All Contents of this Page Copyright(2010) of Randolph Kashino
Maui Christmas 2010
"Tropical Surfing Winter Escape"
Christmas Eve, December 24, 2010
I've arrived on Maui on December 21st and have been thawing out since then. It is always surprising that all those stressed up aches and pain I had before I left have disappeared. Is it the climate or just the lack of winter stress. The normally strong trade winds are non existent, so no windsurfing yet. However, I've got some good days in Stand Up Paddle surfing over at Ukumehame and Launiupoko beach. The surfing over there has been about 2 to 4 feet and very consistent. Today I decided to stay over on the North side and went out to the Kanaha lowers break. It was pretty nice, with some good 14 second, 6 footers and some reasonable 4 footers. I also got to try out that paddle I built back in April. I started at about 10 o'clock and stayed until about noon. After finishing my session, I went for lunch at "Da Kitchen" for some local fare. I got a massive plate of Chicken Katsu with rice and salad. Not that I've been starving here. Last night I pan fried some Opakapaka (red snapper) and the other night I had some Mahimahi. Tonight I had a light dinner of some spicy Tako poke with rice. Tomorrow there is the promise of some bigger surf.
The morning moon is bright in the sky
Stand Up Paddle Surfing at Kanaha Lowers
Christmas Day, December 25, 2010
As predicted the big surf had arrived. Hookipa looked like it had about 20 foot faces and only a few better surfers were out. I checked out Kanaha, but it looked a bit messy, so I decided to see what the south west side looked like. When I got to Ukumehame it was flat, so I drove up to Launiopoko and it also looked pretty flat. I went further around and up past Kaanapali to S turns at Kahana. There were some big sets coming in but it was pretty narly and a south east wind was blowing. Not quite enough to windsurf and I didn't bring a rig anyway. I decided to head back down to Launiupoko. It was a bit windy and choppy and made for challenging stand up paddling. After my session I headed back to Puukoa. I barbequed a steak and made up a mess of baked yams and brussel sprouts for dinner. Had some Malbec wine with it, which made it a fine dinner.
It was going off big time at Hookipa
S turns at Kahana was a bit too narly and windy
Boxing Day, December 26, 2010
Thunderstorms last night made for a restless sleep for about 3 hours. This morning the sky was a brilliant pink at sunrise. After making a breakfast of Shitake Mushroom Omelet with bacon and pan fried red potatoes, I headed toward Kanaha. When I got out the wind started blowing offshore which made it challenging. There were still some good 8 foot faces and I managed to get a good one. I tried a couple more times before the wind made it uncomfortable so I headed in for lunch. I went to the Maui Mall and had some local fare, then decided to go for a drive up to Waiehu Beach, also called Sandpiles. Interestingly the surf was pretty small with the occassional 5 footer coming in. I wanted to do some exploring so I headed a bit further up to Waihee and checked out the Waihe'e Beach Park. This is a nice hidden little spot right next to the Waiheu Golf course. Looks like it might be a decent spot to go snorkelling when the surf is a bit smaller. After this I headed back to Kanaha and the wind had died, so I went back out for another session. I managed to get a nice 6 footer and had a great ride. I also got a caught on the inside on a white water break but managed to pull out of that with an exciting ride in white foam. By the end of this session I was dead tired. Back at Pu'u Koa I made an Salad from Avocado and Romaine Lettuce and cooked up a Ahi Tuna steak with rice and Kim chee. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and then some Hana Bay rum after dinner.
The sky was brilliant this morning
Pacific Waihee Beach
December 27, 2010
Very overcast and calm. No sign of trade winds at all. Relaxed this morning and had a late breakfast. I eventually got going around noon head drove over to Wailea and then to Oneuli Beach. There was a little bit of wind blowing onshore, but not enough to deter me from going for a snorkel. It was a bit murky inshore but soon cleared up off the beach. The reef was looking as good as I had seen it. Lots of fish, urchins and best of all health coral. After an hour of snorkeling I came back in and then relaxed on the beach with a beer. Lots of tourists around today. On my way back I decided to stop at the shops at Wailea to check out if there were any good deals on board shorts. Next I drove back over to the north shore and decided to go for a paddle surf session at Kanaha. There was no wind and the waves were about 4 to 5 feet. Only about 2 other Stand Up paddle surfers out here so it made for some easy take offs. I came in about 5:45 before the sunset. Back at Pu'u Koa I made up a pasta sauce with fetuccini served with a Malbec wine and then a rum after dinner.
