All Contents of this Page Copyright(2011) of Randolph Kashino
Maui 2011
"Tropical Windsurfing and Surfing Adventure"
March 25, 2011
Left Victoria todday and got into Kahului about 7:30 PM. Joe McBride is along for this Maui Session as well. After getting off the flight we headed to Pinatas for a Burrito and Cerveza dinner. After dinner we went to the Supermarket to get some breakfast food and lunch fixin's for tomorrow. After arriving at our digs at Pu'u Koa we had a few beers to decompress after the flight. The trade winds were blowing and it was looking good for a windsurfing session tommorow.
March 26, 2011
Woke up early this morning and Mauka showers were happening as the trade winds were still blowing. Made some bacon and eggs with pan fried red potatoes for breakfast. After breakfast started digging my windsurfing gear out of storage and packing it into the car. After this it was time to head into Kahului so that Joe could rent some gear. On the way we stopped at Hookipa to check out the conditions and saw two windsurfers out. At Hawaiian Island surf shop Joe picked out at 77 litre JP FreeStyle Wave board and got a quiver of sails. Then it was time to go sailing. When we got to Kanaha beach it looked like it was nukin' and very gusty. I decided to rig the 4.6 Sailworks on my Quatro 95 and Joe rigged a 4.0. Joe got out first anxious to get sailing.By the time I finished rigging the wind had backed off and looked a lot steadier. I sailed off the beach on a good inshore gust and headed out through the channel by wierd wave then upwind toward uppers. I did a long cruise out and met up with Joe. We did a few reaches outside easing our way toward the Upper Kanaha surf break. My 4.6 Sailworks and Quatro were working perfectly and I surprisingly made all my jibes and tacks. Surf wasn't all that big today, maybe 4 to 5 feet and a bit messy. This is because of a small northwest swell mixing with the Easterly trade wind swell. I can't complain because conditions were perfect for a first sailing session in Maui. I sailed for a little over an hour then came in and did some socializing with the local windsurfing crowd. Joe stayed out making sure he had a full cup of windsurfing. After sailing we took our time derigging, had a beer and then went shopping. We picked up a nice fillet of Mahi Mahi. Back at Puu Koa I marinated the Mahi Mahi in my special Soya-Ginger sauce and then cooked it on the barbeque. Served with Rice and a stir fry of sweet peas, onion, bok choy and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I didn't last long after dinner and soon crashed, dead tired after a full first day on Maui.
March 27, 2011
Winds were looking a lot lighter this morning and when we stopped at Hookipa to check out conditions the sailors that were out were on bigger gear. Wave were also pretty small, maybe 2 feet. After Hookipa we drove into the Hawaiian shop and Joe swapped his 3.7 and 4.0 for a 5.0 and 5.5 and got a bigger 85 litre JP board. At Kanaha Beach, I rigged my 5.5 Sailworks for my Quatro 95 board. Joe rigged the 5.0 Ezzy for his JP Freestyle Wave 85 board. It was very light when we sailed out. I just barely got planing, but the wind started picking up as we sailed out further. On my reach in it got really light and I ended up slogging at lowers beach. As I walked my gear up the beach the wind picked up and I was able to get a good ride out. The winds stayed up and it ended up being a pretty good sailing session. I saw 5 or 6 turtles on the outside of the reef break. On one reach, Joe and I did a long sail out and I saw a Humpback breach a couple of kilometres out. The last half hour of sailing the wind really picked up and by the end of my session I was a little overpowered. After sailing we went food and wine shopping then headed back to Puu Koa. Joe barbequed some steaks and we had that with rice and Salad served with an Australian Merlot. After dinner we watched the Canucks win their hockey game against Columbus while sipping on a rum.
Big Sails and Small Waves at Hookipa
March 28, 2011
The sky was looking a lot clearer this morning. The winds at Kahului were still light at about 10 to 15 knots. The high clouds coming from the southwest yesterday had knocked down the trade winds. The forecast models were showing the winds picking up to 20 knots in the afternoon at Kanaha. After breakfast we headed into the Home Depot in Kahului to do some shopping. We needed some bungy cord to keep our mast collection in order in the car and some swimming keys cut for the car. We then headed to Kanaha and the wind was looking pretty good to me, but Joe was a little more pesimistic. I rigged my 4.6 Sailworks for my Quatro 95 and Joe rigged a 4.5 for his JP 85. When I headed out is was about 1:30 and it was really light on the inside near the beach but once out a 100 yards the wind was cranking and I made a fast reach up and out towards the Upper (Uppers) break at Kanaha. On the outside it was pretty choppy which made jibing a bit of a challenge. Waves on the reef were really messed up and unpredictable because there were equal sized 3 foot waves coming from 2 directions. One was a northwest swell and the other was the easterly trade wind swell. My sail and rig worked pretty well...nice to be sailing on a 4.6! Joe was a bit overpowered but he hung onto his sail and made it work. I sailed for a couple of hours but Joe stayed out to get his fill of windsurfing. After sailing we headed up to Pukalani to do some shopping and then drove down over through Makawao and back down to Haiku to Puu Koa. For dinner we had Ahi tuna sashimi with Tako Poke and rice. A couple of Sierra Nevada beers then we tried to watch some hockey on TV but only made half way through the second period before crashing, dead tired.
A nice chop hop by Julia
March 29, 2011
Gentle Mauka showers this morning and the Moa'e (Trade Winds) were still blowing. For breakfast I made an cheese omelete served with a bagel. After breakfast and some chores we headed into Hawaiian Island so Joe could get a smaller sail and board. Then it was down to Kanaha again. It was looking much the same as yesterday, so I rigged my 4.6 sailworks againg. Joe rigged a 4.0 Ezzy with 78 litre JP freestyle wave. My first reach out was a little underpowered but still planable, but the wind soon strengthened. Waves were a little bit bigger today and there were some significant forerunners of the forecast bigger swell coming in. I sailed Uppers and Joe decided to do Lowers. On one of my reaches out I saw a Humpback Whale do a massive breach. My first session was a good hour and a half before I came in for some lunch and a beer. My second session was pretty short, but Joe stayed out and sailed lowers until the wind started to die. Back at Puu Koa we barbequed up some chicken that had been marinated in a ginger soya sauce and served it with rice and salad and a Pinot Grigio wine. We had a pretty good view of the sunset as the sky toward the West Maui Mountains stayed clear. After dinner we watched some hockey and the Canucks defeat the Predators. A couple of rums and then it was time to crash.
