There are a lot of new beginnings out there right now. Freed from his ankle bracelet, Sunny Garcia’s been on a tear at the Xcel Pro. Schooling some of the younger crew at a venue he’d dominated in his pre-inmate days, must’ve been a revelation.

Rasta, over in Taiji Japan trod a very fine line, in a very ballsy protest against the yearly slaughter of dolphins there. With some visibly shaken celebs they’d visited the trapped and frightened creatures the previous evening, only witness the bloody aftermath the next morning. They were all so lucky to escape without some kind of beatings or arrest. And although some kind of international incident, where Rasta or one of the other celebs was injured or arrested might’ve gotten their cause more attention, I’m happy they, at least, escaped serious injury. They will all be traumitized as it is. I remember when I lived in Japan, back in the eighties, when Dexter Cates, an activist, cut the nets and allowed the dolphins to escape. It made headlines in Japan. Dexter Cates had just about zero support for his protest there. He had a lot of trouble on his hands because of that.

I was writing for Surfer Magazine at the time, and had told the editors and the publisher that I wanted nothing to do with the whale aspect of the Japanese surf culture. Because I had seen the reaction of the public to the Cates story, and I knew even most surfers, at the time, were hostile to him and what he had done. I was afraid for my family. Oddly, the first piece I published came attached with an admonition to the Japanese people, saying: “Children of the sun, help us save our brothers, the whales.” I guess they had some sushi chef write it on a napkin, or something. Anyway, they put it in the mag in Japanese characters. And, while I love the sentiment, I suppose I could’ve loved it more if I’d have been in Orange County, instead of Tokyo. I got my copies from the mail and sprinted across Tokyo to give the Japanese photographer I’d worked with, his copy of the mag, and his check. When he saw what they’d done he flipped out at me, blaming me for everything. It turned out that this particular photographer was one of the very most influential people in the business-end of surfing in Japan. He made it his mission to see that the entire industry, including all the pros were turned against me. He succeeded. Over the next few years I published more flattering articles on Japan, to try and overcome the negativity, but I got burned repeatedly. Every Typhoon swell at Chiba’s Malibu, I had Takao Kuga’s or Shuji Kasuya’s butts wiggling in my face, as I got stuffed in every pit. But it was worse in business, where the time and money just disappeared to no end.

About five years later I had given up and moved to the North Shore in Hawaii, working for Randy Rarick and the Triple Crown. When Wyland sponsored the Hawaiian Pro they made a big announcement at his gallery in Haleiwa. I was a media liason for Randy at the time, so of course I ran into all of these Japanese media people, most of whom I had known in Japan, some in unfortunate settings. I wasn’t terribly happy to see those folks. But it was hard to stay angry long as the strange irony of the event played itself out. You see, Wyland had become quite popular in Japan, as now whales were considered “trendy” or even “cute”, with young japanese girls scurrying around clutching little stuffed whales and dolphins as flashes went off throughout the gallery.

Though my story had a happy ending, of sorts, it was not so for those families of intelligent dolphins, murdered by “tradition” in Taiji. The situation, with regards to dolphins and whales is much changed in the surf community in Japan today, but I don’t think it has changed so much for large swaths of Japanese society, particularly among the many, large fishing communities throughout the country. In spite of the changes, what Rasta and his fellow protestors did was very risky, and very important. I’m sure it marked the beginning of a new phase in Rasta’s dedication to his fight for the rights of cetaceans.

Oh, yes. There is one more important beginning. My first blog.