SHARKS: CAGE OR NO CAGE + HSD PHOTO CONTEST + BACK TO BAJA / INDO / XMAS
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ISSUE 31 // U.S. $6.95 // CANADA $8.95
www.hawaiiskindiver.com
THE PHOTO ISSUE
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Ohana awaii skin diver
HSD3irty1 — — KANAKOLU KUMAKAHI
HANA PA‘A FISHING COMPANY Sterling Kaya » pub/ed/photog sterling@hawaiiskindiver.net
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VOICE_GRAPHIC + ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN Clifford Cheng » graphic designer VOICE@hawaiiskindiver.net
10 Garden of Indo
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WORDS + PHOTOGRAPHS
Mike Gardner
22 HSD PHOTO CONTEST
WINNERS + RUNNER-UPS
Matt Buchanan Gerald de Bruijn David Forcucci Lance Fujioka Mike Gardner Harold Gibson Garrett Ing Petr Juza Derek LeVault
36 U/W CAMERAS WORDS + PHOTOGRAPHS
John Johnson
42 SHARKS: CAGE / NO CAGE WORDS
Jimmy Hall PHOTOGRAPHS
Jimmy Hall + Sterling Kaya
48 XMAS ISLAND WORDS
Craig Nunokawa + Jeff Saito + Corey Fujita PHOTOGRAPHS
Robert Lower
COVER_Kurt Chambers @ 107ft. SHOOTER_Catherine Landa
56 NICO’S AT PIER 38 RECIPE
Nico Chaize
58 SURF and TURF BAJA WORDS
Chris Thompson PHOTOGRAPHS
Tim Hatler Casey Lafferty Chris Thompson Wendy Pacofsky
62 SOUTH AFRICAN MARLIN
HSD + HAWAII PACIFIC UNIVERSITY MASTERS PROGRAM Marc Inouye » advertising + marketing marc@hawaiiskindiver.net FOODLAND ADVERTISING Sithiporn Keller » critical commentary bob@lordsith.tv HONOLULU FIRE DEPARTMENT Rufus Kimura » staff editor rufus@hawaiiskindiver.net MAUI OCEAN CENTER + MAUI BREWING COMPANY Sean Stodelle » webmaster sean@hawaiiskindiver.net AMAGATA USA INC. John Johnson » staff photographer onebreathphoto.com
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WAIKIKI AQUARIUM Norton Chan » biologist HSD REGIONAL + SPECIALTY EDITORS James Borja » Guam Editor Larry Carter » West Coast Editor Sheri Daye » Florida Editor Mark Laboccetta » East Coast Editor Terry Maas » Bluewater Editor Michael Mc Callum » Australia Editor Luis Antonio Pereira (Ted) » Latin America Editor Nick Sanderson » New Zealand Editor Tim Theunissen » South Africa Editor NATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR Warner International Periodical Distributors, Inc. HAWAII SKIN DIVER TV Kyle + Cat Nakamoto www.redseaoceanadventures.com
WORDS
Mark Griffith HSD 30 BACK ISSUE AVAILABLE NOW
64 KONA AHI WORDS
Florida Diving East Coast Florida Key West Record 643 lb Bluefin Blue Water World Cup_Baja 06 World Championships Kona Freediving
Rob White
66 PUERTO RICAN TIGER WORDS
Roberto Reyes
71 IOO+ ULUA WORDS
breathe different.
Chris Paglinawan
72 WALL OF FAME WORDS
Sonny Tanabe
UNITED
Send letters and comments to: HSD 1733 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96819 OR email: sterling@hawaiiskindiver.net
HAWAII SKIN DIVER INC. 1733 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96819 > T: 808.843.8182 > F: 808.848.5539. Every attempt humanly possible is made to publish HSD 4 times a year. FO’ REAL. Printed by Lotus Printing Hong Kong.
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Spearfishing Fanatics > Mark Your Calendars!
HANA HOU!
Your magazine took home three awards at the 2007 American Advertising Federation (Pele) Awards. A big mahalo and congratulations goes out to all of the contributors to HSD29 (SILVER GHOST). This issue was judged magazine of the year. We also were a suprise winner in the Media/Sales Kit category. So all you advertisers and future advertisers - DON’T THROW THEM AWAY! BUY ADS! Winning an Award of Excellence was the Fiji spread (BULA) featuring Kyle Nakamoto’s shot.
