N E W S L E T T E R
O C T O B E R
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DID LA NINA KILL HAWAII’S SUMMER? By David Kelly | Owner, Hawaiian South Shore
Someone asked me the other day why Hawaii has had such a terrible summer. Before the first week of September, we had virtually no south swell this entire season—and despite the little run we had this past weekend, it looks like Town is going to go flat again. Thank goodness for the early season north swell that’s just starting to show on the buoys! By most accounts, this has been the worst summer in history for Hawaii, but why exactly is that? Could it be the mild La Nina we just came out of? The truth is, there is only around 30 years of detailed data about the El Nino/La Nina phenomenon. Sure, we have anecdotal evidence of earlier El Ninos, from oral histories in Peru to the infamous winter of ’69 on the North Shore. But as far as detailed scientific evidence goes, we’ve only been tracking the El Nino cycle for a few decades, so it’s hard to say what is and isn’t a symptom of the phenomenon. To further complicate the issue, while we did have a mild La Nina develop over the winter, we are actually swinging back toward a possible mild El Nino this fall, and this summer was actually closer to ENSO-neutral conditions than La Nina. That being said, something was definitely affecting our swell window here in Hawaii. So what gives? The short and simple answer is that there has been a ton of high pressure over the southwest Pacific all summer, which causes storms to stay down by Antarctica and track east toward the southern tip of South America, rather than curving up towards Hawaii. We typically like to see high pressure farther west, above New Zealand or even the east coast of Australia. But with the high pressure sitting squarely below us, the pattern we have seen this summer is a lot of storms bypassing our swell window and then tracking up the west coast of South America, sending steep south swells to Mexico and Central America. The result of all this high pressure nonsense? The worst summer we’ve ever seen in the islands. Here’s hoping that winter treats us a whole lot better! NOTE: Since space was limited I wrote a longer version on our blog we update once a week. Go to www.hawaiiansouthshore.com and click on blog.
WIPEOUTS, HOLD-DOWNS, AND HOW TO SURVIVE THEM
out on). When you go down on a big one, the best thing to do is relax. Rather than burning your energy and oxygen tensing your muscles and fighting against the beat down, simply go with the flow and let the ocean By Big Wave Rider Matt Rott | Guest Blogger & Newsletter content advisor take you where it wants to. Chances are, it’s going to take you anyway. Some people find that its helpful to count seconds while under water to If you watch Game of Thrones—or your calendar—then you know that remind yourself that you haven’t been down for as long as it feels. Others winter is coming. And if you are from Hawaii, then you know that winter count things like somersaults that they are forced to do by the whitewameans big waves on the North Shore. The days of knee-high dribblers ter, or relax and go into a Zen state. are almost behind us. In a few short weeks, we will be in the midst of the north Pacific winter season, with the most notorious stretch of heavy-wa- In general, the thing you are trying to avoid is panicking, as that is usually ter coastline right in our backyard. In other words, it’s time to start think- what will end up killing you. Unless you suffer a two-wave hold down, ing about wipeouts and hold-downs, and how to survive them. you are very unlikely to be down for more than 20 seconds, so just cruise and enjoy the ride, and have faith that the ocean is going to let you up How you survive during a bad hold-down has a lot to do with what wave eventually. If you do find that you have been down too long and need to you are surfing. If you are somewhere heavy and shallow, that breaks get to the surface, make sure you know which way is up. People have over reef (like Pipeline, for instance), you probably don’t have a lot of been lost because they got disoriented and swam down rather than up control. At best, you should try to maintain spatial awareness so you (especially during situations that involved ruptured eardrums). If your know if and when you are close to the bottom. Depending on the situa- leash is still attached to your leg, that should give you a pretty good idea tion, you may want to use small strokes of your hands to help keep you of where the surface is, since your board will be tombstoning on the off the reef, rather than kicking up from the bottom and possibly dinging surface above you. You might also want to invest in a floatation vest or your feet on the coral. If you feel that you are upside down, try to protect impact suit, as this can mean the difference between making it back to your head—the last thing you want is a concussion. And don’t be afraid the surface or not, especially in waves of consequence. to open your eyes underwater so you know what is going on around you. Most importantly, make sure that you only paddle out in waves that you The good news with shallow reef breaks is that you aren’t likely to get know you can handle. Freak accidents can happen in any conditions, but held down too long, so barring a head injury that knocks you out, you more often than not, when people get in trouble in the water, it’s because aren’t likely to drown. At deep-water big wave spots, however, the oppo- they are out in conditions they aren’t prepared for. site is true. While you are unlikely to hit bottom, you could spend a long Be safe and have fun! 1 time in a very deep, dark place (depending how big of a wave you wiped
MEMBER OF THE MONTH: Daniel Kawamura When and what got you into surfing? I started bodyboarding in intermediate because Makapuu was fun and in college my Uncle Dan convinced me to surf by giving me a board. Did you have a time period you weren’t surfing? If so, when and why did you start back up? Yes, I had a couple knee surgeries and stopped surfing for a couple years after. I started back up about 3 years ago. Where do you most often surf and why? Kewalos, its a fun wave and close to work. Where is your favorite place to eat after surfing and what is your favorite item? Ginas BBQ – Spicy Pork & Potato Croquette combo, all veggies
Outside of surfing what do you do for fun? Soccer and Skate What do you do for work? Commercial Insurance What board did you get from us recently? Lost Puddle Fish, Futures 5-fin Why did you decide on this model and size? It was available in store and the dims I was looking for. Wanted something with more volume and an option for a twin fin. Stoked you guys had it in store. Did you ride it? Yes, rode it 15 mins after I bought it, haha How did it surf and what did you like about it? It felt sweet, can get in early, fast in high lines and lose in turns. Anything else you want to add? Thanks David for the advice in store. Super Stoked on the board and will be back to buy another. Shoots!
