maui 2007
All Contents of this Page Copyright(2007) of Randolph Kashino
2007 Windsurfing Adventures
Leaving Vancouver Airport
Friday, March 23, 2007
Raining relentlessly in Victoria and Vancouver today. So, was I sorry about leaving for Maui. Not really!
My plane arrived late in the evening. First thing was to go out to the parking lot and pick up my Word of Mouth rental car. Next was to get the luggage and then pick up some basic groceries (beer and coffee]. Then I headed down the Haeakala Highway through Paia and past Hookipa to my digs at Pu'u Koa place in Haiku.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Mauka showers early this morning and it looked like it was going to be windy. So, first thing was to dig out the windsurfing gear and make sure everything is there. Some Hawaiian Lion Brand Coffee with breakfast made things leisurely. Next was to load things onto and into the car. It was nearly 11 by the time I headed down the road. I stopped at Hookipa breifly. It definitely looked like it was going to be windy. Next was a stop in Paia to pick up some lunch for the beach. So after all that I headed down to Kanaha Beach Park. The waves were looking small, but it looked windy enough to rig the 5.0 Sailworks. First run was a bit weird since I hadn't been on a wave board in awhile. I spent a few minutes adjusting the sail and rig then headed out again. The wind was good inside and it really picked up on the outside. While on the outside the flying fish were jumping. Another sign I'm sailing in the tropics. After an hour the winds really started to crank and I was working to keep the 5.0 under control. By 3 o'clock I was pretty well spent. Not bad for a 1st day of Maui sailing. I derigged and headed to Las Pinata's for a burrito and cerveza.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Mauka showers again this morning. Another sign that the trade winds are still blowing. After making some breakfast I head to the windsurf shop and bought a 4.4 Sail in anticipation of strong trade winds for the coming month. Sure thing, when I got to Kanaha Beach Park it was already starting to build up. I rigged my new sail and headed out. Waves are still pretty small, probably less than 2 foot faces and really short period. Wind swell only. On the outside the wind swell was a lot bigger, probably 4 to 5 feet. Really nice for jibbing on. The 4.4 turned out to be a good investment and it was a lot more comfortable sailing today. I was pretty well done by 3:30 and I wanted to see what it was like up at Spreck's. After derigging I headed up there and it was pretty much just as windy as Kanaha. In fact it looked like the wind had even cranked up more. From the look of the water it looked like it was gusting at least to 40 knots. Nuking! After hanging around at Spreck's I was getting hungry and that burrito I had yesterday was pretty good. So, I headed to Las Pinata's and ordered up their famous Kitchen Sink Burrito and partnered it with a Pacifico. Back at Pu'u Koa later that night the Mauka showers were really pouring down and the trades really cranked up. It was howling through the Palm trees.
Kanaha Beach Park
Monday, March 26, 2007
This morning the trades seemed to have lightened up. When I drove past Hookipa at 11 o'clock nobody was out and it looked pretty flat. First thing was to get some beer supplies and then head down to Kanaha. It was looking very light, lots of big sails and boards out. I decided to head up to Spreck's to see if there was more wind. When I got there it was also looking light, so I rigged my beach chair and cooler. After an hour it was looking like I might be able to get by with the 5.0 on the outside so I rigged. When I had finished rigging the wind had died again. After another beer, the wind seemed to have picked up enough so I headed out. Slogging the first 50 metres until I hit the windline and then got planing. The 5.0 was perfect on the outside for the first couple of reaches and then the wind started to die again, so I headed back to the beach. That was it, the wind really started to die. Another beer and then I derigged. I headed back to Pu'u Koa to wash off the Spreck's sand and salt and then headed into Paia for dinner. I decided on having a Ono fish burger at Charlie's Restaurant. After dinner I stopped at the Mana Food Store to pick up some groceries.
Windy Sprecks Beach
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Cloudy this morning and no rain. Local weatherman, Glenn James says the trades are gone for the next few days until a low pressure to the north passes. So, it looks like my body is going to get some rest and I'm going to be able to get some surfing and snorkelling. I decided to check out the surf on the south side of the island so I drove down past Maalea Bay to Papalaua Beach Park. Waves were really small, but there were the occassional sets that were useable. Also, no crowds, only a couple of other tourist surfers with a soft top board. Offshore I could see the occassional blow from a Humpback Whale. After surfing I headed back through Kahului and stopped at the Neil Pryde shop to buy some new foot straps for my JP board.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
No rain this morning, but the sky was a bit hazy. Apparently this caused by volcanic dust from the Big Island of Hawaii and is called "Vog" (ie. Volcanic Smog). No wind in the forecast for today so it looks like another surfing day. After catching up on emails, I headed down to Hookipa Beach and went out for a couple of hours. It was pretty small again, probably 1 to 2 foot. After surfing I went back to Pu'u Koa and got some lunch then headed into Kahului to do some shopping. Lets see: A Pineapple, fresh Ahi tuna for making sushi, some rum, and the beer is running low again...
