A recent article in the Wall Street Journal might just be over-exaggerating the tourist slump that is taking place here on the Hawaiian islands. As the article puts it, "dozens of pool chairs and canopied cabanas sat empty... restaurants had plenty of free tables... In town, "50% Off!" signs hung in the windows of many souvenir shops." I'm pretty sure this can be the case if you're walking around anywhere on the Big Island on a Saturday afternoon because people aren't interested in relaxing by a pool, eating at a restaurant, or shopping. I would hope they are doing more productive things like visiting the Volcano National Park, enjoying one of the island's many gorgeous black sand beaches, or hiking around waterfalls near Hilo.

Although I don't want to believe the article's proclamation, "There's trouble in Polynesian paradise," I'm sure the tourist industry is feeling some effects from a poor economy and the closure of ATA and Aloha Airlines - two of Hawaii's biggest airline carriers - earlier this year.

There's an absolutely amazing beach in Japan, filled with white sand, blue water, and a lapping wave. But this beach did not exist before 1993. It's known as the Ocean Dome, the most popular artificial beach in an arena that's quickly becoming fashionable. There's now artificial beaches in Monaco, Paris, Rotterdam, Toronto, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

The heated beach can accommodate 10,000 tourists, even though it's competing with plenty of other attractions on Kyushu Island - 1,500 kilometers south of Tokyo. The kicker is that there's an actual beach, which looks decent, 300 meters away. Talk about stiff competition.

Of course, if I was in Kyushu, I would definitely want to check out this place. First of all, the weather's always fantastic, since it's situated indoors. Then, there's the volcano. That's right, there's an artificial volcano that spews smoke every fifteen minutes and flames on the hour. If that's not enough entertainment, professional surfers can be found riding the waves.

You gotta love the Japanese. Check out the link below for some great shots. Absolutely spectacular.

The Triple Crown of Surfing got off to a mammoth start on Thursday with wave faces reaching over 20 feet for the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Ali'i Beach in Haleiwa. Each event in the Triple Crown undergoes a 12-day waiting period and usually takes 4-5 days to complete. Thursday and Friday saw big, clean conditions for both days, but the surf will wane over the next few days and the Men's Final date and time is yet to be determined.

I headed to the North Shore on Friday for what was my first time attending a Triple Crown event, and I wasn't disappointed. These surfing events are so packed with beach babes, film crews, and hot surfers that it is nearly impossible NOT to have a great time. I even saw Bethany Hamilton (the girl who lost her arm from a shark attack on Kauai), and she is MUCH taller than what you see in photos! She is at least six feet tall and is a statuesque young surfer girl.

If you haven't seen the footage already, here's a clip of the now-famous Kiwi kitesurfer that had an encounter with a whale.



When I first heard this story, I couldn't help but think it was another piece of outrageous sensationalism. Then, I thought about those times when I've surfed alone or gone free diving and remembered the real fear that crept into my mind: There's a whole world in these waters -- a world that is wild and unpredictable.

Just last week a judge ruled that sunbathing in the nude at San Onofre State Beach in San Diego is still allowed.

Earlier this summer there was a brouhaha because the California Department of Parks and Recreation wanted to ban nude sunbathing, even though beaching it in the buff has been allowed here for decades.

The parks and recreation department said that some sunbathers were being lewd near Trail 6. Sunbathers who just sun themselves and frolic in their birthday suits felt that the ban was uncalled for since most behave themselves.

According to this article at San Diego 6 News, the judge has ruled that the people who will be cited for being without their clothes are only those that someone in the public complains about--otherwise, sans clothes is fine--for now.

Considering that there are many public beaches from which to choose in California, it seems that if people don't want to see people sunbathe in the nude, go somewhere else--or if you do go here, stay away from Trail 6.

This photo from localsurfer-- how appropriate-- was taken in Tanzania and according to the photographer, it was created by using a "grad filter and fill in flash." Whatever that means.

Anyway, what a stunning photo.

