Cruzing around Naples island yesterday I saw Long Beach's 6 man go by, but there were a lot more muscles, tattoes and beaded necklaces on board. When I passed the beach they had put the boat up and a the crew was gesturing me to pull in. As I came up they went out into the water to greet me and sort of pulled me off (in a friendly way) my oc1 and all took turns taking it out, talking about my gear in Rapanui language and passing my paddle around etc...not sure if the the younger guys had seen much of this gear before, I dont know. One guy who spoke pretty good english said they had just flow in from Chilie for the IVF worlds. They brought their big heavy paddles with them, the blades on all of them bigger than my Lanikai. They just seemed really hardcore and were reverent of their star paddler who would "beat Danny Ching on one man" and look up to Tahiti and New Zeland as the real deal in paddling. I imagine growing up there, the ocean is everything and paddling is like walking, a part of everyday life.
Submitted by Shawn Michael on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 10:05am
How cool is that? I like the bit about them all paddling your canoe. Back in the day when I lived in Kailua, one of the most feared people was this big tough Samoan, Ula. One day he comes up to me at the boat ramp and says, 'Eh brah, let me take your windsurfer out". What am I going to say? "Yeah, no problem".
Anyways, he takes it out, brings it back, thanks me, I'm relieved to have gotten it back. From then on we got along just fine. No one could ever figure out how I was on good terms with him.
Now you got six Ula's looking out for you.
#1 Thu, 07/31/2008 - 10:40am
Yea, by the sterile american standards, they could just as well have been slitting my throat. They were all speaking a language I had never heard and my canoe was gone and no one else was really around for a few minutes. It was cool to see them fly the ama in the fusion which has had to suffer my inept paddling...kinda like when a really good musician picks up my guitar and rips amazing stuff...I look at the guitar in awe "did you do that?"
#2 Thu, 07/31/2008 - 11:26am
If you do not already know, Ula has made friends with numerous celebrities who have stayed at the property where he is the caretaker. There was an Adam Sandler movie set in Hawaii featuring Rob Schneider as Ula.
#3 Thu, 07/31/2008 - 11:53am
Ula was a whole lot scarier than that.
#4 Thu, 07/31/2008 - 12:51pm
Probably had a more authentic pidgin english as well
#5 Thu, 07/31/2008 - 1:32pm
Yeah, even my pidgin is mo bettah.
#6 Thu, 07/31/2008 - 4:29pm
The real Ula doesn't surf, smoke pot, or speak pidgin w/ a mexican accent! The only thing they got right was the damaged eyeball- a souvenir from his less sober days, I've heard.
#7 Thu, 07/31/2008 - 4:40pm
I heard it was from playing rugby. Amazing that a couple of us know him.
#8 Thu, 07/31/2008 - 4:49pm
Speaking of Ula... He's Tongan. He used to play on my soccer team and his kids were my students. I asked him about the character based on him in the movie and he said "It was alright, but I'm no beaner". My favorite story from him was when he was in high school health class. His teacher told the students to go home and ask their parents what "safe sex" meant. He was one of 12 or so kids. He asked his dad and the response was, "Hmmm, I don't know.... Make sure the car is in park?"
#9 Thu, 07/31/2008 - 8:16pm
This is so strange, all these OCP people who know him.
#10 Fri, 08/01/2008 - 11:08am