Pauwela Cafe
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Brilliant blue sky this morning. The weather forecast is still calling for light and variable winds. This looks like the forecast for the next few days. Local weatherman Glenn James says the daily weather will be a Convective pattern. which means as the sun heats up the island a sea breeze will blow onto the island and form clouds by the afternoon. Looks like he's right because its noon and it's start to cloud over a bit. This morning I decided to go up to the Pauwela cafe for breakfast. They make a great Breakfast Burrito which is what I had. While sitting on an outside table I saw Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Mark Angulo making the rounds. After breakfast, I checked out the Dakine shop and the FWD shop. Hmm...I see a big fedex box addressed to Chris C. in Victoria. Must be his new board for the coming summer at Nitinat. Next I headed back to Pu'u Koa to pick up the cooler and then headed down to Ho'oKipa. I got there just in time to see some Humpback whales breaching just offshore. There was good onshore breeze. Not enough to windsurf, but strong enough to mess up the waves. I decided to don the snorkeling gear and swam out toward the point. The wind had also messed up the underwater visibility so that it was only 3 to 4 metres. It was good enough to see all the sea urchins on the reef everybody is surfing on. Don't touch your feet to the bottom unless you got booties on! After snorkeling for an hour or so I headed into Kahului to check with the guys at the Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport shop. Looks like no wind until early next week, but there should be some north swell coming in tommorow.
Ho'okipa Sea Urchins..Watch your feet!
Aloha Friday, March 30, 2007
Another beautiful blue sky morning on Maui. Not a good sign for wind. But the word is there is some North swell coming in. First thing was to cut open that Pineapple for breakfast. That northern cardinal is making quite a noise with his song this morning. After checking emails I packed the cooler and headed out. Ho'okipa was going off, but looked real crowded, so I headed into Kahului then down to Kanaha Beach. Lowers looked like it was reasonable on a couple of Kayakers and Paddle boards out. I forgot how far out the reef was, it took me 5 minutes to paddle out. When I got out it was flat for a couple of minutes and then a set came in. About 3 to 4 foot faces...reasonable. No problem with catching my first wave. Only a couple of other surfers out here and they're going for another break. I stayed out for a couple of hours. The paddle back in was longer than going out. Once on the beach it was time to wash the salt out of the mouth with a beer. For a late lunch I had bought some Cone Sushi at the Star Market. Cone Sushi...well..also called Inari sushi, it's about as vegetarian as you can get with sushi. No fish or meat. Just mirin sweetened sushi rice stuffed in an pouch of folded deep fried (not crispy) tofu. The local variation has a bit of shredded carrot mixed in with the rice. After hanging around the beach for another hour or so it was time to head back to Pu'u Koa. My body is saying it is tired. Must be this relaxing vacation taking it's toll. Back a Pu'u Koa it was time to pour a Hana Bay Rum on ice...just to really relax the muscles...
Paddle Surfing at Kanaha
Cone Sushi and Hana Bay Rum
Saturday, March 31, 2007
I woke up early this morning, made a coffee and had some pineapple for breakfast. Packed up the cooler and headed out the door. Stopped at Ho'okipa point. The waves were going off pretty big, probably 8 to 10 foot faces. That's 4 to 5 foot Hawaian. I decided to head to the south shore, the word was there was some nice south swell coming in. When I got to Papalaua, the parking was already crowded with the local weekenders. Sure enough there was some nice 3 to 4 foot swell coming in. I spent a couple of hours surfing and my last one was a nice 4 footer that took me right to the beach. By that time it just past noon. There is nothing like a cooler lunch and a cold beer on the beach. Next on the list was to do a drive down to Wailea. While on the way I saw there were humpback whales really close to the beach near Maalea Bay. I pulled over into a side road and spent some time watching the whales and taking some photos. Next I drove past Wailea to Makena Landing to see if there was any good snorkelling. Unfortunately, that nice south swell was messing the visibility up at the snorkelling spots, so I decided to pass. Time to head back to the North shore. Well, on the way I got hungry again and stopped in at Las Pinatas. Then it was back to Pu'u Koa to relax and listen to Jimmy Buffet...Bob Marley...
