Thanksgiving Day Downwinder on 12′6″s
I went on a downwinder last Thanksgiving Day which initially started off with my brother Darin who wanted to go stand up paddling. There weren’t too many choices, either it’s small waves and some wind on the South shore, or it’s going to be huge waves on the North shore. He’s out of surfing shape right now so that would be pretty tough.
I told him, “why don’t we go on a downwinder.” We’ll try out these new 12’6” boards: the Blair 12’6” and this Dennis Pang 12’6” that I picked up from Tropical Blends the day before. And then I called up Jeff Chang from Wet Feet and then Harris Chang, (who is not related to Jeff). Jeff brought in some friends Herbie and Morgan and another guy.
Harris in yellow shirt, Herbie at the back and Morgan in the green top
Herbie with an Infinity 12’6” race board. The same board that Jeff used in Battle of the Paddle
Everyone gearing up to paddle
My brother Darin, holding the Blair 12’6” while I started off on the Dennis Pang 12’6”
We started off at Maunalua Bay, we launched from there, went around the blinker buoy and then normal run to Kaimana Beach. I have all my gears with me: my new camera which is the Sanyo Exacti E2, a waterproof camcorder/camera and the new Garmin GPS watch, which is the Forerunner 305. I still haven’t figured out how to use it yet, because I want to see the map overlays on Google Earth. But it’s a pretty cool device.
My new gadget: a Garmin Forerunner 305
I mainly stayed at the back of my brother during this whole run because this was really his first time doing this kind of a run and there were a lot of things to think about. It’s just not safe to leave him. I just stayed behind him almost the whole time.
Darin as he heads towards Black Point
My brother coming in to Waikiki, right in front of Outrigger Canoe Club
This was a pretty fun run. We got lucky with some wind. There was a little bit of swell but not a whole lot and I want to thank all the guys and Morgan, who went with us and waited up for us at various parts because we took a long time on this run.
(click thumbnail to launch video)
Sweet!
Nice to see you getting together with your bro on the water. I’ve got Darin’s CD’s on my iPod…now I just need to get a waterproof armband so I can take the tunes with me on the water.