South Florida has established their own version of a Spearfishing Expo, and they would like to extend a warm invitation to all the readers of Hawaii Skin Diver. The 2007 Spearfishing Expo, called “The Blue Wild”, will take place at the IGFA Museum on Friday, June 29, and Saturday, June 30th. For more information, check www.thebluewild.com. This year boasts a spectacular line-up of speakers: Terry Maas, Kirk Krack, Art Pinder, Ron Mullins, Daryl Wong, to name a few, with Sheri Daye as host. All the major vendors are showcasing their products, and Ron Mullins is bringing a very special Skindiving History display. There will be a Happy Hour with free drinks sponsored by Divers Direct, followed by a Film Festival on Friday night. The popular raffle from last year will be repeated with even more prizes, and all proceeds are being donated to a charity, The Boca Raton Society for the Disabled. The agenda and the prize list can be seen on the website. For travelers, the Marriott Courtyard next door to IGFA is offering a great rate of $99/night (must reserve by June 1 to get that rate). They have a free shuttle to/from the Ft. Lauderdale airport. With July 4th around the corner, why not attend and make a fun dive vacation out of it? To register, visit www.thebluewild.com. The Blue Wild Spearfishing Expo www.TheBlueWild.com
2007 Picasso Open > $20,000 in Prizes Picasso America is proud to announce their 8th annual 2007 Picasso Open tournaments in both Northern and Southern California. The Northern California Picasso Open will be on Saturday, August 4th, one week before the 2007 Spearfishing Nationals. The Southern California Picasso Open will be on Saturday, October 6th. Locations will be announced. There will be $10,000 in prizes for each tournament including wetsuits, spearguns, fins and dive masks. The Southern California Tournament winner will also receive the “Clint Kobertstein” trophy in memory of the first winner of the Southern California Picasso Open. The Picasso Open tournaments will all be species meets. Freedive hunters are given the opportunity to select an individual fish, abalone, or lobster and let the rest swim by, rather than stressing and endangering several animals, until a suitable one is harvested. This type of species tournament was created to determine the most proficient freedive hunter by establishing rules in which diversity, rather than total aggregate weight, of a catch will prove who the most successful freedive hunter really is. The tournaments will also include largest abalone category in Northern California and largest lobster category in Southern California. Over the past eight years the Picasso Open has given away over $120,000 worth of prizes. For more details on the 2007 Picasso Open tournaments please visit their website at www. picassoamerica.com.
Deron Verbeck Sets New US National Record in Static Apnea with a mark of 7:28
The WSB spread (GHOSTS) which featured Terry Maas’ awesome shot of WSB gliding through the kelp forest was judged the years best editorial spread. Congratulations Terry!
Terry’s shot was also instrumental in garnering an award for editorial design excellence at the Society of Publication Designers (SPD) awards competition in New York. These awards were judged by a national and international jury of top talent in the fields of design and publishing. Once again, we thank all of YOU who made these awards possible. This is your magazine and these are your awards. PAU
The United States Apnea Association (USAA) is pleased to announce that Deron Verbeck, a USAA member, set a new US national record in the freediving discipline of Static Apnea with a performance of 7 minutes and 28 seconds on April 2,2007. This performance surpasses the previous record of 7:22 held by Deron at the 2007 AIDA Team World Championships in Egypt. This performance was realized during the April Fools No Fins Invitational in Kona, Hawaii on April 2, 2007. The static competition took place in the pool at Jack’s Diving Locker in Kona, Hawaii. Two AIDA judges judged Deron’s performance as valid. Deron stated, “My warm up was shorter than normal, so I did not know how it was going to go. I was feeling pretty bad at four minutes, so I thought it was not going to be my day, but at six minutes I felt much better. I decided to go for it. I felt strong at the finish.” Deron with his last 80# Ulua of 2006 Static apnea tests the athlete’s ability to hold their breath for time. The athlete lays face down in the shallow end of a pool with a coach providing for safety signaling and timing. Upon surfacing at the conclusion of their performance the athlete must perform a surface protocol by removing their facial equipment, signaling okay and saying, I am okay, to demonstrate he or she is in control of his or her performance. Other disciplines include tests in depth and distance. The USAA is a nonprofit association founded on the democratic representation of freediving within the United States and internationally. Founded in 2003, the USAA consists of an active membership dedicated to furthering freediving in the United States and abroad. For more information about the USAA, the U.S. National Freediving Team, and membership please visit www.usfreediving.org. The International Association for the Development of Freediving, AIDA, is the international sanctioning body for freediving, individual and team competition, and freediving world record attempts. For more information about AIDA please visit www.aida-international.org
07
GARDEN OF
WORDS + PHOTOGRAPHS MIKE GARDNER
“Thank you for flying GARUDA Airlines, we welcome all Muslims aboard flight 38 to Padang, Sumatra.” I was far from home.