Saturday at Papalaua Beach
Humpback Whales off Ma'alea Bay
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Yet, another beautiful morning in Haiku. This of course means another none windy day. I had run out of coffee, so I headed up to the Pauwela cafe for breakfast. The special this morning was the special Eggs Benedict. Poached Eggs on a tomatoe, on a piece of Corn Bread, topped with a Hollondaise sauce. Served with slices of bacon and pan fried potatoes. Delicious! After breakfast It took me awhile to get going, so it was after lunch until I headed down the road. I drove over to the south coast and past my usual surfing spot at Papalaua to the next beach at Ukumehame. Lots of Paddle surfing happening today. The main wave straight off the beach look crowded, but the wave to the left had only a couple of surfers. That's the one I swam out to. It turned out to be my best surfing session yet. Nice long period wave with 2 to 4 foot faces. I stayed out for close to 3 hours, so by the time I had got in, had a beer and some food and headed down the road it was well past 5 o'clock. when I got to the north side it was raining. This could be a sign that the trades may be starting up and we can get windsurfing again...
Sunday at Ukumehame Beach
Monday, April 2, 2007
Cloudy this morning and a little bit of rain overnight. I slept in this morning so I didn't catch Glenn James weather forecast. I checked the internet and it looked like it might be windy enough to go sailing at Kihei. I'm a little slow this morning so by the time I had breakfast it was really brunch. I headed into Kahului to "Hawaiian Island" and picked up a big board for the expected light winds, a starboard Carve 133. When I got to Kihei some sailors were already out. I rigged the my 6.0 Sailworks sail and headed out. The wind was quite light and gusty close to shore since the wind was blowing mostly side offshore, which made it challenging getting out. Once out, I hit the wind line and then planed out towards Ma'alea Bay. The 6.0 Sailworks with the Carve 133 was a perfect combination. There were some big lulls and the Carve 133 was able to plane right through these. I made some long reaches across the bay and on the way back I made the mistake of coming back in too close to the beach where the wind died. I had to uphaul to get going again. On the way out I nearly hit a turtle while going over the reef. Lots of marine life happening today. Whales breaching out in the bay and it looked like there were Spinner Dolphins playing on the reef. I came in after an hour, had a short break and then headed out again. Looks like the Mistral guys are having a photo shoot because the helicopter is following them around. I see that Bjorn Dunkerbeck is out too. Well, it is the only wind to be had for the last week. The next session was pleasant cruising with some all out blasting speed runs when the gusts got up to 25 knots or so. By four o'clock I was pretty much done for the day and it looked like the wind might be starting to die off. It had been a real nice day of windsurfing at Kihei.
Ho'okipa Panorama
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Beautiful clear sky this morning. From Ho'okipa, the West Maui mountains were spectacularly cloudless and the island of Molokai was visible. The wind was light on the north shore so it looked like another Kihei day. I picked up the Carve 133 at Hawaiian Island and headed to the south shore. When I got there the wind was looking lighter than yesterday. By the time I had finished rigging the 6.0 the wind had picked up a bit. On my way out it was again light and gusty inshore, but by the time I got out past the reef the wind was strong enough to get planing. There were about 3 wind lines on the way out into the bay. Each one a little bit stronger. I did a long reach toward Ma'alea. No whales in sight today. After an hour I was ready for a break. On my way in a nice 3 foot wave formed on the reef and I had a nice ride to the beach. While sitting on the beach I thought I saw a dolphin just offshore on the reef. It was time to go out again. On my way out I sailed past the spot and a Monk Seal popped its head up. And I just about hit a turtle a few metres out from there. Too many wildlife hazards here. The wind was a little more inconsistent this time, which made things challenging. It was still good way out in the bay. The challenge was to keep planing through the lulls until the next gust. Even more challenging was to time a gust that would take me right to the beach. After a couple more challenging sessions it was already five o'clock. Time to pack up and drop the board back off at the shop. Hunger was striking, so I head directly to Pinatas for a Carne Asada Burrito with a Pacifico.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Another crystal clear sky this morning, which means there will be no wind for windsurfing today. Good day to try Standup Paddle surfing or in Hawaiian: "Ku Hoe He'e Nalu" meaning to stand, to paddle, to surf, a wave. I rented a 12 foot board with a paddle and headed to Papalaua. The south swell was still happening. This made it challenging getting out with the big board. It was a pretty good workout. After an hour or so I came back in, and got my smaller 9'4" Longboard and went traditional surfing and after an hour of that I was pretty much ready for a break. While having my break a tourist asked if he could rent my board for 20 minutes for $5. My first profit of the trip. Then some of my european windsurfing friends showed up to do some surfing. I lent them the Paddle surfer and they had quite a good time trying it out. The south swell was still coming in pretty good so I had one more good session of longboarding.
Paddle Surfing at Papalaua Beach
Just Surfing at Papalaua
Morning Full Moon
Thursday, April 5, 2007
The sky was exceptionally beautiful this morning with the full moon still in the sky behind a foreground of Palm trees. My body was feeling exceptionally tired after all that surfing yesterday. Maybe today I'll have to take it easy, because the weatherman says there is wind coming this weekend. After making breakfast I headed toward Kahului then up to Wailuku then up into the I'ao Valley to the park. I spent an hour walking through this park which is in a deep valley in the heart of the the West Maui Mountains. The park is at the confluence of 2 peacefull streams that run down from the mountains.
