Hawaiian South Shore's November Newsletter!
Apnea Surf Survival Class
By David Kelly, Owner, Hawaiian South ShoreDid you get a chance to read last month’s article by Matt Rott about wipeouts, hold-downs and how to survive them? Well that inspired me to take a class because I know 20 seconds feels a lot longer for me and sometimes I feel like I’m not able to hold my breath long enough when I get wiped out. When I posted that article on our blog and Facebook, one of our members sent us a link about a class called “Apnea Surf Survival Class.” I’ve heard about this class before. Matt commented saying that he was thinking about taking a class but in the last minute he had to do an article for Magic Seaweed and he flew south to the Arctic Circle to surf. Don’t ask why, yeah, I would never fly down there to go surf, but anyway… I took the class and I learned so much about myself. It was an experience I will never forget.
The class had around 20 people and I was impressed because Dennis Payne and Liam McNamara were there taking the class too. This was their second time taking the class as they wanted to get brushed up for this winter.
The biggest thing I learned from the class was how to breathe from my diaphragm and how to oxygenate myself. Without getting into a lot of details, on the second day of class, I could hold my breath for two minutes and 37 seconds. Everyone else made it for 3 minutes or more, so I have a lot to work on.
If you’re interested in this class, email us at sales@hawaiiansouthshore.com, I can send a link to the class.
Here is some additional information from the instructor:
This course is designed with only one goal in mind; to increase your breath hold ability in tense situations underwater, while remaining calm and in total control of your mind. In this apnea training for surfers, you will learn different techniques of apnea and breathing exercises to fully oxygenate the body and to strengthen and increase capacity of the lungs. The class is designed to help you spend more time underwater through lectures, intense breath hold training and multiple breathing and swimming exercises. Its purpose is to aid surfers in dealing with extreme situations where mind control and calmness are the main factors for your survival.
In addition to the apnea theory and breathing techniques to maximize oxygenation and breath hold, we will be emphasizing High Surf Risk Management to recognize, minimize or avoid unnecessary risks found in the surf zone. We will also present and work on many “Surf Rescue” scenarios encountered in the sport of surfing and other water activities. We will cover the importance of providing CPR and Rescue Breath Skills to unconscious victims.
This is a course that every waterman and woman should take! It will make you and your surfing community safer!
It’s Getting Chilly and for Me That Means...
Time for Nabe and Wetsuits!
Yep, both are Japanese!
Nabe is one of my favorite dishes. It’s hearty and filling, but not too heavy. I think I could eat it most nights, even during the summer. Japanese usually only eat it during winter months, when it’s cold. It’s way too hot in Japan in the summer to be eating this dish. Well, come to think of it, they don’t eat nabe, but pound the Ramen in the middle of the summer… mmmm got me.
Anyway, I like all different kinds of Nabe. Kimchi, Seafood, Chicken and many other Nabes. The main ingredients are usually veggies and meat of some kind, placed into a boiling pot of broth. The broth is the most important part of the dish. When it starts off, it’s usually bland, but as you boil the ingredients, it becomes tasty. I guess the key is to have the right broth for the right ingredients. My wife likes to make it and she used to make her own dashi (soup stock), but now at Don Quijote and Nijiya, they sell the Japanese Nabe Broth. It’s really good and super easy to make Nabe with this. Well, I don’t make it, my wife does all the cooking. I’m not allowed in the kitchen. Haha!
Open the package, pour it into the pot, let it boil, place veggies and some thinly sliced beef or any kind of meat and let it simmer. Then you’re ready to eat!
After you eat the contents, it’s also good to simmer some rice with the rich broth or Udon and finish up. It makes a lot of food, which makes for a good dish to eat with family and friends.
This image is what is sold here in Hawaii. You need to water it down since it is a concentrated pack. There is no MSG.
Enjoy it and if you make some hot pots, send me some photos!
Wetsuits have come a long way in the past 50 years...
What started as crude, inflexible iceman suits, they have evolved into sleek, supple heaters that keep us in the water much longer than we ever could have dreamed.
All the major surf brands make suits now, and boutique brands have sprung up as well, bringing top-end rubber to quality conscious consumers. The Straw Hat brand has a line of wetsuits as well, and it’s one that we’re quite proud of, because we understand wetsuit quality, and know a good product when we see one.