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OPENING SPREAD » Shaka: The universal language of stoke. PHOTOS THIS PAGE » ABOVE_It took ten minutes to get this shot. He wanted to shave first. RIGHT_Pictures like this yielded some very mixed emotions.
hours earlier I had left the comfort of my home in Malibu to begin my journey to Sumatra, Indonesia. Eight months ago I was asked to join in on this surf/dive trip. I could feel my heart beating faster because the adventure was about to begin. We landed safely in Padang and loaded into a small bus that hauled us over to the harbor – about thirty minutes away. Following us was a small pick-up with 20 surfboards, 4 spearguns and way too much luggage. It was Ramadan and the city was abuzz with activity. Our driver weaved his way through hundreds of micro van taxies and out of control moped riders. On our way to the harbor we noticed several charter boats that I was thankful we weren’t going to be boarding. Some looked about as well maintained as a public toilet – while others looked like floating rust sculptures held together by paint. They creaked and moaned with each passing swell. Finally, we arrived at the Pelagic. This was to be our home for the next ten days. Now I understood why we paid a little extra for a quality ship with a tight crew and the latest safety gear. Our boat was a sixty-five foot, three-storied vessel with all the amenities of a comfortable hotel. We had air-conditioned rooms, a 50” plasma TV and a gourmet kitchen. Almost as important, the boat was stocked with 30 cases of beer, 300 pirated DVD’s, a jet ski and a wide array of fishing gear. At the helm was Captain Griff Alker. With him, were four Indonesian crew members who wanted to make sure that every guest on board was comfortable and full at all times. We left the harbor and headed up north through the island chain. The captain had said that he thought our best bet for un-crowded surf would be in the Telos Islands. He later confided in me that he just likes going there because of the abundance of large tender squid that can be purchased from the locals. The chef on board was equally as excited about the squid and prepared them for us daily – each recipe outdoing the last. When we woke up our first morning aboard, we could smell fresh ground coffee drifting in from the kitchen. Baked bread, banana muffins, local fruit and granola made up our morning meal. After the first surf session, we returned to the galley for a huge omelette and a stack of pancakes and bacon. Along on the trip were Big Hal from Hawaii and Wayne Hughes from Malibu. Although I had never met Big Hal prior to the trip, I took an instant liking to him when I saw that he had
PHOTOS OPPOSITE » Kids hamming it up for the camera. They love seeing their own pictures on the digital > The Pelagic at rest > Mike and Hal after the first dive session —learning how to do it “Hawaiian Style” > No water-craft restrictions on this beach.