View of Sunset over the West Maui Mountains
March 30, 2011
Light showers and wind this morning and the cloud was taking its time to clear. Before breakfast I caught up on some email. Breakfast was yogurt with Pineapple and Papaya. Later in the morning we had bacon and eggs. Once we got started we stopped at Hookipa where it was going off pretty good and a lot of windsurfers were out. The swell was a lot bigger today at about 6 feet. After Hookipa we headed to Kanaha where the wind was looking light on the inside. I still decided to rig the 4.6 Sailworks on my Quatro 85. Joe rigged his 4.0 Ezzy. Starting our first session we slogged out to the windline a sailed out below weird wave. Once beyond the reef the wind gusted up and we were able to reach upwind on a full plane. We did some long cruises outside, jibing on some wind swell faces. On our reach toward the reef we would jibe on some swell just peaking up. The wind was looking pretty light in the surf break so I decided not to venture in there. Sailing on the 4.6 was a bit of a challenge as we sailed from gust to gust. After about an hour we came into the beach and had some lunch and a beer. The second session had a lot lighter winds and it was 80 percent slogging and 20 percent planing. After a half hour of this I came in at the lowers beach and decided to call it a day. After derigging we went shopping to replenish the beer supply. Back at Puu Koa, Joe barbequed a couple of steaks that we had with rice and vegetables served with a Argentinian Malbec wine. I was very tired after all that slogging today and fell asleep early.
Hookipa Windsurfing action
Hookipa Stand Up Paddle surfing
March 31, 2011
I woke up early this morning and my muscles were feeling the effects of yesterday. Some very light Mauka showers and then it cleared up quickly to a brilliant blue sky. The forecast was calling for much lighter winds than yesterday in the 15 knot range. After breakfast we were thinking that we might have to go Stand Up Paddling so we went to Hawaiian Island surf shop to get another opinion. Once there the answer was it was windy. Joe swapped out his 78 litre board for a 85 litre JP and got an Ezzy 5.0. At the beach it was looking windy and there were some significant waves breaking on the reef. I rigged my 5.5 Sailworks for my Quatro 95 and Joe rigged his 5.0. We sailed out through the channel between lowers and Weird wave and our sail decision was pretty good. Outside we jibed and headed for the Lower Kanaha break. My first wave was a nice 4 to 5 footer and I made about 4 bottom turns on it. It was nice to be wave sailing again! After that ride I went to beach. Joe needed to adjust his footstraps and followed me in. We sailed out again just into the upper part of lowers where the waves were forming nice 2 foot faces for some jumping. Joe was choosing shorter reaches and jibing where the swell was starting to peak up on the outer reef. I chose longer rides out then jibed and picked off waves that were not so crowded with other windsurfers. However, I wasn't quite tuned into reading what would be a good wave and a few times I ended up on nothing but a good reach into the shore. I alternated between jibing and tacking. Tacking the 5.5 was a lot harder than the 4.6 sail. There was definitely some bigger swell coming in. One one reach out between Lowers and Weird Wave I was sailing between 2 mountains of surf that was breaking at about 20 feet. A couple of my later wave rides were on 10 to 15 footers. Nice! Somehow I managed to keep together for the whole session and not crash or stall in the surf zone. Our first session lasted until 3 o'clock when we came in for lunch and a beer. Our second session was a shorter, only about an hour and my body decided I was too tired to windsurf anymore. After sailing we stopped at Paia and had dinner at Cafe Mambo's. A cheese burger and a Big Swell IPA beer tasted pretty good.
The surf was a bit bigger today
I was pretty happy about wave sailing today
April 1, 2011
Woke up late and there were still Heavy Mauka showers. The Moa'e trade was still blowing. Even later in the morning it was still cloudy, but this made for the occassional rainbow to the west. We were very slow to get going this morning and had yogurt with pineapple for breakfast. When we got going we headed into Kahului and had lunch at the Maui Mall. We then did some shopping at Walmart and then the Queen Ka'ahumanu Shopping center. We then went to the Second Wind Surf shop to look at sails and then to the Naish shop to look at Stand Up boards. We finally got to Kanaha about 3:30 and I rigged my 5.5 Sailworks and Joe rigged the 5.0. By the time we launched the wind had started cranking up. I managed a couple of way overpowered reaches before coming and rerigging down to my 4.6. Alas..by the time we got on the water again the wind had died down quite a bit and I was now sailing underpowered. I got a few reaches in before deciding to call it a day. After sailing we headed to Da Kichen restaurant to have some dinner. I had a Kalua Pork sandwhich and Joe had a noodle dish. After dinner it was back to Puu Koa for a couple of beers before crashing.
Haiku Morning rainbow
Blasting off the beach
April 2, 2011
Clear sky this morning and what seemed like lighter trade winds. Had the what is becoming the traditional bacon and egg breakfast before heading off for another day of activity. We decided that the wind was going to too light for windsurfing so our first stop was at the Hawaiian Island surf shop. Joe exchanged is windsurf board for a 9' x 30" Hawaiian Island SUP board. We headed for Ukumehame. The ocean on the south side was looking really calm and a brilliant blue. Even Maalea was windless. When we got to Ukumehame the surf was looking about 1 to 2 feet with the occassional 3 foot face. Joe headed out on his SUP and I followed close behind on my 10'6" Hawaiian Island SUP board. Nice long period waves were coming from both the southeast and occassionall from the southwest. Joe decided to pick off the southeasters on the east side of the break and I decided on the southwesters on the other side. I surfed for about and hour or so then came in for a beer and a sandwich. Joe came in a few minutes later and had a quick beer then headed back out. Joe had a great time before the wind came up later in the afternoon which made his 9 foot board feel a bit tippy. I felt pretty good on my board and my last wave was on the east break which was a bit steeper and stronger which made for a longer ride. After the days surfing we did some beer and other shopping in Kahului before heading back to our Puu Koa digs. For dinner I mixed up a Pasta sauce and hand made some linguine pasta for dinner. Served it with a California Merlot and watched our Canucks hockey team lose a rare game. I fell asleep shortly after the third period.
Joe catches a Ukumehame wave
April 3, 2011
Another clear morning with light trade winds. For breakfast Joe cooked up an omelete. After breakfast I did some internet surfing to check out the weather. It was looking like another light trade wind day. Once on the road we headed straight over to Ukumehame. Waves were looking a bit bigger than yesterday. The middle break was looking pretty busy because the locals were out celebrating their official first day of summer at the beach. We surfed the right break and a little of the right side of the middle. For my last wave of the session I went over the left break and caught a nice 5 footer that I rode most of the way into shore. Had a beer, a sandwich and conversed with the local surfers before heading back out for another session. The tide was getting high and the wind was messing up the waves a bit when I first went out. The wind died but the waves were still a bit messy with some swell from the south east and some from the south-south west. The middle break was less crowded so Joe surfed there while I decided to try for another good one on the left break. I caught the odd one, but it was breaking inconsistently here and there so it was hard to get a read on where the take off should be. I decided to go over to the middle break. There was the occassional bigger wave and got a gift of a nice 6 footer on the outside and rode it into the the reef area near shore. After a few more smaller ones I headed to be beach. After a couple of beers while packing up the sun was make a spectaculer set over the island of Lana'i and that created a nice rainbow over the West Maui Mountains. On the way back to Puu Koa we picked up some Mahi Mahi and had it panfried for dinner served with a New Zealand "Oyster Bay" Sauvignon Blanc wine. Cheese cake for desert and then some Hana Bay rum.
