September has been the month of the shark in Hawaii; Beaches on Kauai's north shore, Oahu's south shore and on the Big Island's west and east sides were closed due to sightings. A drunken swimmer went for a night time dip off McKenzie Beach on the Big Island and was never seen again. His torn up trunks were recovered the next day, and rescue personnel spotted a huge shark, possibly a Great White, patrolling the area just offshore. On 9/9, a 40 year old surfer was attacked by a Tiger Shark on Oahu's windward side. He and his surfboard sustained serious damage. Kahana Bay and surrounding areas have been closed. For more on Hawaii's = sharks, Follow the link: http://www.aroundhawaii.com/sports/surf/2008-09-shark-part-i-culture-science-and-fear.html

The Honolulu Mayoral Debate went off at the Hawaii Theatre on 9/9. The candidates were greeted outside by sign waving members of the Defend Oahu Coalition, led by the venerable Mark Cunningham. The Turtle Bay expansion and future development on Oahu's North Shore was a hot topic at the standing room only event.

On 9/5, big wave showman Alec "Ace Cool" Cooke set off on an 11 day swim around Oahu to raise awareness on nearshore pollution in Hawaii. Escorted by a boat, but armed only with a mask and fins, Ace will traverse over 100 miles of coastline, and early on he already reported seeing tons of trash in the ocean. A documentary will be made of the herculean feat.

The grand reopening of the SurfTech shop in Honolulu went off on 8/16, with surfing dignitaries galore in attendence. Owner Steve Cranston has put his products under the capable feet of names like Darrick Doerner, Shane Dorian, Tom Carroll, Kelly Slater, Pancho Sullivan, Wingnut, Nathan Fletcher, Dino Miranda, Myles Padaca, and many more.

This month Kauai Museum presents `Ikena he`e nalu (Visions of surf-sliding), The early History of Surfing as told by ancient chants, legends, explorers journals and the media! Check it out.

The Doris Duke Theater at the Hawaii Academy of Arts is showing classic surf movies such as Five Summer Stories, Kowabunga, Super Session, and more in the coming weeks. Adult admission is $7 and students and military are $5. Hard to beat these prices for a night of nostalgic stoke! Call (808) 532-8700 for more information.

Team Billabong won the Hawaiian Airlines Legends Surf Classic at the 2008 Duke's Oceanfest on 8/23. Led by team legend Paul Strauch, Tony Moniz and his kids, Isaiah, Kelia, and Seth, ripped the 1'-2' surf to take first place out of a field of 22 pro and amateur teams. Other legends in attendence were Donald Takayama, Randy Rarick, Buzzy Kerbox, LJ Richards, Sam George, Ken Bradshaw, Joey Cabell, Laura Blears, Buttons Kaluhiokalani, Becky Benson, Nancy Emerson, Ben Aipa, Keone Downing, Billy Pa, Jack McCoy and many others. Mahalo to event coordinator Jim Fulton, the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation, and sponsors for another great event!

Aloha Defend Oahu Supporters! Heavy Water Magazine has chosen Defend Oahu to be the recipient of their newest, wildly successful quarterly fundraising event. The donations from this event will go toward helping defer the legal fee's incurred during our Land Use Commission motion. Come out and celebrate with at the Pipeline Cafe on September 20th. Doors open at 9:00 pm with great music, a Fashion Show, Raffle and good times!

It’s time for the Eleventh Annual “Haleiwa Joe’s Charity Swing” Golf Tournament. This year the event will benefit the North Shore Junior Lifeguards. Each summer approx. 120 teens complete the 25 hour Jr. Guard Curriculum at Ehukai. Program focus is on swimming skills, basic life support (CPR) rescue skills, competition, nutrition, environmental awareness, and fun. North Shore- Team Ehukai has won the State Championships eight times in fifteen years. Some past Jr. Lifeguards of note are Jamie O’Brien, Mark Healy, Fred Pattachia, Bobby Martinez and Jack Johnson. Organizers are looking for prize contributions for our award benefit. Last years big prize was an autographed Jack Johnson ukulele. Also, anyone who will be on the North Shore on Oct. 15th please come by and grab an entry form from Haleiwa Joe’s. Golfers who have played in our tournament include, Kelly Slater, Fred Patacchia, Brock Little, Pancho Sullivan, Ross Williams, Shawn Briley, Akila Aipa, Braden Dias, Mark Healy, Kaiborg, Makua Rothman, Marcus Hickman, Myles Padaca and many more. Please send any product or monetary donations to Haleiwa Joe’s 66-011 Kamehameha Hwy. Haleiwa,HI. 96712.Attn:Chris Pirrone. Please make checks payable to Haleiwa Joe’s Charity Swing.

Waikiki surf schools are on guard after several recent and mysterious cases of "Surfer's Myelopathy" struck visiting tourists learning to surf. The condition is supposedly induced by the sustained reverse hyperextension of the spinal cord when paddling on a surfboard, therefore restricting blood flow and oxygen to the spine, causing paralysis of incremental severity. No one knows better than surfers that our sport requires unique uses of our anatomy that no others do. Link:
http://starbulletin.com/2008/06/16/news/story01.html

And is the water you’re surfing filled with poop and other fun things? The Hawaii Department of Health has a new research tool to help you find out. Viewer discretion is advised.

LOST AND FOUND - Did you lose your board or gear? Submit date, time place and 5 word description and we'll post it in Local Knowledge.

Stolen: Lihue, Kauai 6'4 x21x2 3/4 quad squah tail, pink leash and grip pad, natural color shaped by Amarillo/The Lab CA My name in on the foam under laminate "Natalia"(760) 470-2416 Reward!

Lost:16' Da Kine Board Bag left on beach at Kaluakoi before Molokai Paddleboard race. Contact Heather 429-3645.

Stolen: 5’ 10”, 5 fin, fun board semi-diamond tail stolen on north shore. Call tommy 216-1176. wes on rail.

Have some local news or events? Email the editor.

Our friends at Phix Doctor are mailing FREE Disposable Ding Repair Kits to all US residents. All you pay is $1.95 S&H. Go to www.phixdoctor.com to order yours today.

The Nusantara in the Mentawais is for sale. It's at $375,000 or best offer for the boat/business/crew/brokers/ and a list of return/loyal customers. And the guys are willing to train as well. Contact danaeg9@hotmail.com for more information.

Surfline recently launched a new community section where organizations like surf teams, surf shops, brands, and clubs can easily build and manage a community page on Surfline to better communicate with their audiences, promote their events, and generally get more exposure on Surfline. There’s a back-end admin system that is really easy to use so you can upload photos and videos, create event schedules, have a latest news section, set up a blog, upload an ad banner at the top to brand the page, and change the background colors. A community page is also an easy way for people to interact by uploading their own photos/videos, posting blog questions, etc. For more info or if you are interested in setting up a community page on Surfline for your organization, please send an email to Baylee@surfline.com.