PHOTOS » Spanish mack sashimi > Mike + nice pair of uhu > A proud fisherman + catch > 4 legged protien > The captain plots a new course > 1 used pair of surf trunks = 12 red mangrove crabs > Peppers ground up for the evening meal PHOTO OPPOSITE » Treasures
brought along some good free diving gear. Hal is also a lifeguard at Makaha and spends much of his free time looking for fresh fish dinners back home. Wayne, too, had brought some nice gear. He and I were regulars around the local reefs in Malibu, collecting lobsters and nailing halibut. I knew that the three of us would be hunting these waters when we were too tired to surf. On our first spearing mission, we decided to launch the skiff and head around the island to investigate a peeling left peak. On the way there, we noticed our driver carefully dodging a pair of large reefs that rose from deep water and jutted towards the surface. Big Hal was smart enough to bring his mask for recon so he jumped overboard to have a look. Within seconds he lifted his head out of the water, spit out his snorkel and said, “There’s some nice fish looking up at me from under a ledge. Looks like snapper or grouper. Let’s get the guns!” We rushed back to the Pelagic and assembled our gear as fast as possible. For others it was time to surf. For us, it was time to guarantee a fresh fish dinner. As we made our way back to the reef we could see a bit of current moving quickly. The changing tide caused the visibility to drop to 30 feet. I couldn’t see anything but blue water and white coral for the first ten minutes. I swam over to Hal and asked where the fish were. “Swim upstream about 30 yards and look for the canyon running between the two reefs. You need to drop down to 20 feet, grab the reef and hold on. After a few seconds you’ll see some shapes start to emerge from the caves. Just wait a little longer and you’ll see them coming in to check you out.” I went to the spot, took a few deep breaths and kicked down to the bottom. I grabbed a hunk of reef and waited. Just as Hal had said, a fish materialized out of nowhere and slowly got closer and closer. I tracked the fish with my Alexander wood gun. When it was 4 feet from the tip I released 5 feet of stainless steel shaft. Bam! Fish on! The sweet lips headed straight back under a ledge and into a hole. I released my gun and followed my float line back to the surface. I gave the fish a few minutes to settle down and then easily retrieved it from the hole. I came up and Hal said, “That’s how we do it Hawaiian Style. Being still on the bottom will get you the fish.” This technique was completely new to me. In California we usually swim around on the surface looking for white sea bass or Halibut. We dive when we have spotted the fish and then chase after them. In Indo, you may not see any fish from the surface, but with a good breath hold and a motionless wait on the sea floor – many species will come in for a closer look. Later that day, we decided to make our first trip to the little island where a few thatched huts were located. I had brought some powdered electrolyte and Vitamin C mixes from back home to give the villagers as a goodwill gesture. The first hut we came to had a bunch of tortoise shells nailed to the side. The next one did too and soon I felt like I was on Turtle Clan Island. Eggs, heads and shells, were all proudly displayed on the exterior walls of the huts. The best hunters had shells 5 feet across.
PHOTOS THIS PAGE » A two boat harbor in the Northern Chain > Two fish equals one Nautilus shell > The deck hand demonstrates the legendary Indonesian “Sleeping Stick” on the fish. PHOTOS OPPOSITE » Coral Trout_The prettiest fish with the worst teeth > Wayne Hughes at one of many un-chartered breaks
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We ventured around the island a little more and counted a total of 6 huts. We stopped to talk to one woman with the help of a crew member who could speak the local language. Her house was nothing more than a few sheets of plywood raised off the ground and surrounded by walls of thatched palm leaves with a lean-to covering the kitchen. The kitchen consisted of a few pieces of worn Tupperware next to a smoldering fire on the ground. There was also a mortar and pestle for making freshly ground chili paste. This island made its living harvesting copra which is smoked and dried coconut meat. We asked the woman if she needed any medicine for her kids, who looked a little sick. Gladly, she accepted the mixes and said that the number one issue on the island was malaria – with which dehydration was a major side effect. I photographed the kids and they all giggled and shrieked when they saw their images on the back of the digital camera. We left the island and I felt good about our first contact with the locals. I promised myself that if I ever made it back I’d bring boxes of medicine and educational supplies. A few days later, we ended up at lances lefts. After a good surf we headed back to the boat to fuel up on lunch. I was pumped to get back in the water. Captain Griff had said that the area was good for coral trout and ulua. As I struggled to get my full stinger suit on, Captain Griff was already in the water with just a weight belt, mask and spear. As soon as I jumped in, I realized how the reef and fish were working. In the upper layers were little damsels and tangs. In the middle depths from 10-20 feet were the parrotfish and omilu’s. Below that was where the good stuff was. There were many larger varieties of grouper and snapper-like fish, but I was focused on finding a coral trout. These fish ruled the nooks and crannies on the bottom of the reef, hiding in anything they could fit into. You couldn’t see them from the surface. You needed to dive down on the most crusty looking clump of VW bug size coral and wait. If a coral trout was there he would make a showing by dashing out of his lair and swimming around in a semi-aggressive, territorial manner. That’s when you stuck it to him. I ended up getting my first one within about ten minutes and Wayne got his soon after. At the end of a two-hour spear fishing session we had a really nice spread of fish consisting of at least 7 different species. We kept one of each kind for a side-by-side taste and they were all good. Any extra fish were given to the local canoe fishermen who gratefully received the gifts. These guys would toil for hours with hand lines just for a few small reef fish. Hand them a hefty parrot fish and you’ll see a smile you’ll never forget. Surfing, diving, fishing and exploring was our daily rhythm for the 10 days aboard the Pelagic. There was never a time that I felt unsafe or in danger. The people were warm and the land and ocean was beautiful. The surf was great and the fish were abundant. If you need to disconnect from the craziness of daily life at home, book a trip now. I’ll never forget making it to one of the special corners of the earth. PAU
PHOTO PREVIOUS SPREAD » The village open air fish market. 2 pm - 90 degrees PHOTOS THIS PAGE » Mike shares a slide show of the other inhabitants in the islands > Single mom on Island of 10 people 100 miles from anything > The simple life_Surfboards and spearguns are all you need on this boat.
