWS employee who authors the Pete at Midway blog, has posted photos and some information. Damage assessments are still being made but Leary wrote about discovering that "tens of thousands of chicks were washed away" on Eastern Island.

Eastern Island was almost entirely "washed over" while Sand Island, which features coastal bluffs and elevated inland areas, experienced mostly coastal flooding after about a five-foot tidal surge.

On the boat trip to Eastern Island, Leary wrote, "We passed thousands of albatross adults and petrels that had been washed into the water and lost their ability to stay dry. Their feathers were messed up by being tumbled over the island and through the vegetation.

"We pulled some into the boat, but needed to get to Eastern Island, so we had to hope that most of them would paddle to shore."

On the bright side, a short-tailed albatross chick that hatched in January on Eastern Island apparently is OK. That's a huge relief for scientists and bird enthusiasts because it was the the first known short-tailed albatross hatchling outside of the islands surrounding Japan in recorded history. (The short-tailed albatross is an endangered species.)

Wrote Leary: "The short-tailed albatross chick must really be wondering what kind of place it lives in because it was washed away from the nest for the second time this year already. This time, it was about 40 yards away from the original nest. It was easy to spot because all the other chicks were washed away in a previous storm.

"I didn't want to pick the chick up, because it was already stressed and upset, but the parents may not have found it that far from the nest."

Leary unfurled a sheet of plastic and when the chick stepped onto it, he wrote, "I gave it a sled ride the 40 yards back to its nest."

Sadly, Leary and another biologist spent the days after the tsunami digging out hundreds of dead birds and even fish that had been swept ashore by the tsunami. Two sea turtles that had been swept inland were carried to the water and released. The atoll's Hawaiian monk seals, also endangered, apparently were unscathed.

Leary concluded, "Although we lost a lot of wildlife, all of the people who are here because of the wildlife are safe."

-- Pete Thomas

Images showing a beleaguered Laysan albatross chick and waterlogged albatrosses are courtesy of Pete Leary

Seized fins from protected sharks were bound for New York

California has pending legislation designed to outlaw the importation, sale and possession of shark fins.

Perhaps New York lawmakers should consider launching a similar process to help save sharks from the barbaric and unsustainable practice offinning.

A Fox News story out of Panama today involves the discovery of nearly a half ton of shark fins that had once belonged to protected hammerhead sharks. The packaged fins were found at the Central American nation's international airport and labeled as dried fish.

The container originated in Ecuador. Destination: New York City.

Though finning is illegal in U.S. waters, importation, sale and possession is not. Some states are taking upon themselves to enact bans that might result in the killing of fewer sharks for their fins, which are used to make shark-fin soup.

As many as 70 million sharks are killed annually for their fins,  and a good number are tossed back alive after their capture, to die a slow death. Many experts believe this rate of slaughter is unsustainable and that some species of sharks, which play a vital role in maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem, are threatened with extinction.

Most fins end up in China or in Asian communities, where shark-fin soup is considered a delicacy. Hawaii has already passed legislation, so you will not find the soup openly advertised there. California, which is a major hub for fins entering the U.S., probably will be next. It is hoped by environmental groups that other states -- why not New York? -- will follow suit.

-- Pete Thomas

Surfer Laird Hamilton puts 'Jaws' house on Maui up for sale

Legendary big-wave surfer/waterman Laird Hamilton, who pioneered tow-surfing at Jaws off Maui, apparently has put his home at the notorious surf break up for sale. 

Laird's agent confirmed that the surfer wants to build a new base on Kauai. Here's the listing on his Facebook page:

Laird's Jaws/Maui House for SALE
10 Acres - 3 Bdrm 4 Bath
Gym & Play Area
A Back Apartment -1 Bdrm
3 Vehicle/Truck Storage
1 Million G Fish Pond
Zoned Ag
A Golf Cart Ride Away from Jaws
The House Laird Built to Surf Jaws - Featured on MTV Cribs
20 Min from Kahalui Airport - In Remote Haiku
Built in 2004 - Only been occupied for 1/2 the time

Serious Inquiries only contact - info@lairdhamilton.com

-- Pete Thomas

Photo of Laird Hamilton riding a standup paddleboard off Maui (not Jaws) courtesy of ©Darrell Wong

 

Maverick's big-wave surfing contest looks to be a wash

Barring a drastic and sudden change in the weather, there will not be a Maverick's surf contest this year.

The competition window for the annual big-wave competition at the famous break off Half Moon Bay, Calif., closes next Monday (Feb. 28), and a swell large enough to warrant a green light is not expected to materialize.

"Looks like we're skunked," event forecaster Mark Sponsler told the Associated Press. "Everyone kind of knew this wasn't going to be a great year because it's a La Nina year, which is not favorable for producing consistent big waves."

It has been a poor winter for big waves throughout the North Pacific. It looks as though the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big-wave event at Waimea Bay on Oahu also will be a no-go. Its competition window closes Monday, too.

-- Pete Thomas

Maverick's photo by Pete Thomas