I had been monitoring the camping ground toilet from the van waiting for the right moment to strike. Ulli caught me coming out of the van and put in words exactly what I was thinking...

another weekend in Hana

This time we camped with Ulli, Michelle, Peter and Desiree.
Here's Ulli in a Kamikaze jump off a rock at Red sand beach. That was just the warm up. You should have seen him later jumping off the rope hanging from a tree over a pool at Seven pools, but I couldn't take the camera, because we had to pool-hop to get there... Trust me, pretty hard core.


Michelle likes back flips.


Interesting snorkeling attire.


This dog was seamlessly running all over Koki beach with three legs. I like the way animals don't make a drama (unlike me) of phisical injuries. Look how he balances himslef on the only back leg.


Some fun waves were ridden at Koki beach.


A group of spinner dolphins showed up quite close to the line up. For this pic, thank the digital zoom of my camera.


I got more photos to post, but the damn software seems not to cooperate anymore. I'll try again later with another post.

Practice, practice, practice.

I'm back after the Italy trip and I took a few pics today at Hookipa.

I remember Glenn trying backloops for long time. Guess how he eventaully learned to land them perfectly like this one?

More night shots

North east wind (grecale) is kind of chilly even in June, but it makes the air dry and clear and allows photos like this. The moon was quite full too and I put a jacket on and jumped into another night shots session. This is the best one by far. This castle is called Castel dell'Ovo and you can find a little history of it at http://www.capriweb.com/Napoli/SantaLucia/sluceng4.html
Hope you enjoy it.


And since I just saw Sharon's last post (http://www.kinel.blogspot.com/), here's the same full moon seen from the other side of the world...

new trypode

Yesterday I bought a trypode for 10 euros from a chinese sidewalk saleswoman and last night I took full advantage of it.
The photos below were taken at 11.30pm with a 30 seconds shutter opening time... I love this camera!


Excessively luxury boats.

Photos + forecast

It looks like the "official" forecasters on the web are now saying that the upcoming south swell is not going to be that big anymore. If I had more time, I would post an a edited weather map and explain why I still think it's going to be a damn good one. But, believe it or not, I'm incredibly busy here in Italy (which is good, so time flies faster)... just trust me on that one. And even if I'm wrong, now there's a NNW swell getting ready to hit in 4 days, so there should be plenty of action anyway.
Said this, my knee is doing better just by resting. Official diagnosis only after MRI and orthopedic visit next Tuesday.
In the meantime, enjoy a couple of pics from Napoli... specially dedicated to all the napolitan emigrants all over the world... particularly the ones in Maui!
This one below is the Vesuvio. It's the volcano that a couple of thousand years ago (august 24th, 79bc) buried the towns of Pompei and Ercolano under lava, dust and debris. Now these two places are archeologists paradise.
There have been many more eruptions in history, the last one in 1944 (small kind). The volcano is now in a dormant state (just like Haleakala). That means that it can pretty much erupt again any time. As you can see from the number of houses, a big eruption nowadays would mean a very big number of victims, also because the roads are narrow and, even though there must be some evacuation plans, napolitans are not famous for following rules...


This one, instead, is the island of Capri (for the americans: the intonation/accent doesn't go on the last "i" like everyone says in the States... it goes on the "a"). It's a world wide known island of extraordinary beauty. In the gulf of Napoli, though, there's two more islands: Ischia and Procida. They are just as beautiful as Capri, but all in a different way (just like the Hawaiian islands). Just don't go there in summer time... way too busy!

Why south swells wait for me to be gone?

Last year I went to Italy in September and I missed one of the biggest south swells ever, with people flying to Maui from all over the world to ride Maalaea.

This year I went to Italy (where I am right now) in June. Here's Pat caldwell's last thursday forecast:
SUMMARY...Quasi-high south swell into mid Saturday. (this means that there's already a decent swell right now)
Into the long range... The zonal jet stream pattern south of new zealand is modelled to turn meridional, or more south to north, in the longitudinal band just east of new zealand. This could steer storms more equatorward, allowing a more established captured fetch in great circle bands relative to Hawaii, and leading to greater surf potential locally, centered around the common high surf date of kamehameha day
I just could not believe it and I had to go check myself.
Below is the weather map modelled to happen on June 6th. The one of June 5th is just as impressive.


That means that Pat is right (yes, it happens quite often) and I am going to miss another epic one.
And even though my best friend tried to comfort me saying:"The waves, wind, water, toys and friends will all be here upon your return" (thanks baby, appreciated try), here's a simple thing I need to say on my blog:

WODDAFUCK!!!!!

First post from Italy

I had these few last day pics from Maui to post. Eventually I'll post some photos from Italy too. Eventually. I miss Maui so much already... Anyways, here we go.

One thing I really don't like about western societies is that it pushes poorly souled people to buy and own useless and inappropriately expensive stuff. I try to live as minimalistically as I can. I don't care about fancy cars, clothes, restaurants, hotels, etc... One thing I can't resist, though, are water toys. Here's my collection. Most of them were retrieved out of the trash (notice the two boards that were used as yard sale signs...). I like fixing boards and I like riding different boards in different ocean conditions. In my next article I will describe a little story of each one of them. If you are Italian, look for the July issue of Windnews.
This photo was taken in the morning of the day I left to go to Italy. It took me two hours to do the display job and, even though I had so many things to do, I just couldn't miss the opportunity...
I also had to say goodbye to all my babies... we're gonna miss each other.


Usually having spider webs on something means that you've not been using that something for a while... But in this case, I used my canoe for two consecutive day! This guys built his home overnight. Sorry, wrong spot... I had to remove it. Next time, better pick my collection of classic books instead of an ocean toy...