GO SHOOT
FISH!
H2O photography under
IKELITE www.ikelite.com
Ikelite Compact Digital Housings. Ikelite is offering Compact Digital Housings for Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Olympus and Sony digital cameras. A full line of accessories are available to expand the capabilities of the basic housed camera. Ikelite housings are made of a clear polycarbonate shell designed to withstand depths of up to 60m (200’) and each comes with an incomparable service commitment. MSRP: $300
choose your weapon
OLYMPUS www.olympusamerica.com
The Olympus Stylus 770 SW can be dropped (from 5 feet), dunked (to 33 feet), frozen (-10°C/14°F) or even crushed (up to 220lbf), and it will still take amazing photos. But the 770 SW isn’t all brawn and no brains. It features a bright 2.5” Hypercrystal LCD so you can easily compose, view and share your images underwater or in direct sunlight. Digital Image Stabilization (DIS) creates sharp, blur-free pictures, even if your subject is moving. MSRP: $379.99
SONY www.sonystyle.com
Marine pack Waterproof Housing (MPK-WB). For W series Cyber-shot® camera. LCD hood and hand strap included. Offering waterproof protection for your W series cyber-shot camera. Sony Marine pack lets you take stunning underwater shots up to 132 feet below the surface MSRP: $199.99
AQUATECH www.aquatech.com.au
AquaTech Sport Housings are revolutionary designed for the extreme photographer. Our products are lightweight and durable and specifically designed for surface and shallow water work. Different from a standard Dive rated Camera Housing, our Sport Housings are rated to 10 meters (33 feet). Used most commonly in Action and Extreme Sport, Fashion, Lifestyle, Media and Wildlife applications our products offer the versatility of remote firing accessories for camera and flash as well as custom mounting applications. Our AquaTech D-35 model Sport Housing has been designed for the Canon EOS 5D body (see below), however it will also accommodate the Canon EOS 20D and EOS 30D Bodies using separate Mounting Plate and Backplate accessories. MSRP: $1395 Basic // + $365 pro upgrade
+ CANON
www.usa.canon.com
The Canon EOS 5D Digital SLR is a 12.8 megapixel camera that provides users with a full frame CMOS image sensor, which allows users to fully see the benefit of the more than 60 compatible Canon EF lenses. This means wider and brighter shots underwater. It is lightweight and easy to use, with a large and bright 2.5” LCD to review images. MSRP: $2999
Sea&Sea www.seaandsea.com
Sea&Sea DX-860G Housing + 860G Camera is an underwater housing and compact digital camera set for enjoyable and easy underwater photography. Small but powerful: the DX-860G set packs 6.2 megapixel effective resolution (8 megapixel maximum resolution) into a convenient underwater package. With a depth rating of 150 ft. the DX-860G is perfect for beginners to intermediate divers. Plus, you can record underwater video on 32 MB of built-in memory with a flip of a switch and listen to your favorite MP3 tunes all on the same dive trip using the DX-860G Camera. Now you can show all your buddies the “Big One� that got away. MSRP: $599 for camera and housing MSRP: $925 for Sport Package (shown) Separate strobe system (YS27 Lighting Package)
PENTAX www.h20camera.com
Pentax Optio W30 features an enhanced waterproof design. The compact Optio W30 performance capacity has more than doubled and now allows photographers to capture images underwater up to 10 feet for 2 hours. The generous 2.5 inch LCD monitor offers an LCD Bright Mode that can adjust the brightness of the screen as necessary for improved viewing in the sunlight. Ever the perfect camera for capturing adventure in the outdoors, the Optio W30 also features both Digital and Movie SR modes to reduce blur in both image and video capture. The Optio W30 also features the Face Recognition function and Macro Photography mode to allow image capture at under half an inch for stunning close-ups of photography subjects. MSRP: $300