THE LOST PUDDLE FISH Looking for speed in slow waves? The Puddle Fish is the answer. Drawing on the Puddle Jumper, but adding the faster elements of a fish design, the Puddle Fish is designed with a flat, inverted swallow tail and a release channel exiting out the tail. These elements, combined with a reduced concave in the hull, a wide point under the front foot, and straighter hips in the rails, makes the Puddle Fish a speed demon built for down-the-line acceleration. The unique tail shape combines with a refined rocker and spiral V under the rear foot to preserve sensitivity and turn ability while supercharging the board’s speed. Come check these small-wave rocket ships out!
BE THE MATCH
By Roy Yonashiro | Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry The Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry facilitates finding donors by educating the public, doing bone marrow drives, looking for that special someone, a needle in a haystack to give the gift of life, giving patients hope and to be that miracle for a second chance of life. Since 1989, over 450 donors from Hawaii, Guam and Samoa have answered that call and donated their bone marrow or stem cells. When patients are diagnosed with fatal blood diseases like leukemia, lymphoma, aplastic anemia and many other diseases, they search through their family for a matching donor. But, only 30% of patients find a match within their own family. That’s when they turn to the Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry and our affiliate Be The Match registry. Our
national database is over 12.5 million donors strong. However, patients of ethnic minorities such as Native Pacific Islanders, Asians, African Americans and Native American Indians and Native Alaskans have a hard time finding matches as they are underrepresented in the national registry. We need donors of all ethnic backgrounds, especially of ethnic minorities to register so more lives can be saved. If you are between the ages of 18 and 44, never registered before, meet our health guidelines and you are willing to help any patient in need, visit: www.bethematch.org to see a list of bone marrow donor drives in your area. If you would like to register online at no cost, visit: https://join.bethematch.org/ALOHA For more information on how to donate bone marrow or blood stem cells, visit: www.bethematch.org or www.bonemarrowhawaii.com
NEW HAWAIIAN SOUTH SHORE MOBILE APP Reward members, download our FREE Hawaiian South Shore App to get updates on your points, get rewards faster, receive bonus check-in offers, play the Spin game to receive prizes and so much more. Go to the Apple store or Google Play and search for the free Hawaiian South Shore app. After you download the app, use your reward number, which is your phone number and sign in.
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Email your member/phone number to sales@hawaiiansouthshore.com or call us at 808-597-9055 and a team member will help you out!
Per the Mark Richards website: The Super Twin is the most popular and versatile model in my range. It is my ultimate small wave high-performance board and is the model I choose to ride most of the time. It is fast, loose and really easy to turn.
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DOCKS LOCKS SYSTEM Never worry about board stealers again! Dock Locks are an excellent way to protect your surfboards and stand up paddle boards from theft. The jaw attaches to your leash plug or cleat for fin track. This system comes with everything you need to get started!
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A single to double concave bottom for speed; A wider template with more nose area for floatation and paddling power; The original winged swallow tail from my retro twin fins. The fin set-up for the Super Twin is FCS MR TF Glassflex twin fins with a small rear stabilizer. The board can be rid den with one of three fin configurations: - as a twin fin only; - as a twin fin with a small rear stabiliser; - as a twin fin with a larger stabiliser eg. FCS M2 for bigger surf.