Sunset over Lana'i from Ukumehame Beach
Rainbow on the West Maui Mountains from Ukumehame Beach
April 4, 2011
Only the slightest hint of Mauka showers this morning and the trades were light. Joe made some scrambled eggs with bacon and pan fried red potatoes for breakfast. After breakfast we drove into Kahului to check out some of the Windsurf/surf shops. First stop was at Neil Pryde where I eyed the 9'5"x 31" Jimmy Lewis Striker and an 8'10" Quad Stand Up Boards. Next stop at Kanaha Kai we looked at some of the Starboard line of SUP's. The 8'10" x 32" Hero SUP looked interesting. At HiTech we came across and interesting line of Angulo SUP boards. The 9'8" x 31.5" Surfa is the one that peaked my interest and also some new carbon SUP's that were super light weight. The plus side of the Angulo's is that they had a mast track already built in. Joe also looked at a couple of almost new Ezzy 5.0 sails. A 2009 Freewave or a 2010 Wave Panther 2. Then it was off to Ukumehame Beach Park to do some Stand Up Paddle Surfing. The left break was looking pretty good when we paddled out. Nice 2 to 4 footers with a long period were coming in at a regular pace and we were the only ones using this break. Joe was getting better on the 9'x 29" Hawaiian Island SUP. I was higrading the bigger sets on the outside while Joe was picking off multiple rides closer in. For my last 2 rides I caught a nice 4 footer from the outside at the middle break and rode it almost to shore. Joe came in soon after. We had a beer as we packed up and then decided to go up and check out the Launiupoko park surf. The surf there was about 2 feet with the odd 3 footer, however the wind was blowing pretty strong onshore. There was only one guy on an SUP and one on a longboard out fighting the wind in order to get a good surf. After a beer and some papaya we decided to head up to Lahaina to do some shopping. Walking on Front Street it was busy with tourists like us. Joe bought a pair of Crocs and I bought a T-shirt at Crazy Shirts. Joe was on a mission to find an "Old Guys Rule" T-shirt and I went out a checked out the Wyland Art Gallery. After shopping we had a Don Ho Burger with Fries, Onion rings and a beer at the Cool Cat Cafe.
Lone Stand Up Paddler surfing in the wind at Launiupoko
Front Street in Lahaina was busy with tourists
April 5, 2011
Very dry and warm this morning. The trades are almost quiet. Over in the direction of Kihei I can see what looks like some smoke from burning a cane field. They do that once in a while here. For breakfast I made some Pancakes with bacon. I made up a Papaya syrup to go with it, so that stoked us up for surfing today. On our way to surfing we stopped at the HiTech shop in Kahului so that Joe could buy a couple of Ezzy Sails. While there we found that the Angulo boards we were looking at yesterday were available to rent. I got the Angulo Surfa 9'8" x 31.5" SUP and Joe got the Angulo Surfa 9' x 31.75". We loaded up the new sails and the Angulo boards and headed off to Ukumehame. At the beach there was still some swell coming in. There was a bit of wind, so it was going to be a good test of the Angulo boards. Mickey Eskimo was out on a 7'11" ! When we got on the water the tide was getting higher and some lumps were getting to the beach. I jumped on the Angulo and found that it was actually more stable than my 10'6" Stand up board. The board also paddle in a straight line, so I didn't have to make any adjustments for that. It was easier to turn quickly and because of its profile the wind didn't affect the directionality as much as it would my 10'6" board. Paddling out through white water was also easier. For paddling and catching waves it didn't have as much glide as the 10'6" just because of the effect of length of the board. It was a bit harder to catch waves, but once on a wave face it fell more like a surf board and doing bottom turns and cut backs were way easier than the bigger board. Joe looked like he was a lot more comfortable on the Angulo 9 footer than the other board he had been using. I saw him catch a nice 5 footer at the left break we were surfing. We surfed until about 4 o'clock. Back at the beach I was talking with a guy called Ed who was also out Stand Up Paddling. Ed turned out to be "Ed Angulo" and he was soaking up our comments about the boards we were trying out. Joe went out for another session. I guess he needed to test the board more. The last one he caught was a nice long ride on the middles break. The only downer was that Joe lost his sunglasses on his last session, so on the way back to Pu'u Koa we stopped at WalMart so Joe could buy a new pair. Back at Pu'u Koa I made some pasta and used up the rest of the sauce I made a couple of nights ago. Had a Trapiche Malbec wine and watched some Hockey on the computer. After a rum I crashed dead tired from the days activities.
Joe and I paddle out on the Angulo Surfa's
RK Surfing the 9'8" Surfa
Joe Surfing the 9' Surfa
April 6, 2011
Again no Mauka showers and the Trades were especially calm. This morning we did lots of internet surfing to see what surfing could be had for the day. Not much in the way of wind. We had a quick breakfast of Yogurt with Papaya then drove into Kahului to the HiTech shop to drop off the Angulo boards. Joe picked up a Koloa 9'6" x 29" SUP to try out. I opted to stick with my Hawaiian island board today. After this we went to the Maui Mall for a Maui Mixed Plate Lunch. Joe had the Opakapaka fish and Short Rib plate and I had the Chicken Katsu Plate. Actually way to much to finish for lunch. We saved half of it for later. After this we headed over to Ukumehame Beach park. There was swell happening but there was an annoying wind that was messing things up. We decided to head over to Kihei to see if things were any better there. The wind was also onshore there and there was no swell. We did some shopping at the Times market and decided to drive back up to Ukumehame to see if things had changed. At Ukumehame the wind was still up so we continued our drive and stopped at Launiupoko Park. There was some wind there but it didn't look as bad so we opted to go Stand Up Paddle surfing here. We hit the water at 4 o'clock thinking we did just as much driving when we were windsurfing in the Gorge. The wind was not as bad as it looked and it was up and down. There were some good 1 to 3 foot swell coming in with the occassional larger one. Reading where it was going to break is a little more challenging here as the swell seemed to arriving from a couple of directions. I came in after an hour or so and decided to relax and take some photos. Joe surfed until after 6 o'clock and the wind had died completely. The local Maui SUP crowd also started showing up. Lots of tourists were stopping to watch and take photos of the SUP action. After Launiupoko we headed back to Puu Koa. For dinner we finished our Plate Lunch and watched the "Stand Up Paddle Surfing Hawaiian Style, Volume II" DVD. It's always good to get some instructional advice.