That core component of a suit is its rubber, and it stands to reason that the better the rubber is, the better the suit will be. We want a combination of warmth, durability, and flexibility. The Japanese company that makes the Straw Hat suits has been building top quality OEM suits for divers, surfers, and even the Japanese National Defense Force for 35 years. The skin of the Straw Hat rubber is slippery smooth, but stands up to the elements, as some of our past clients are still using suits they bought five years ago, with no cracking or dry rot!
But we weren’t satisfied with only having the best rubber on the market. We added extra design elements like added elasticity for a better fit; silicone rubber in cuffs to maintain seal and prevent over-stretching, even with frequent use. There is also a nylon loop sewn into the zipper to attach your board short string under the suit, to keep it in place.
The result? Wetsuits that are built to last, but provide the warmth and comfort that 21st century surfers demand. If you are looking for the best wetsuits at affordable prices, these are worth checking out. Straw Hat has been a staple of the surf wardrobe since day one, and Straw Hat wetsuits will be keeping us warm well into the future.
We are so stoked and confident about the Straw Hat wetsuits, that we offer a 30-day money back guarantee!
What’s New at Hawaiian South Shore?
Channel Islands X INT Shaper’s Series Surfboard
The Channel Islands X INT Shaper’s Series surfboard is a hybrid soft deck with an epoxy hard bottom for responsiveness and durability.
The core is 100% recyclable, American-made Marko foam, designed for optimum strength and performance for a soft board.
Sustainable bamboo stringers are featured for strength, allowing for flex and performance.
The MINI model is a Channel Island, Kalani Robb and MINI automotive collaboration for a combination of performance, fun and versatility.
This board has an ultra-relaxed rocker, wider nose and squash tail, thinned rails, and aggressive single to double concave with Vee out the tail.
Taking a page from Al’s Popular Skinny Fish design, the MINI incorporates all the speed and wave catching ability of a traditional fish with a performance of a squash tail.
This board was designed to work best in knee to head high surf.
The strength of Libtech X Lost Surfboards
If you surf and you’ve been in the surfboard section of the store, you know we carry the Libtech X Lost Surfboards. As a matter of fact, we are the ONLY ones in Hawaii that carry them. This board has been a hot seller for the past 3 years. In year 2, we were #1 in the nation for selling Libtech’s. We believe in them so much we keep just about every model and size Lost has with them.
Have you seen the video Libtech made a couple years ago where they run a car over the board?
For a while now, a friend of mine said I should try it. I was hesitant, until now. We ran over a Lost Round Nose Fish Redux. We actually ran over it and backed up over it and… nothing happened! Just some scratches, no stress fractures. It was very impressive. I am now a true believer!
Watch us run over the board here...Hayden Holy Grail
Hayden’s Hypto Krypto was the #1 selling model in the world for 4 years. It was voted the best all-around surfboard for 3 years in a row.
For the past 6 years, we’ve been selling the Australian-made Hayden Hypto Krypto. We don’t sell the Made-in-Thailand boards. We used to, but after reviews and complaints from customers, we decided to stick with the one that has the better flex, strength and ride. Yes, it’s about a $100 difference, but the reviews and repeat orders we receive from members, say it’s well worth it.
By the time you read this, we should have the NEW Holy Grail model in stock. It’s a model that catches waves like the Hypto, but it’s more of a performance board. The average surfer can catch tons of waves and surf it like a high performance shortboard. The advanced surfer can really push the board. It’s pretty much a high performance Hypto Krypto, with a slight pulled-in nose and very different looking rails toward the tail.
This board is going to blow up like the Hypto Krypto!
I Learned A Lot About Carbon Wrap...
We recently had two guys visit the shop that are on vacation and work for Lost. We learned a lot from our conversation.
First, we learned that it takes almost triple the amount of time to make these boards compared to a normal surfboard. The Carbon stripes you see on the deck and bottom are recessed into the foam. They cut out .5mm of foam and insert the carbon so it is flush to the deck.
Also, the glassing is heavier than standard surfboard glass. They place 2 layers of 4-oz. glass and a 4-oz. biaxial fiberglass on top of that. That makes 3 layers of 4-oz. on the deck and they place 2 layers of 4-oz. on the bottom. I’m 180 pounds and I rode my Carbon Wrap the entire winter season last year and hardly endured any pressure dings. A friend that I surfed with all winter is 200 pounds and said the same thing. It’s no wonder why our boards were holding up so well.
I was super stoked to get the low down on the glassing, it’s super impressive. I recently bought myself the Baby Buggy with 5 fins. I surfed it in the country in solid 4’ surf and it worked well as a thruster. In town, I surfed it as a Quad, the thruster in town seems a little loose.