John Shimooka is no stranger to the deep and distant waters off the Hawaiian Islands – he was born and raised there in the heart of its surfing culture.
The former Hawaiian professional surfer retired in 1999 after a decade chasing the world tour, the same year Cronulla’s Mark Ochillupo won the world title.
Married to a Sutherland Shire girl and living here for 15 years he is returning to Hawaii not to conquer the waves but as part of a two-man team paddling the 20th annual Molokai-2-Oahu Paddleboard World Championships on July 31st.
Founded in 1997, it has grown from a grassroots challenge for the legendary lifeguards of O’ahu to the premiere event in the sport of paddleboarding. The race annually crowns world champions in the two disciplines of traditional (prone) and stand-up (SUP) paddleboarding.
Shimooka and his partner, Boost Mobile Australia CEO and Sharks board member Paul O'Neile, have already tackled the monster once – two years ago on stand-up paddleboards – and vowed never to do it again.
Nicholas Fox, another Cronulla waterman and lifeguard, is also competing in the Stock Solo division (12ft) and last week won the Wet Feet/Blue Planet DW prone race from Sunset Beach to Haleiwa on Oahu's north shore by a healthy margin.
Cronulla surfers have had plenty of waves over the last week with the weekend pushing out good sized 4/5ft waves on all our beaches and reefs-this week is a different story with Tuesday’s conditions ideal if you are under 12 yrs old or 3ft high.
Today's waves are also in the small category with rain and a light onshore-I was the only surfer out on the entire beach this morning-go figure!
Swellnet predicts “a little pulse this afternoon but with only modest with sets in the 2ft range, South facing beaches may see sets build to around 3ft late on Thursday afternoon more likely Friday morning,.
Conditions should remain generally clean under a northwesterly breeze, with the outside chance of light seabreezes developing later each day.This weekend should see a change in conditions with an increase on Saturday afternoon favouring south facing beaches due to the acute direction.
Sunday should offer better mid-range energy with around 3-4ft breaking at south facing beaches, followed by more substantial long period energy providing a strong kick mid-late overnight in time for Monday where it should hit the 6ft mark”.
I took today's pics at North Wall where it was 1 ft and cranky and a couple I took at Wanda on Monday in the fog.
In South Africa if you have been hiding under a rock-Three-time WSL ChampioMick Fanning has won the J-Bay Open, stop No. 6 on the 2016 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour, defeating John John Florence (HAW) in an exciting Final in three-to-four foot surf at Jeffreys Bay.
The incredible victory comes a year after a dramatic incident during the 2015 J-Bay Open Final where Fanning was attacked on live television by what is believed to be a Great White Shark.
“It’s definitely a very different feeling this win,” said Fanning. “There was a real emotional build up coming back here this year. That Semifinal with Julian was really special and it was wonderful to have a heat with him again. Definitely some emotions went into it paddling out and it was just really special having a surf with him out there and both of us come in safe. I’m stoked that I got to come back and right the wrongs that happened last year. I’ve done that now so I can move on.”
The win is Fanning’s 22nd Championship Tour victory and his fourth at the J-Bay Open, which sees him equal Slater’s record of four event wins at Jeffreys Bay. Fanning defeated Filipe Toledo (BRA) and Julian Wilson (AUS) en route to the Final today.
Fanning, who is taking a personal year in 2016 and only surfing in select events this season, leaps up from 16th to 5th place on the WSL Jeep Leaderboard and will next surf at Trestles.
After this weeks Ocean and Earth NSW Junior State Surfing Titles where the juniors have been going hard ( and a good local result for next weeks column) The NSW Grommet State Titles presented by Ohana Ocean Athletics will see over 130 of NSW’s best grommet surfers compete at Maroubra in an effort to claim a state title and position in the Australian Junior Surfing Titles( from the 22nd – 24th July).
Competitors in the Under-12 and Under-14 divisions will be vying for a revered NSW Junior Title, with the Under-14 division given an allocated amount of positions for the Australian Junior Surfing Titles, which will take place on Victoria’s Phillip Island in November/December.
Randwick City Council’s annual Beach Breaks Carnival will also be held at Maroubra Beach on the 24th of July starting at 9am.It will feature an array of family fun entertainment, live music and the unveiling of new inductees into the ‘Australian Surfing Walk of Fame’ and view some great balsawood boards from Riley Bals and Ohana swim wear and fashion accessories.
Meanwhile Connor O’Leary has headed to the USA for the US Open of Surfing-Closer to home The World Surf League is excited to announce they will be teaming up with Rip Curl as part of the 2016 Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang at the wave also known as the ‘Indonesian Pipeline’ on Bali’s beautiful Bukit Peninsula.
It will be the first time the WSL have been apart of the event, which is running for its 13th year. In a unique format, the WSL ‘Specialty Event’ will have a waiting period that will run for the entire month of August. The event it self only takes one day to run, meaning contest directors have a month to pick the most perfect swell and dreamy conditions to run Bali’s ultimate tube-riding contest.
New for 2016, the Rip Curl Cup will feature the most exclusive field in event history: just 16 invited surfers; eight of Indonesia’s finest and eight of the world’s elite. The official invite list will be announced on July 18th.
In news just in Owen Wright has withdrawn from the second half of the 2016 Samsung Galaxy WSL Championship Tour season, choosing to focus on continued rehabilitation following his December head injury.
“It’s always difficult being away from the water for me,” Wright said. “It’s also a major challenge to give myself time to heal because I want to be back in the singlet so badly. That said, I understand that I have more rehabilitation ahead of me until that’s possible. I’m feeling better every day and I want to thank everyone for the support so far. I miss my friends and family on tour and I’m looking forward to seeing them all again soon. Thanks again for the support.”
A WSL Title contender in the 2015 race, Wright suffered a serious concussion in the lead-up to the final event of the season, the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons, at the world-famous Banzai Pipeline. A standout in the warm-up sessions ahead of the event, Wright was mowed down by a sizable swell on the morning of December 10 with the impact causing a serious head trauma. Withdrawing from both the event and the title race, Wright remained under medical observation in Hawaii before traveling back to Australia to receive ongoing treatment.
Till next week,where some more good local junior news will be unleashed!