Pu'u Ola'i (Red Hill) next to Oneuli beach
Many splendored fishes of Maui
The always amazing Pencil Urchin
December 28, 2010
Another calm and overcast morning. I slept late but made a quick breakfast before loading up the car and heading down the road. I stopped in at the Naish shop and rented the 9'5" Mana that I wanted to take for a test run. Went straight down to Kanaha. It was looking calm and the waves looked the same as yesterday. When I got on the Mana I was surprised at how stable it was. 9'5" and 31" wide seemed to work pretty good. When I got out to the reef I lined up a good 5 footer and took a ride. The board seemed a bit harder to get going but once on the wave it worked like a charm. Easy bottom turns and snappy back off the lips made for fun riding. I ended up staying out for 3 hours before I was totally exhausted and came in at about 2 o'clock. I went for lunch at Pinatas and had a beef and bean burito with a Pacifico. After this late lunch I drove back to Pu'u Koa and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.
The Naish 9'5" Mana
December 29, 2010
The sky seemed a bit clearer this morning but still windless. Made a breakfast of bacon and eggs with sweet potatoes. After breakfast I decided to get going early and I headed to Kanaha. I was on the water be 10 o'clock. Well...that's early if you're on vacation. I took the Naish Mana out for another test. It was flat calm with some good 3 to 5 foot sets coming in every 5 minutes or so. After a couple of hours I came in when it started getting windy. The first sign of trade winds?. I packed up and headed over to Ukumehame to test the Mana board on some smaller waves. The Mana actually worked a lot better than I thought it would. After an hour or so I was finished. Not many days where you get 2 sessions in and on opposite sides of the island. Interestling the wind was quite strong onshore when I finished my session. I headed back to Pu'u Koa and made myself a dinner of pork chops with rice and salad. Watch the "Pirates of the Carribean" on TV with a rum and then crashed.
Surfing the Naish Mana 9'5" at Ukumehame
December 30, 2010
When I woke up this morning I could the wind rustling the fronds of the coconut tree outside. Trade winds were blowing. I check my internet sources and confirmed the wind was actually blowing then packed the windsurfing the gear in the car and headed for Kanaha. When I got there the trades had definitely kicked in. I rigged my Sailworks 5.5 and headed out on my 95 litre Quattro board, savouring the wind and waves.. It was perfect sailing. I likely could a have been on my 5.0 but there were some light pockets of wind which confirmed my choice of sail was right on. I stayed out for a couple of hours before coming in for a break. I had some fresh Pineapple and a beer for a late lunch about 2:30. I then went out for a second session and after about a half hour the wind start to lighten so I caught a gust and blasted back into the beach. Back at the beach all my windsurfing friends were hanging out and I stayed around unti about 5 o'clock. Back at Pu'u Koa I barbequed a swordfish steak. Had some rice a tomato and cucumber salad with a Argentian Malbec wine. Rather than feeling fatigued the windsurfing session had refreshed me. I was ready for more windsurfing.
Heading out off Kanaha Beach
Windsurfing Kanaha Uppers
December 31, 2010
Mauka showers this morning, but the trade winds seemed have back off. Relaxed this morning and had some bacon and eggs for breakfast. Sliced up some pineapple for my lunch. With the lack of wind I drove over to Ukumehame Beach. The sky over here was clear and sunny and it was flat calm with some 1 to 2 foot swell coming in. When I paddled out, the water appeared very clear. I had intended to only surf for about an hour, but stayed out for two. After my SUP session I had a beer and the pineapple I sliced earlier for lunch. After hanging around for a bit, I decided to head up to Kapalua to do some snorkelling. The bay was just as calm here and as I swam out off the beach the water was a cool 25 degrees and very relaxing. Lots of fish here. Abundante was the Hawaiian triggerfish, otherwise known as Humuhumu nukunuku apua'a. There were also Moorish Idols and Big Eyes hiding under the coral heads. It was about 4:30 when I came in. I washed the salt off and then headed to the Times (Star) market to get some groceries. The sun set for the last time in 2010, as I was driving back to Pu'u Koa. For dinner I made some Cheese Burgers and had that with rice and Cucumbers that had been marinated in Soya Sauce. Served with "Tierra Brisa" Malbec wine from Mendoza, Argentina. Fireworks were going off at the neighbors celebrating the coming new year. Happy New Year to Everyone. Good Surfing and Windsurfing in the new year.
One last SUP session at Ukumehame
Swimming with the Moorish Idols at Kapalua Bay
January 1, 2011
No sign of Mauka showers this morning, but the fronds of the Coconut tree were rustling. The sky was a clear blue and I could see the top of Haleakala. I was a bit later in getting up. I guess that what's supposed to happens when you're on vacation. Watched some TV while I made breakfast. Did some work on my paddle then packed up for the day. I first drove down to Kanaha. When I got there, Dave Kalama was just coming off the water with his SUP. It looked like it was getting windy so I decided to head over to Ukumehame. I stopped for a bit at the Hawaiian Island Surf shop to pick up the latest Stand Up Journal then continued on to Ukumehame. When I got there I could see a bit of south swell coming in, but there was also an anoying 5 knot wind blowing from Lahaina way. I decided to head out for a session anyway and when I got out there the wind was not as bad as it seemed. Looking back toward the beach the West Maui Mountains were spectacular today. The rain that had been falling sporadically for the last coupe of weeks was greening the normally dry desert mountain sides. I managed to catch a few good waves because I stayed out for a couple of hours. When I got back to beach I had a beer and pineapple for lunch. I decided to head out again for another session. This time the wind was more annoying and I only last about an hour. After this session I decided to head back over to Kanaha. When I got there it seemed there had been at leas a couple of hours of good wind. It was dying now. I hung around for a bit then headed back to Pu'u Koa. Pan fried a filet of Mahi Mahi in my secret (ginger, soya and wine) sauce served with rice and slice tomato Caprese and some red Argentian Malbec wine. Tomorrow there is the promise of strong trade winds and some big waves.