MY FIRST AND LAST This board performs like a faster, looser thruster; it’s tons of fun in BOARDS surf from 1 to 6 feet. Kelly Slater, Martin Potter, Luke Egan, Julian By Spencer Chang | MD
Sports Medicine Fellowship Trained Orthopaedic Surgeon at Straub Clinic and Hospital WSL Orthopaedic Consultant
When I was in the 7th grade, I was really more of a nerd at Iolani School. Punahou kids had a name for people like me, “Mang.” I was the definition of a “Mang.” Although we sometimes body boarded Kalama beach in Kailua, near my grandparent’s house, we never surfed. My parents, and brothers, Jeff and Fletch didn’t surf. Being a “Chang”, I don’t think my parents would have bought me a surfboard and encouraged me to surf, at all. There was a tiny surf store, where the corner entrance of Longs Drugs in Hawaii Kai is currently located. I think it was called Pro Hawaii Surf or something like that. During their grand opening, they had a drawing for a new MR surfboard. My brother Fletcher and I, were like, what the heck let’s enter. I placed one entry. I remember the call a few days later. Fletch picked up the phone with me, and I was told that I won a surfboard. Fletch was actually more excited, freaking out. The next day at school, a bunch of friends, like Scott Tseu, the resident surfer/cool guy, were upset. To them, I was the most unlikely/ undeserved person to win the MR surfboard. I placed only one entry whereas they placed multiple, and I didn’t even surf. If it wasn’t for winning that MR surfboard, I wouldn’t be surfing now, wouldn’t be working with the WSL, or writing this newsletter. Last summer, David told me about an opportunity to order a custom Mark Richards through Lost. I figured I’d get a custom Super Twin, with dimensions that would actually work for me (my original board was THICK). I ordered a 5’6” x 19” x 2 3/8” at 26 L (I’m 5’7” and 146 lbs.) with Marko EPS foam and painted it like the original. It cost $1,271.40 and took 11 months to get it to me, but it was well worth the cost and wait. This is the lightest board I own. The construction is solid, and after 5 surfs, it really doesn’t have any substantial pressure dings.
Wilson, Tom Carroll, Titus Kinimaka, Brian Keaulana and Sunny Garcia all have MR Super Twins in their board quivers. The size range is from 5’8” up to 7’6”. My take on it: This is one of the best boards I own. It does seem to ride like a faster, looser thruster. It’s very well balanced and easy to find your sweet spot. I honestly didn’t think it would be that good since I struggled with the original (but I did weigh only 100 lbs using a THICK board). If you get the chance, I’d get one. Sorry David, haven’t bought a new board from you in a while. But I have quite a few, and with this board, I think my quiver is now complete… for now. For an appointment call the Straub Bone and Joint Center at 5224232. Just say Dave from Hawaiian South Shore sent you! Also, if you have any questions shoot me an e-mail at Skychang@straub.net.
WHAT’S NEW AT HAWAIIAN SOUTH SHORE? Banks Journal Tees from the Fall 2017 collection are in at Hawaiian South Shore! These tees feature exclusive film photographs taken by surfer and photographer Dane Peterson whilst on his every day journeys. All tees are 100% premium organic cotton.
Fun Fact! VISSLA BOARDSHORTS FIGHT ODOR & REPEL WATER. Adsorption is when one material sticks to the surface of another. As a result of Cocotex® adsorptive properties, odor molecules are trapped within the carbon surface. So go ahead and count a quick surf as doing some laundry – these shorts won’t stink! They also siphon and repel water. You’ll notice that they dry faster than a normal boardshort, and your legs will notice (and thank you for) the lack of rash!
Credit Card/ layaway information: NO INTEREST FOR 6 OR 12 MONTHS if you make your payments on time, or even pay it off early if you’d like. For the past 10 years, over 300 people have used this card to make any purchase of $200 or more. It’s perfect for surfboard purchases or Christmas shopping. Just come in and apply, it only takes 5 minutes! When you get approved, you can walk out with a board!
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HOURS Monday - Saturday: 10:30-7:00 Sunday: 11:00-6:00 PARKING Monday - Friday: Makai side of store Weekends: Mauka side of store CONTACT (808) 597-9055 HawaiianSouthShore.com
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Did you know when you shop on HawaiianSouthShore.com you’ll earn reward points?! PLUS you’ll get FREE shipping on most items over $50! If you don’t want to shop online just call us at 597-9055 and we can process the order over the phone and email you the receipt.
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