Girl watching the Paddle Surfing at Launiupoko
April 7, 2011
Lots of rain last night and a little bit of Thunder and Lightning. High overcast clouds were foreboding of the day. Made some bacon and eggs for breakfast. I had to do a little bit of real work for an internet conference tomorrow morning. We headed into Kahului and dropped off Joes Koloa and then he picked up a Hawaiian Island 9'4" x 29.5" then headed over to Ukumehame. It was too windy there so we decided to head back over the north shore to Kanaha. It was only slightly windy, maybe east 5 knots, when we started out to lowers. By the time I got to lowers it was blowing an annoying 10 to 12 knots. I was able to catch one good wave and got a couple of bottom turns before ending up on the inside of the reef. I decided it was too windy so headed for the beach. I then paddled up along the beach into the wind which seemed to be gusting to about 15 knots. Decided to call it a day of surfing then we headed back to Puu Koa and panfried some Ahi Tuna and served it with rice and Kim Chee and a California Sauvignon Blanc. After dinner I did some work and intermittently watched the Canucks Hockey game.
The Koloa 9'6" and the Hawaiian Island 9'4" boards
April 8, 2011
I was up before sunrise this morning. No wind and no rain, but a high overcast of clouds. This morning was some work with an internet presentation for about an hour and a half. After a couple of coffees and a bagel we drove up to Pauwela to check out the Dakine shop and drop into the Quatro Windsurf shop. I talked with Pascal for a bit and he gave me a 5.0 Eclipse sail to test out when it got windy again. After this we went up to the Haiku shopping centre and had an Eggs Bendict breakfast at the Hana Hou Cafe. Then we went back to Puu Koa to load up the beer and lunch for the rest of the day. We headed over to Ukumehame and finally it was dead calm. The surf looked a bit small but it was uncrowded. We surfed all afternoon on really nice 2 foot swell. The water was super clear. I paddled out a few hundred metres and the visibility looked about 50 feet. Lots of whales out offshore today and lots of small turtles around where we were surfing which was the right break. I came in about 5 o'clock but Joe stayed out until 6 o'clock. Then it was a drive back to Puu Koa and had Teriyaki Steak with rice and salad and a Malbec wine for dinner.
Joe catches one of the biggest waves of the day at Ukumehame
And...another wave
April 9, 2011
Another high overcast morning with a hint of trade winds. For breakfast I made a mess of pancakes and bacon. For syrup I mixed up some pineapple with sugar and water and reduced it on the stove. A hint of lime and rum was thrown in as well. After breakfast we headed down past Paia and checkout Secrets Cove. It was looking nice except for the annoying wind of about 10 knots. Next we headed into the Hawaiian Shop so that Joe could check out the cost of buying the 9'4" Hawaiian Island board he has been riding. Then we drove over to Ukumehame beach. The waves were a reasonable 1 to 2 feet with the occassional 3 foot and more importantly there was no wind. For my first session I surfed the far right break and go a couple of nice 3 footers. Joe surfed the right break next to the Middle break. At the end of my session I went over to the middle break and caught a nice one that I could surf to the beach. I had a short break and headed back out for another session. Tried the left break for a while then moved over to the middle and the right break again. Near the end I worked my way back over to the left break and caught the occassional small one, but my last wave was a nice 3 footer that I rode almost to the shore. From there I paddle back to the beach and had a sandwich and beer. Joe finally came in and had is sandwich and beer and then headed back out. He couldn't get enough and surfed until he was the last one out there. For dinner we stopped at Paia and had a burger and fries at the Mambo Cafe with some Big Swell IPA.
April 10, 2011
The trade winds are back with strength this morning. There is a little hint of high cloud but it seems to be clearing. The weather service was saying east winds 20 knots and the harbour was already reading gusting higher. After breakfast we headed into the Hawaiian Island shop so Joe could swap his SUP board for a JP 78 windsurf board. At Kanaha the parking lot was full but we lucked out with a good spot. The wind looked gusty and light on the inside but blasting outside, so the wind was pretty east. I decided to rig the Goya Eclipse 5.0 and Joe rigged an Ezzy 4.6 by the time we sailed off the beach the wind was blasting. We headed out below Weird wave and then outside where the wind was a bit more solid, but with some big holes. The gusts were solid and we only last for a couple of reaches before blasting full speed back to the beach. We rigged down. I went to my 4.6 Sailworks and Joe went to the 4.2 Ezzy and the second session was much more in control. We were powered but in control and did a reach out then decided to sail down to lowers to try to catch some waves. Well..I was totally out of sync with the sets. Every time I went in I was on flat water and on the way out I was working my out through the break in slogging wind. Fortunately the breaks were no more than 4 feet and I could pop over the foam or over the top. Joe did better getting a lot of good rides. I came in before Joe and socialized with some of the other sailors. On the way back to Puu Koa we stopped at Ho'okipa Lookout to check a nice swell that was coming in. It was corduroy sets coming in with 8 to 12 foot faces and there was a good crowd of surfers out. Back at Pu'u Koa I barbequed up some Marlin and had it with rice and an Avocado salad and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine. I then crashed, dead tired from the days sailing.
At Kanaha it was light and gusty on the inside and blasting outside
Corduroy sets were coming into Ho'okipa
and there was a good crowd of surfers
April 11, 2011 Aloha Monday
Another blue sky morning with the trades still blowing. For breakfast I made eggs and bacon with rice, followed by the pineapple pancakes we didn't finish the other day. This is Joe's last day on Maui and he was keen to do some snorkelling. After breakfast we headed down the road and stopped at Hookipa. A few windsurfers were out getting the remaining swell from yesterday. It looked pretty light wind on the inside, but good and solid outside. After this we headed to Kahului and stopped at the windsurf shop. Then we drove over to the south side and up west to Kapalua Bay. The trade winds at Kapalua were howling offshore, but it was still nice and calm in the bay. I rigged my Underwater camera and we went snorkelling out toward the point. There are always lots of fish here and nice coral bombies out by the point. Joe had gloves on and he was poking around under the rocks and pulled out a sea cucumber and brittle star. The pufferfish here are very tame and seemed curious about us. I suspect someone has been feeding the fish. After swimming around the north point we made are way across the bay to the south side which was a jumble of coral and boulders with lots of wrasses and parrot fish. We finally ended where we started. This is a civilized beach and we rinsed the salt off using the beach showers. After this we drove not far away to the cliffs overlooking Honoloa Bay. We had lunch and a beer and watched the surfers below trying to catch some Northwest rollers. Then it was off to the Lahaina Cannery Mall so that Joe could do some last minute gift shopping. On the way back to Puu Koa we stopped once more at the Hawaiian Island Surf shop so Joe could finalize his account and make arrangements for shipping a new SUP back home. Then it was off to Puu Koa and Joe did his packing up and we headed to the Airport. Joe checked in and then we went to Pinata's for a Burrito and then I drove Joe back to the airport to catch his flight back to Canada. Aloha Joe. Hau'oli la hanau!
