Hawaii is renowned for its idyllic scenery and big surf, with the north shore of O’ahu holding some of the biggest surf and bodyboard competitions in the world.
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But like many Illawarra beach-lovers would know, the ocean can be a treacherous beast with a hazardous dark side sometimes turning nasty and even fatal.
The good and the bad of the sea shines through in Figtree filmmaker Todd Barnes’ latest bodyboarding film (made with Tyge Landa), Liquid Aloha, premiering in Wollongong on Saturday night.
It’s the seventh major release for Barnes who spent two months of last year chasing mates into giant swell who made catching barrels easy.
Though he said during that time the ocean was not as forgiving to everyone.
“There were some close calls,” Barnes said.
“There were plenty of busted noses.”
The 33-year-old’s friends are seasoned professionals but they also understand the fury the north shore can unleash with its pounding reef breaks, especially at Banzai Pipeline and Waimea Shorebreak.
Unfortunately Barnes witnessed a Brazilian surfer get swept under the last wave he would ever ride.
“If you get knocked out under water in that kind of surf they can’t find you … that’s Pipeline, it’s had a lot of deaths over the years,” he said.
“Hawaii’s [like] nowhere else, as far as the waves go, they’re just so big and powerful.
“I’ve seen tourists there walking on the beach and they’re not aware the waves can come up really high.
“It looks like paradise but the ocean is really powerful. I’ve seen people get swept out just going for a walk with their husbands.”
Barnes’ labour of love is also being screened in Queensland and in Western Australia before the DVD is released to surf stores and a digital version released for Vimeo on demand.
It comes as another film he shot and produced, Far North, is being released to iTunes later this month.
Barnes followed three-time bodyboard world champion Ben Player in icy conditions of Northern Europe’s winter.
That film culminates with Player being airlifted to hospital by the Irish Coast Guard.
Player will join a raft of bodyboarding royalty in Wollongong for the premier of Liquid Aloha at The Stoke Factory on Swan Street, Saturday from 7pm.
Then Barnes will pack his camera gear again for a new film he’s shooting in Bali and Chile, scheduled for release at the end of the year.
Premier: Liquid Aloha, The Stoke Factory, Saturday March 11. Tickets $10 on the door.
The movie stars: Lewy, Pyne O, George, Diego, Marley, Tanner, Hardy, Gornz, Seewell, Jerry, PLC, Winny, Dre, Davis, Loch, BP.