B on Hawaii

On the successful heels of this past December’s Kona Surf Film Festival at the Mauna Lani Resort, the 2nd Annual Waimea Ocean Film Festival will unfold this January on the Big Island of Hawai‘i with a series of deep water-related flicks, special presentations, panels and filmmaker meet-and-greets.

This weekend, Queens Beach in Waikiki will see more foot traffic by legendary watermen and women than anywhere else over the course of the entire year. It’s the full-swing of Duke’s Oceanfest, and the “Legends Lonboard” contest kicks off Friday, going well into Saturday afternoon; it is followed/preceded by the open water mile swim, SUP and paddleboard races, as well as a variety of water events that all culminate with a rockin’ luau at sundown on Saturday, August 27th.

There’s a new locale at the Kings’ Shops at Waikoloa, on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, that pays tribute to one of the most storied, modern day watermen. The Eddie Aikau Restaurant & Surf Museum opened for business this month, and if the celebrity turn-out was any gauge for its future success, well, things are looking bright.

Hawaii’s own Outrigger Hotels and Resorts has just announced that it will manage the newly penned Outrigger Koh Samui Resort and Spa in Bhoput Beach, Thailand, as of February 1, 2011. The upscale property formerly known as the Destination Beach Resort features 81 luxury villas and suites, a beachside restaurant, a wellness center, three swimming pools, a kids club and multiple bars.

If you thought you’d seen it all—in terms of Hollywood’s invasion of Hawai`i—then think again.

A few months ago, we opened up the B on Hawaii inbox, and amidst the tide of emails from around the globe found one that caught our attention—from a fella who called himself "The Surfing Swami". Once again, the "B" network proved invaluable; we were quickly swapping stories of global galavanting, while hearing what our enlightened friend was up to in the surfing world... in India.

You've seen them paddling out past the line-ups, off towards the horizon, as if in a trance. Big boys (and girls) on big boards with a long paddle, heaving their way through the chop. It isn't hard to see the allure of stand up paddleboarding; which is probably the reason it's now a global phenomenon.

For over 25 years, surf legend Randy Rarick has wrangled adrenaline-charged surfers, international crowds and a litany of corporate sponsors to bring us the Triple Crown of Surfing—the most important series of surf contests on the globe.

Once in a great while you'll catch wind of a truly fascinating story. As a journalist, I often hope it's one that's both true, and one I can track down the characters of. The story you're about to read came to us through a screening of the film Surfwise, at the Maui Film Festival a few years back.

Recently, through a series of less than usual events, I found myself working closely with a physical therapist. I was prescribed a number of back and shoulder strengthening exercises to combat the negative postural effects of sitting on my computer typing.