Morning Windsurf action at Ho'okipa
Joe was poking around under the coral bombies and found a brittle star
Curious Pufferfish
On some Coral the polyps were out
There are always lots of fish
At Honoloa Bay the Northwest swell was wrapping in
April 12, 2011
Another nice morning with no rain and the trades are still blowing. Although the forecast is for them to shutdown soon. After and early coffee I made some eggs and bacon for breakfast. I checked the internet for wind and wave connections and decided to get to Kanaha at noon. When I got there the wind was perfect. It looked like it was blowing a steady 20 to 25 knots offshore and the professionals were out doing a photoshoot with the helicopter hovering above them. I rigged my 4.6 sailworks on my Quatro 95 and headed out. It was perfect sailing. My rig felt great and I jumped a couple swell on the way over the reef on the way out. Swell was not that big, maybe 4 to 5 foot faces maximum, more like 2 to 3 feet. Outside the reef I saw a couple of turtles and had to make sure I didn't hit them. On the outside there was some nice wind swell and making a jibe on these was a dream. Nice smooth faces to carve on. The waves on the reef were a bit hard to read and catch because they were so small, but I managed a couple of bottom turns. I windsurfed for a couple of hours until suddenly the wind completely died for a few minutes and I was left in the water outside with everyone else. The wind kicked up again and I waterstarted and did a couple more reaches before coming in. I got a good gust into the beach. The wind had really backed off and everyone was saying the trades have backed off sooner than expected. I packed up and decided to head over to Ukumehame to see if I could get an SUP session in. When I got there, wouldn't you know it, it was windy and waves were ultra small. The wind was west here and I could see up on the ridge the wind generators were facing west as well. That's a major shift in the wind. I drove to Kahului and did some food shopping and headed back to Pu'u Koa. The sunset was spectacular, setting over the West Maui mountains. I cooked some rice and deep fried a mess of Gulf of Mexico Shrimp that I had rolled in some Panko batter. A Sierra Nevada Ale followed by an after dinner rum.
Helicopter photoshoot at Kanaha
Gulf Shrimp cooked in Panko batter with Rice and Cucumber
A spectacular sunset over west Maui
April 13, 2011
No Trade winds this morning. Clear sky and the ocean looks calm. After my standard breakfast of bacon and eggs I did some chores like my laundry, take the dead bottles to the recycle bin, and updated this blog. After this I headed down past Paia to the Maui Country Club to meet Ed Angulo who was going to lend me one of his 9'3" x 30.5" prototype Stand Up Paddle surf boards to try out. When Ed showed up we had lunch at the club and talked hockey, baseball, cricket and of course Stand Up Paddling. After lunch Ed was off to drop off some boards for shipping and then he was off to the mainland for business. My business today, was to do some Stand Up Paddle surfing, so I drove over to the sount side. Ukumehame looked small and too windy so I drove up to Launiupoko Park. There I ran into one of my Maui windsurfing friends from Switzerland, who like me, comes here every March and April. The surf was about 1 to 2 feet with the occassional 3 footer. This looked like some of the forerunners of the coming, promised, south swell. I took my 10'6" Hawaiian Island board out and surfed for about an hour when the wind started to pick up. After Launiupoko I decided to head back to Ukumehame to see if things were any better. when I got there it looked worse, so I decided to head over to the north shore. At Kanaha, it too was looking a little windy, but like it was going to calm down. I got the Angulo 9'3" prototype off the roof and took it for a spin. This is the shortest board I've tried and I was surprised at how stable the board was. Even in the small wind chop the board never felt uncomfortable and because of its low profile the wind didn't push the board around significantly. As I paddled out toward Lowers the wind picked up a bit and the board was still controlable. When I got out to the reef I saw Humback Whale just offshore only about half a mile. On the reef there was one other Stand Up Paddler and a single man Outrigger canoe. The waves were actually smaller than back over at Launiupoko. I was surprised at how easily the Angulo board caught this small swell. The board also felt much more like a surf board. In fact it felt like my 9'4" longboard which is probably why I felt pretty comfortable riding this board. After catching a few waves I paddled back to the beach, rinsed my stuff off and had a beer and relaxed for awhile. I packed up then headed back to Haiku. On the way I decide to check out the launch at Kua. There were a few people there enjoying the sunset and a couple of Stand Up Paddlers were coming in from the offshore break. Back at Pu'u Koa I made some dinner from the leftover shrimp and rice. Had a Sierra Nevada Ale then a rum while watching the Canucks defeat the Hawks in their first finals hockey game.
My Hawaiian Island 10'6" and the Angulo 9'3" prototype
Kalm Kanaha
Kua Sunset Paddlers
April 14, 2011
Again no Trade winds this morning and it's warmer than normal. My thermometer says 27 degrees Celsius (81 F) The sky has some overcast cloud coming from the west. The ocean looks dead calm and the harbour winds says 2 to 4 knots. I made a pot of coffee and sat on the balcony looking at the weather then made some breakfast. Then it was time to head to the beach. The wave forecast said there should be a nice south swell coming in today so I drove straight over to Ukumehame. At the beach it was crowded. All those windsurfers and kiters without wind had to do something. The local contingent was in strong force today as well. The waves were looking real nice with about 14 second waves in sets of 5 and about 2 to 3 feet. I headed out to the left break which seemed the less crowded and bigger waves. I had decided to use the Angulo 9'3" board and in these conditions it worked like a dream. Just like yesterday it surfed well and It was quick to turn and handled well even in the white water. I caught some nice 3 footers and a couple that were 6 feet on the face. One I was able to get a ride to nearshore so that I could take a break and have some lunch. My second session was much the same as the first except I decided to try the far left break which is a bit tricky because it peaks up at very small location and you have a very small window of error otherwise your paddling on mush. I managed to catch a nice 5 footer just perfectly and rode it well into shore. I then paddled out to the middle break which had the regular crowd of longboarders. I managed a nice wave starting on the far right and rode it straight to the shore so that I could take a second rest break. The waves were definitely backing off during my last session which was at the middle break. Still lots of people out with mixed longboard and other Stand Up boards. I managed to catch some nice 2 to 3 footers from the far right of the break over ending up at the reef. Fortunately it was high tide and I didn't have to worry much because it was 2 feet under this afternoon. The swell was getting less frequent so it was a long wait between sets. I finally caught a nice 4 footer that made for 5 or 6 bottom turns and I cruised nearly to the beach. At the beach I slowly packed up, had a beer, chatted with the other surfers and enjoyed the scenery. It was about 6 pm and the West Maui mountains were spectacular and the sea was calm except for the surf and a whale hanging around offshore. I hung around until sunset then drove back to Pu'u Koa. For dinner I barbequed some chicken and had that with rice and cucumber and a beer, and a slice of pineapple for desert. I was dead tired from a long surfing day.