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I have been waiting for somebody to try this. They always tell to you to "poke a shark in the eye" if you get attacked, but it always seemed unreal to actually do it when it happens. The eye of a shark is pretty damn small, not to mention creepy.

Nonetheless, an Australian swimmer says he survived a mauling by a 16-foot shark by wrestling with the beast, finally getting free by poking it in the eye. The shark, believed to be a great white, seized Jason Cull by the left leg as he was swimming at Middleton Beach in southwestern Australia on Saturday, AP reports.

The shark was one of three that swimmers reported seeing at the beach Saturday. Officials closed the beach after the attack. From his hospital bed where he was treated for deep lacerations, Cull, 37, told reporters Sunday he saw a shadow moving in the water just before the attack and mistook it for a dolphin.

"It was much bigger than a dolphin when it came up," Cull said. "It banged straight into me. I realized what it was, it was a shark....I sort of punched it, and it grabbed me by the leg and dragged me under the water," he said. "I just remember being dragged backwards underwater. I felt along it, I found its eye and I poked it in the eye, and that's when it let go."

There you go. The eye method is obviously not just an urban legend. Now it's just a matter of being able to locate the eye of a shark (while being half-submerged in its jaws) and poking it . Got it.

[via WTOPnews.com]

If you are in the midst of planning a beach vacation, this is bad timing. I was just about to tell you about the World's Most Dangerous Beaches, as compiled by Forbes.

In 2006 alone, American households apparently took nearly 55 million trips to the beach. Most of those trips were totally safe and pleasant. The rest of them....not so much.

Here are the World's Most Dangerous Beaches by Forbes:

• Shark Attacks/Bites: New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, Fla., Runner Up: Hawaii
• Pollution: Hacks Point Beach, Kent County, Md./Beachwood Beach West, Ocean County, N.J.
• Jellyfish Attacks: Northern Australia
• Rip Current Drowning: Brevard County, Fla., Runner Up: Volusia County, Fla.
• Boating Accidents: Florida, Runner Up: California
• Lightning: Florida, Runner up: Colorado

Umm, Colorado? They have beaches in Colorado?

P.S. Is it just me or is this list a little US-centric?

The Great White Shark attack off the coast of San Diego yesterday (and Mark Shaw's insightful comments about it) got me thinking about wetsuits. Doesn't it seem that most shark attacks happen because sharks confuse swimmers or surfers with seals? (See photo to get an idea of what such lovely encounters might look like.)

Here is my question. Why are most wetsuits black then? The majority of the all wetsuits I have ever rented and worn for diving have been black; hence they make you look like a seal. They might have a few color accents, but I am not sure the vision of sharks is good enough to fully appreciate them.

The guy who died in 2004 after a shark attack in Northern California was wearing an olive camouflage wetsuit that made him blend into the rocks (and possibly look more like a dolphin than a seal. Sharks like dolphins, too.) This page has a lot of interesting information about that attack.

Some sources, the surfing handbook being one of them, say the wetsuits with big color contrasts make you look like a fish, which is apparently not helpful, either. I have to say, I have never seen a 6-foot fish of crazy colors though.

Is it difficult to dye neoprene, say, all white or all orange? Would that help or is that wishful thinking?

I believe the time people put in working, running errands, going to the gym and all the other daily stuff we feel we have to do starts to take its toll on how we live and think. This is a big reason why Tom and I decided to pack up and leave for a little while...to put things in perspective, do a bit of work on the road and to surf (ok...learn to surf for me).

My surfing experience is limited to three times...once in New Zealand, once in Australia and one time in Costa Rica where an encounter with a jellyfish put my surfing attempts on hold. But now, since we have stopped in the Baja and there are some good learning beaches, I have decided to dedicate a few months to surfing, though the extent of my abilities so far is to stand up on my board. I'm working on it.

A few things beginner surfers need to know and remember: it is not as easy as it looks. No matter how athletic you are, expect to fall over and over and over again; practice makes perfect. Coordination, decent physical fitness and sheer determination (stubbornness...call it what you will) to get back up and keep trying are ideal traits if you want to learn how to surf.