The day before leaving I ended up in a sale at a surf shop. There was a whole rack of Sanuk slippers 70% off. I bought them all. Each member of my family in Italy will receive a pair.

Trip to Italy.

I'll be in Italy for three weeks taking care of my injured knee. I don't expect to post much from there (slow dial up connection), so let me do this last post before I leave. It's a few assorted photos that I wanted to post since a while. Here we go. Let's have a good start with this one taken at Hookipa recently...


Same day (5 25), just a bit more surfing action.


Just like me, Micio enjoys the softness of the dacron of my Superfreak... I told you he's quite technical!


How a mistake can turn into an interesting photo.


Puamana sunset.


The only dry shorts I had in the car where this ones... I had to do a little photoshoot session at sunset. Just for your pleasure...

A weekend in Hana

We were supposed to leave from Kuau on Friday May 19th at 1 o'clock. Pm, of course. The planned start was delayed because of some killer windsurfing conditions at the Kuau secret spot... I HAD to go sail! Check the conditions below at Hookipa and you'll understand...

This is Sharon's truck fully loaded with toys.


And this is Sharon's way of repeating italian verbs' conjugations while driving... a bit dodgy, I'd say.


On the way to Hana, of course, we stopped at Hanamanou. The waves were really nice. Hanamanou is a beach break. The wave itself doesn't even look like Hawaii (where most of the waves are cleaner reef breaks), but the vegetation in the valley around defenitely does. You can have a glimpse of it in this rear view mirror self-portrait. By the way, I returned my old camera and bought a better and cheaper Sony. I take huge advantage of the return policies of the big american corporate stores...


There were a couple of very good surfers in the water. Sharon took some pics (the best below), I took some videos instead: http://www.vmix.com/viewVideo.php?ID=423581




Even though I was quite tired after windsurfing, I had to go surf. I was just too good. Sharon got on her bike and started cycling towards Hana. I would have surfed one hour and then picked her up on the way. That was the plan. But, after my surf session I made the dorkest possible move, locking the keys inside the truck. It was 6pm and my only hope was in the other surfers still in the water. Fortunately, one of them, a guy call Abbaia (Indian name that in italian means 'it barks'), managed to open the back little window with a butter knife and his girlfriend was tiny enough to be able to squeeze in it. They were instantly rewarded by a cold beer. It was almost 7 when I finally could catch up with Sharon that was getting a little nervous waiting on the side of the road in the dark...
All is well what ends well.
To make me forgive, I cooked a good pasta with peas.


Who's miaoing outside the door?


Let's see who guesses what kind of glass detergent I used to clean up the table... Maybe a bit gross, but I love the details... all those tiny bubbles...


Saturday morning. What? The cat barks now?


Well, Hanamanou was so good yesterday that I wanted to go again. It wasn't as good as the day before, but still quite fun and I was completely alone. Sharon took a bunch of little videos that I am happy to share, despite the fact that compared to the previous ones I look like a total cook. Am I humble or what?
It doesn't matter how good you are... it's all about the fun you have...
These little videos are also a very good way for correcting mistakes. I could see how I am used to ride longboards. Basically I ride the shortboard like if it was a longboard. Standing too far back on the board and with my legs not open enough, I slow down the board too much and can't get the speed necessary to achieve the turns that a shorboard would allow to do. Well, now that I know, let's see if I can fix that...
By the way, the first two waves really express the uniqueness of my style. Signature moves, I'd say... Also, notice how effortlessly I get out of the water at the end... http://www.vmix.com/viewVideo.php?ID=423459

In this pretty photo taken by Sharon, you can see a bridge over that waterfall. Who built it and when? It can't be the ancient kings' road! We'll have to investigate...


Cartoon teeth. The snot coming out of my nose is the leftover of an intense post surf nose dripping session I just had... Overall, a funny picture... I'd say!


Pretzels moment in Nihiku.


One of the many streams on the Hana highway.


Plants are happy in Hana.


The proud hunter.


The catch. Freaking delicious...


In the afternoon of Saturday we played tennis. I did another quite dorky move by trying to apply the volleyball jump serve technique to my tennis serve... Not only I missed the ball, but on the landing I injured my already weak (many years ago I broke the meniscus and stretched a ligament) left knee. My mobility after that was quite limited. To make me forgive, I cooked bucatini with tomatoes, mozzarella, parmigiano and basil. I'm quite flexible to be a strict vegan...
Thanks to Julie for sending a few packs of pasta "La rustichella d'abbruzzo" from San Francisco. It's the favorite brand of my father back in Italy. And that means something...


Sunday morning the knee was quite sore. We had to leave. This last photo is again Hanamanou. This girl was pretty good.


That's the end of this post, which I think is the best so far.
I'm loving these little videos. I downloaded a trial version of a software to edit them (Ulead video studio). I like it. But if anyone out there knows a better one (or a free one), please post a comment.
I think that sooner or later I'll buy a water proof helmet cam to film when I sail or surf. I can't wait to show you the flying fish all around me when I sail at sunset at Kuau. You guys are so lucky...
You guys are lucky also because I had the time to do all this thanks (!) to my bad knee. There's a decently sized south swell and I'm typing on this damn keyboard instead of being surfing... dammit! Tomorrow is going to be big. If I still can't surf, I'll go there with my camera... stay tuned, you lucky bastards!

PS Comments, please. I need to know what you think.

And don't forget to check Sharon's blog for more photos: http://www.kinel.blogspot.com/