Baby Gecko wandering my room
The sea was calm except for the glassy surf at sunset
April 15, 2011
Not a breath of wind this morning and the horizon had a veneer of Volcanic Haze from the Big Island of Hawaii. Here they call it VOG a derivated mix of Volcanic Fog. I made my regular breakfast and did my blog update then packed up and jumped in the car. I drove straight to Ukumehame and the parking lot was completely full so I ended up parking on the highway. The south swell was still coming in and it didn't look like it was going to back off. I got the Angulo board off the roof and paddle straight out to the left break and caught a nice 3 footer. The next one was a little bigger and I slid off the top dropping down a 5 foot face and rode the wave nearly to the shore wall. This went on for the rest of the morning. I came in about 12:30 and had a short break then headed back out. More of the same and the Angulo board was working pretty good. On my second break I had some lunch and rested for a bit then went out again. The swell frequency seemed to be waning a bit, but when a good set came in it was big with 4 to 6 foot faces. Out past the reef a Humback was wandering around and I paddled out into deeper water to take a closer look. Offshore the underwater visibility looked pretty good..maybe 40 feet. My last wave was off a nice one at the middle break and surfed to the reef then paddled to shore. I packed up then headed over to Kahului to do some food and beer shopping. Back at Pu'u Koa I barbequed up a steak then watched the Canucks hockey team defeat Chicago once more.
Surfer Girls at Ukumehame
R.O. goes for some nose riding
April 16, 2011
Still no trade winds this morning and the sky was heavy with VOG haze. Looked and felt like another very warm day ahead. I quickly made breakfast and was out the door by 8:40. I drove straight to Ukumehame arriving a little after nine o'clock. The parking lot was full and ended up parking on the highway again. The surf looked real nice and the sea was glassy calm. I got the Angulo 9'3" off the roof and paddled out to the right break which was empty of surfers. I caught a small 1 footer just to get things going and then waited for a 2 footer. The surf was steady with 1 to 2 foot waves with a 14 second period which made for real easy and nice surfing. Offshore that Humpback Whale did some Tail waving and slapping which gave us a pretty good show. I came in and got my Lumix camera and decided to paddle out to see if I could get a good picture. While I did this a Whale watching boat showed up and the whale looked like it swam off to the west. When I paddled out again, I went to the middle break and got a couple of rides. One was a nice big elevator ride down an 8 foot face that suddenly jacked up and caught everyone else but me on the inside. After this I paddled way out offshore to see if the whale was still around. No whale but I found a pufferfish full bloated up swimming upside down on the surface. Interesting, because pufferfish do not puff themselves up unless they are attacked. It was amazingly quiet offshore and after about 20 minutes I paddled back into the Ukumehame left break where a half dozen stand up paddlers were surfing. I took some pictures then caught a few waves myself before coming in for a lunch break. For lunch I had some spam misubi that I had made earlier and pineapple and a couple of beer. Some of my windsurfing friends, Debbie and Garth had showed up and I talked with them for a bit. The wind started picking up and it was choppy when I went out for my last session. I had also mounted the GoPro cam on my paddle to get some pictures. It was very challenging with the wind chop and the swell was hard to read. I ended up taking a couple of cycles in the wash. I finally caught a couple of good rides then came in. I packed up and then headed back to Puu Koa. I was making dinner as the sun was setting over west Maui. The VOG made for another spectacular sunset. For dinner I made some rice, sliced up some tomatoe and panfried some Chicken Karage style with a coating of Panko batter. After dinner I was feeling a bit sunburnt so I went out and cut a couple of fronds off the Aloe plant and made a generous application to my most afflicted areas. A couple of beers and some TV and I was totally exhausted and went to bed about 8:30.
Nice waves for Stand Up Paddle surfing at Ukumehame left
Nice waves for Longboard surfing at Ukumehame middle
Nice waves for surfing the Angulo 9'3"
I went for a couple cycles in the wash
April 17, 2011
This morning there is the sign of a little overnight rain. The sky is clear this morning and I can see Molokai off to the west for the first time in a few days. Just a hint of trade winds to clear the VOG away. I'm up early and make a quick breakfast. Pack things up and head towards Hana. This is my first venture to Hana although I've been to Keanae many times. Keanae is about half way and I stop there for a little break in driving the winding road. Here there is a good Moa'e wind blowing. On the way out I stop at a good lookout over Keanae and can see the famous taro fields. There is a Hawaiian saying: "If you have not seen Keanae, you have not seen Keanae" (Ina i 'e'ole ika Ke'anae, ina ua 'e'ole nana Ke'anae), in reference to the sacred taro plants first grown here. Taro to the Hawaiians has the same special place as the potato of South America, corn to North America and rice to Asia. The rest of the drive to Hana was as winding as I had envisioned. Finally arriving at Hana I took time to have lunch and a beer at the beach. The sea was calm in the bay but I could see some trade winds blowing outside. I drove aroung a bit and found a nice little forest grove near the north end of the bay. After checking this out I headed out to the south. After awhile I took a left on Haneo'o road and stopped a Koki Beach. A few people were out surfing and boogie boarding and I saw a couple of people on stand up boards so I decided to give it a try. The trade wind was making it choppy and challenging and I only was able to catch a few waves. I continued my journey southward. At seven pools it was looking like a tourist zoo so I decided to skip it for this trip. Further on the nicely paved road became intermittent pothole patch pavement and gravel road and at a couple of spots came back down to the ocean. At Kaupo the famous general store was closed. Further on where the road took another trek down toward the ocean I turned on to a dirt road and drove through a shore forest grove. The ocean waves were pounding on a mostly boulder beach. You could hear the boulder rolling around underwater off the beach as the surf pounded the shore. I had a short break here before pushing onward. I stopped several times to let the impatient tourists pass me. The land was changing from coast brush to a mountain grassland and down on the coast I could see the impression of an old lava flow. The road climbed higher until I reach Kula and could look down at La Perouse Bay and Molokini and Kaho'olawe islands. I passed through Kula and then head toward Makawao then down toward Haiku. Back at Pu'u Koa I made some fresh pasta and a ragu alla bolognese and served it with a Malbec wine. After dinner I watched the Canucks hockey team win their third game of the series against the Blackhawks. A couple of rums and it was time to crash.
