2013: A Year in Review

January 06, 2014

Heidi exploring a Philippine reef

One of my favorite shots from the Philippines

2013: A Photo Year in Review

Myles and Jack diving with a turtle, Great Barrier Reef

Cuddly Koala, Australia Zoo

Lounging with Kangaroos

2013 has been a whirlwind of a year. I was lucky enough to travel to 6 different countries (Philippines, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Fiji), captain some amazing trips with the Pacific Whale Foundation on Maui, get paid to take photos of breaching humpback whales, visit Savannah, make it to the infamous Stave Island Party in Vermont, and make a big move over to Oahu in time for some serious North Shore surfing. I tackled famous surfing waves like Sunset Beach, Honolua Bay, Uluwatu, Padang Padang, Frigates, and Cloudbreak which felt like a mini "Endless Summer" of my own. I logged over 100 scuba dives including a liveaboard on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, shipwrecks in Bali and Hawaii, and a full 3 weeks of diving around the Philippines. I had close encounters with whale sharks, thresher sharks, bull sharks, hammerhead sharks, manta rays, and humpback whales.

Whale sharks, Oslob, Philippines

Surfing Oz with Jack and Myles

My year was far from sedentary. A lot of the big changes were focused around Heidi getting into grad school on Oahu starting in the fall. So I wrapped up my amazing gig driving whale watches and snorkel trips on Maui in time for a big summer travel to the Philippines. We managed to fit a trip back east to Savannah in afterwards and then north up to to Vermont and Tadoussac, Canada before flying back to Oahu in time for the fall semester.
House hunting from the comfort of our friend Dave's guest house paid off big when we found our current place tucked way up in Pauoa Valley in the hills above Honolulu. I finalized plans for a huge Oceana trip with Myles and Jack while working drydock for Pac Whale here on Oahu.

Mating dance of the mandarin goby, Philippines

Ultra safe motor bikes in Bali

The Oceana trip covered tens of thousands of miles and included Australia, Bali, New Zealand and Fiji. We were 4 for 4 in countries surfed, we dove in some of the the most famous destinations in the world, and came away knowing we could tackle just about anything thrown our way while out on the road.

Sunset and waves at Uluwatu, Bali

Breakfast time with Bulls, Beqa, Fiji

I made it home for a late Christmas on Oahu and then rang in the New Year with our friends on Maui. 2013 will be a hard year to top. Although this year has already started out with some epic muck diving and surfing on Maui. There is a big question mark on what 2014 will bring but after writing this post I feel like I crammed enough in 2013 to fill multiple years. And as always I look forward to attacking the new year with enthusiasm, optimism, and lots of adventures.