The view of the West Maui Mountains off Ukumehame today was Spectacular
January 2, 2011
Mauka showers and the trade winds were blowing. I was up early and checking the weather data online. It was looking good. The wave buoy data was starting to show a bump up in height and periods. When I drove past Ho'okipa the swell was definitely up and the also the wind. Off in the distance I saw a Humback whale breach. When I got to Kanaha, it looked like it was blowing 15 to 20 knots or more offshore. I rigged my Sailworks 5.5 on my Quattro board. I headed out for my first session at 11 o'clock. Perfect sailing, but had to watch out for Weird Wave. It was definitely peaking up. Now for those of you who don't know about "Weird Wave", it is the wave that breaks on the east side of the channel out through the inshore reef at Kanaha. It gets Weird because has it comes through the channel, which has outgoing currents. It starts wrapping upwind, just as it breaks. Also the waves that are breaking on the Uppers reef to the east are wrapping down towards the channel and there are wind wave chop coming directly from the east. Well... you can see why this combination makes "Weird Wave" If you fall in weird wave be prepared for a good 20 minutes of being pounded by surf, because there is no way to water start because the wind is all over the place or non existent in this break. Eventually either the current or a big wave will wash you out. If your lucky your gear will still be intact. Once through the channel I decided to head down towards lowers to see if I could catch a wave. This is harder than it would seem, because you have to get the timing right to get on a good wave. What seems like a good wave out the outside can disappear to nothing on the reef. I managed to get a small 3 footer then blasted back out and upwind towards Uppers. Lots of turtles on the outside today. Nearly hit 2 that were just surfacing. I sailed for over and hour then came in for a break. The wind was getting a bit unstable anyway because the trade winds were making clouds to the east. Nice rainbows as well. After lunch, my second and third sessions were challenging the wind had switched east to southeast which made things really gusty ranging between 10 knots and 30 knots. Sometimes I was blasting and sometimes I was doing the hula and slogging. I was pretty tired at about 3 o'clock when I came off the water. After packing up I headed back toward Puu Koa, but stopped at Ho'okipa. The pros were out wavesailing on logo to mast high waves. I took this in for about a half hour. Back at Pu'u Koa I made a Shitake Mushroom and Beer tomatoe sauce and had that over some Fettucine pasta. Served with some more of that Malbec I had openned the other night. Mauka showers were falling outside as I crashed, dead tired.
Watch out for Weird Wave
The professionals were working at Ho'okipa
January 3, 2011
Mauka showers again this morning which meant the trade winds (Lau ko wai) were still blowing. I slept until 8 o'clock this morning which is a lot later than I'd slept recently. I eventually made breakfast then packed up for the day. First I went up to Pauwela to check out things at the Quattro/Goya shop. Talked with Pascal a bit and scoped out the new line of Goya Eclipse sails. I then head to Kanaha. Ho'okipa didn't look as big as yesterday and the wind seemed a bit lighter. At Kanaha, I decided to rig the 5.5 sailworks again. My first session was perfect cruising. On the sail out I totally forgot where I was, hypnotized by sailing on the long swell outside. I eventually jibed and did the reach back in. The same turtles I had seen the days before were just out off Weird Wave. After an hour, when the wind seemed to back off a notch I came in for a break. After an hour break I decided to head back out. This was a challenging wind. Very gust and more on the light side than the strong side. I ended up more down toward Kanaha lowers and caught some waves down there. The sky darkened and the wind cranked up 2 notches and I blast back upwind. I jibed and on my final reach back in it was raining and there was a rainbow just upwind following me in back to the beach.
Kanaha windsurfing out towards Kahakuloa Head
Aloha, Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!
Randy
Nani wale ia pu'e one la
I ka nalu he'e mai a'o Kananaka
Kahi a maakou a i he'e ai
I ka 'ehu'ehu o ke kai
so beautiful is that stretch of sand
with the surf of Kananaka
where we also have ridden the waves
there in the spray of the sea
**Traditional Hawaiian mele. For a beautiful rendition of this, listen to a version by Keali'i Reichel (Collection-Two) Kamalei. Punahele Productions. kealiireichel.com
Kananaka is the name of an hawaiian mermaid.
see also: http://www.huapala.org/Kam/Kananaka.html