I can see Mookai off to the west this morning
Heading off to Hana from Haiku
Stopped at Keanae and the wind was blowing
At Hana it was calm and explored a forest grove behind the beach
Decided to go Stand Up Paddle Surfing at Koki Beach
'Alau Island from Koki Beach
Past seven pools the road goes back to the ocean at Lelekea Bay
The drive through the Kaupo area
The road goes back to the ocean at Nu'u Bay where you can here the boulders rolling around underwater in the surf
The land was changing as the drive climbed higher
Looking down at a nice wave in La Perouse Bay
Looking down at Makena, Molokini and Kaho'olawe
Back at Pu'u Koa another spectacular sunset over west Maui
April 18, 2011
The trade winds seem to be trying to blow this morning. I spent the morning recovering from yesterdays journey and sorting through the pictures I had taken. After a late breakfast I drove into Kahului and stopped in at the Hawaiian Island shop to see what their take on the forecast would be. It looked windier today and a larger sail would be needed. I opted to go surfing instead and drove over to Ukumehame. When I got there there was some sets coming in at about 2 feet and larger, but the wind seemed to be messing it up a bit. I decided to have a beer and wait for the wind to settle down. The wind slowly died and I got the Angulo board out and paddled out to the left break. I spent an hour catching some nice 2 to 3 footers and then went over to the middle break and caught a nice 3 footer that took me to the beach. I had a long lunch and then headed out again. Not many surfers today because the earlier wind had discouraged them. I surfed the middle break until about 5:30 when the wind started picking up again and it got to choppy. On the way back home I stopped at the MacGregor Point lookout to take some photos. In Paia, I stopped to get some Mahi Mahi, Tofu salad and Dolmades which I had for dinner. I tried to watch some TV but was nodding off, tired from surfing today.
MacGregor Point surge
April 19, 2011
I woke up early this morning and the wind was quiet. The full moon is still up and over to the west. Some high clouds also seemed to be coming from the west and laid an opaque cover over the sky. Busy morning for me. Did some repair work on my paddle. Made a mast and paddle rack for the car. A coconut fell out of the tree out back, so I took a machete to it and got all the husk off. I loaded my Quatro board on the car just in case it was going to be windy. So..by the time I got going it was noon. On the way as I drove past Ho'okipa the wind was still looking a bit light and waves were still really small on the north shore. I drove into Kahului and stopped at Hawaiian Island to get a locals view on the situation. The situation did not look good unless one had a formula board and an 8.0 sail. I decided to drive down to Kanaha anyway. As predicted it was pretty light. Some small surf was coming in but I couldn't get enthusiatic about it. I cracked open the coconut I had cleaned off this morning and had a tropical snack. I decide to head over to the south shore. At Ukumehame it looked like the wind had just come down and there were some nice 3 footers coming in. I got the Angulo 9'3" and paddled out. The swell was coming in nicely in sets of 3 or 4 and there was only about 3 or 4 other surfers out. I did the left break for awhile then moved over to middles for a couple of nice waves. I took a lunch break after an hour and chatted with the local longboarders. My last session was a good 2 hour session and the waves were coming in sets that had longer periods and seemed more powerfull. Catching them was a bit harder as getting on the critical part of the wave was...more critical. My last one was a good 4 footer and rode it right over the reef and nearly to shore. On the way back to Haiku I did some food shopping and when I was driving past Ho'okipa the sky was a dark pink colour so I stopped to take some photos. For dinner I had some Ahi Sashimi with Inari Sushi and a beer.
The full moon was still up and over to the west
The wind was light at Kanaha
Some nice waves were coming in at Ukumehame
Red sky sunset from Ho'okipa
April 20, 2011
Beautiful blue sky this morning, which isn't a good sign that the trade winds were going to blow today. Molokai was visible off to the west and Mount Haleakala was clear of clouds. I like to see morning rain and Halekale obscured by clouds for it to be a good sign of trade winds. And, of course, some wind. It was quiet this morning again. However, surfing was going to be good today. Both North shore and south shore are forecast to be 4 feet. After breakfast I did a little work on my paddle repair; hacked open another fallen coconut. I took my windsurf off the car because I didn't think I would need it. When I drove past Ho'okipa there were about 10 windsurfers out with big sails and slogging. So, there was a little wind. I stopped at the Hawaiian Island shop for a bit then headed over to the south shore. Surf must have been bigger because there was a crowd at MacGregor Point as a I drove by. At Ukumehame it was looking good, but there was a wind picking up. I decided to have lunch and a beer and wait for the wind to die. Instead the wind picked up and peaked at an onshore south wind of about 15 knots. Then after about an hour it died and I got the Angulo board off the car and went for a paddle. It was uncrowded at middles and there were some nice big 4 to 6 foot faces. Long period swell with lots of power. The wave faces were challenging because of the earlier wind chop. I stayed out for an hour or so and caught a nice wave to the beach. After a beer and some of the coconut for a snack I headed back out. The swell was definitely picking up there were some good overhead sets coming in. I managed to catch a real nice 8 footer and dropped down off the face and surfed it nearly to shore. The coconut wireless must have been working pretty good today because after awhile it was getting crowded out on the reef. I caught a few more nice big waves and then caught one that took me into shore. It was high tide when I paddled in, so even the inshore was a little messed up with choppy cross swell and getting onto the beach was a bit challenging. Back onshore I rinsed myself off with freshwater and sat and had a beer, talking with the local crowd. Out on the reef an outrigger canoe came in and surfed a couple of the waves that formed on the left break. It was after another great sunset over Lanai that I left for Pu'u Koa. For dinner I made up some Lomi Lomi Salmon and had that with rice and a beer. I started watching some TV but was nodding off, exhausted from another day of hard paddle surfing.
An Outrigger anoe came and surfed at Ukumehame
April 21, 2011
A trace of wind this morning, but it isn't a trade wind. The harbour wind sensor is showing a north wind. The sky is also clear, so it is going to be another nice day for the non windsurfers in Maui. I waited to see what the wind was going to do, but eventually loaded my Quatro board optimistically. When I drove past Ho'okipa there were some sailors out, but it looked much the same as yesterday. Everyone slogging. When I got to Kanaha it wasn't looking much better, but is was perfect for those taking windsurf lessons. A nice steady wind around 10 to 15 knots. Lots of larger sails and Formula boards out. I decided to head over to Ukumehame. There was a crowd at MacGregor Point again, so I knew there was still some south swell left. When I got to Ukumehame the waves were about 2 to 3 feet with the odd larger sets coming in. I headed out on the Angulo board. The ocean was still a bit choppy from some distant wind waves coming from the south east which made it challenging to pick out the swell coming in. Also, there was another stand Up Paddler doing a photoshoot with a photographer in the water. Amongst the regular crowd this made surfing a little more difficult. I moved over to the right break and caught a couple of good rides there before coming in for lunch and a beer. After lunch and a beer I headed out for my last session. I surfed for a couple of hours on the middle and left break and when I came in the surf seemed to be coming down. By the time I left the beach it was sunset and I stopped in Kahului for some groceries before heading back to Pu'u Koa. I was again very tired and didn't last long after my quick dinner of Chicken and rice before going to bed.
My morning breakfast on the balcony looking over to west Maui and Molokai
Haleakala was clear of clouds this morning
At Kanaha, big sails and good beginer learning conditions
Catching one last wave as the sunset dinner cruises start going by
Another Ukumehame sunset
April 22, 2011
I woke up very late this morning. There was a trace of rain this morning on my balcony. Molokai, the West Maui Mountains and Haleakala had clouds around them. And..a trade wind was blowing. It seemed there was a good chance of some windsurfing today. I made breakfast and left just before 11 o'clock. On the drive I stopped at the lookout by Mama's Fish House Restaurant. The wind looked like it was blowing about 15 knots offshore. The tide was very low this morning and the locals were out fishing and diving off the beach. I continued my drive onward to Kanaha Beach Park. By the time I got there it looked like the wind had picked up another notch. I rigged my 5.5 Sailworks on my Quatro 95. The wind was filled right into the beach and the launch was easy and I was quickly planing. I headed out through the channel below weird wave, although there was only an hint of it today. Waves were pretty much non-existent today. Out past the reef, offshore, the wind picked up to what was likely 25 knots and gusting. It was not a consistent 25 knots so my 5.5 sail didn't seem overpowered. I stayed out for an hour and then came in for a break and to get the HeroCam. On the beach Dave H. from Ottawa had showed up and Mike (without Tara) from Port Alberni. And David W. was out sailing as well, so we had a good contingent of Canadians today. I sailed for about an hour with the Hero Cam mounted on various parts of the rig and did both still and movie shots. The wind had backed off a bit, but it was still perfect 5.5 sailing for me. I had lunch and a beer then headed out sailing again. This was a cruise upwind to upper Uppers and the only waves up there were messed up wind swell. On one of my reaches out there were 4 turtles together on the surface that I had to detour around. And on one of my last reaches a Flying Fish flew out of the water and I tried chasing it as best I could as it flew upwind and out to sea before plunging back in the water. Turtles, Flying Fish and Perfect wind made for a great day of windsurfing. After my last session I slowly packed up, had a beer and talked with Julia and Ben for awhile. Back at Pu'u Koa I made some Pasta and had it with the left over sauce I had made a few days ago. With dinner I had some Malbec wine and after dinner a rum.
Link: How to Make Pasta in Maui
The ocean from Mama's Fish House lookout
At Kanaha, Dave had shown up
Cruising off Kanaha Beach
Cranking a Jibe
This guy is happy because it's a great windsurfing day in Maui
April 23, 2011
I was up early this morning just as the sun was rising. A little bit of Mauka showers and a little bit of trade wind still blowing. My only concern was that Haleakala didn't have any clouds. Did some work on this blog site this morning before breakfast. Actually started making breakfast in the middle of it. By 9 o'clock I was have my bacon and eggs on the balcony. I called Ed Angulo to arrange giving him the 9'3" Stand Up board so he could ship it to me. After breakfast I went up to the Quatro/Goya shop and dropped of the borrowed 5.0 Eclipse sail and and talked with Pascal for quite awhile. After this I headed to Kanaha hoping for a little bit of wind. When I got there at about 12:30 it looked like the wind might be picking up so I rigged my 5.5 Sailworks on my Quatro 96. When I sailed of the beach it was perfectlt filled in and I went for a long reach out and past the reef and offshore. I jibed and my reach in was just as good. When I got to the inner reef I jibed and headed back out. The wind seemed to be backing off a bit. Passed a group of 4 turtles on the way out. Another long reach and I jibed on a nice face of wind swell. On the the way in the wind died and I ended up down at Lowers beach. Had to walk up to the swimming area and slogged it back to the upper beach. I had some lunch and packed up and headed over to Ukumehame to do some Stand Up surfing. When I paddled out there was a little bit of south swell still coming in. Mostly 1 to 2 feet with the occassional 2-1/2 feet. Surfed until 5:30 then came in and had some beers and talked with the regular longboarders. This lasted until sunset and then I headed back to Pu'u Koa and made a dinner of rice with salmon. A beer and after dinner rum, of course.
An Almost windy day at Kanaha
A peaceful surfing day at Ukumehame Beach
And another Spectacular Sunset over Lanai
April 24, 2011 Aloha Sunday
This is my last day on Maui for this trip and I was up early. My body felt particularly sore from yesterdays activities. Windsurf slogging is a lot of work. It was cloudy over Haiku and a little bit of trade wind. Off to the west the sky looked clear except north westward toward Molokai the sky looked dark and rainy. By the time I had my bacon and egg breakfast the sky was clearing. No clouds over Haleakala, so that was a sign there might not be much wind again today. After a couple of hours some clouds started forming over Haleakala and the wind seemed to pick up a couple of notches. I did some preliminary packing up and then headed down the road. As I drove past Ho'okipa it looked a little windier than yesterday. When I got to Kanaha Beach park the parking lot was full of windsurfers and locals with their families doing the Easter Sunday Barbeque. I found a parking spot and to a look at the wind then rigged my 5.5 sailworks for my Quatro 95. When I sailed off the beach the wind was solid right to shore and was soon planing up towards Uppers. At times it felt like a 5.0 or 4.6 would have been the better sail, but this was broken my light holes of wind. Waves were still nearly non-existent and the only wave was the one at Uppers. I tried a couple of times to catch a wave but both times at the break there was an unnerving lack of wind and ended up slogging out of the break. I did a few more reaches right out offshore in full powered wind and finally after an hour or so, did a reach back to the beach. So, that was my last sail on Maui for this trip. I packed up and headed over to Ukumehame to do a final Stand Up Paddle surf session. When I got there the wind was just dying down and there was the occassional 2 to 2-1/2 foot swell still coming in. I got my 10'6" Hawaiian Island board off the car and rigged the Hero cam on the nose before heading out. When I first paddled out there was a bit of wind chop that was messing up the swell, but it calmed down after about a half hour. I caught about 3 or 4 good waves and got a nice final one that took me back to the beach. I had a beer and said aloha to my surfing friends on the beach. Another excellent Maui adventure has come to a finish.
There was enough wind for a final sail at Kanaha
And enough surf for a final session at Ukumehame
Another Excellent Maui Adventure
Aloha,
Ku Holoholo Pa'a!
Ku Hoe Pa'a!
Randy
Aloha 'Oe
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**Translations
Ku Holoholo Pa'a: Keep Sailing Hard
Ku Hoe Pa'a: Stand, Paddle Hard
Hau'oli la hanau: Happy birthday