I'AO Needle
I'AO Valley
I then headed over to the south shore down past Wailea to Ahihi Bay. There is a nice easy beach access at a small bay just before getting to La Perouse. I donned the snorkelling gear and went out of the bay. The inside of the bay was a bit murky because of the south swell stirring up the bottom. Once out of the bay the water clears up to a nice 20 to 30 foot visibility. Right away I saw a small turtle swimming along the bottom then under a coral head. I dove down about 15 feet and got a couple of pictures of it. I watched the turtle for awhile, when it decided to continue on a swim. It swam for about another 5 minutes then had to come to the surface for some air, which was an opportunity to get some pictures of it in midwater. Just as the turtle dove after getting air, another giant turtle swam buy this one was an easy 3 ft in length. I followed the turtle for awhile, then decided to see if I could get some fish pictures. There was really too much suspended particulates in the water to get a good picture of fish. After my swim, I did a little meditating on the beach with a beer before heading back to the north shore. It had been a very relaxing day...
Turtles in Ahihi Bay
Friday, April 6, 2007
It's another no wind day, so I went and rented another Standup Paddle surfboard. I headed over to Papalaua Beach where the surf was pretty small today. I had much better success with the standup part and little success with the surfing part. A couple of locals were very helpful in giving me advice with the standing and paddling. After awhile I took a break and took the longboard out for some regular surfing...
Saturday, April 7, 2007
The satellite imagery this morning showed a hint of trade winds. Hmm... Down a Ho'okipa the surf was still coming in pretty good and there was the hint of a northeasterly wind. I drove down to Secrets and the wind there was in the 10 knot range. That was encouraging enough for me to go to Hawaiian island and rent the Carve 133. I then headed down to Kanaha Beach Park where it was looking encouraging. It looked nearly 15 knots, but was definitely onshore. I almost headed over to Kihei, but my windsurf mind said "Never Leave Wind to Find Wind". Besides the waves at Lowers were looking tempting. I rigged the 6.0. and headed out. It was nearly planing wind, but not quite, however with the floaty Carve 133 I was able to slog out through the channel jibe and then catch a 3 foot nice wave at Lowers. A couple of tacks and back out the channel. The next couple of waves weren't that big. I must have been lucky on the first one. When I came into to take a lunch break, Kevin and Matt Pritchard had showed up, so I guess my call for Kanaha must not have been that bad. After my lunch break the wind looks like it had died even more, but I headed out anyway. Slogged my way back out the channel, tacked just in time for a big set. The first couple of the waves went past me, because I couldn't get the board speed up to catch them the 3rd wave was steep enough and was head high. yahoo! That wave was good enough to get 2 or 3 bottom turns on. I didn't want to risk bashing out through the surf with the big gear, so I made 3 tacks that got me out through the channel again. The next few waves were again not that good. Timing when the big set was coming in was critical today. My final wave I shared with a longboarder and then headed in to call it a day. It was nice to get wave sailing again, even though it was on big gear. With the wind the way it has been I couldn't complain too much.
Sailing at Secrets
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Today looked like it was going to be windier than yesterday. Driving toward Hookipa I could see from Maliko that the waves were going off Big. At Hookipa there were a couple of windsurfers brave enough to make a go of it. The wind was pretty light, maybe 15 knots with some gusts. 2 or 3 sailors mady it out. One didn't. The waves were over mast to double mast high (20 to 30 ft). I hung around at Hookipa much longer than I should have because when I got to Kanaha the parking lot was a zoo. I had to do a couple of rounds of the parking lot before deciding on my spot. On the beach I ran into fellow Victoria sailors Chris and Mark Law. The wind was looking good enough to rig a 5.0 and sail with the JP 96. I headed out and it was feeling pretty good. On my 3rd jibe my mast snapped out by the reef. Fortunately the wind and current were in my favour and it only took 10 minutes to swim to the beach with the gear. I dug out another mast and started re-rigging when I broke the cleat on my extension. That meant packing stuff up and heading to the shop for replacements. My extension was an old Windsurfing Hawaii model and I found a shorter used one for $10. I took the cleat of it and bolted to my extension and then it was off to the beach again. By this time it was 4pm. It looked like Matt Pritchard had also just arrived. I rigged my 5.0 and had a great late session. I headed down to Lowers and caught a couple of good waves. One wave had a really nice head high glassy face. After about an hour I was pretty much done for the day.
Big Day at Ho'okipa
Monday, April 9, 2007
I headed to the beach early this morning and got sailing by 11 o'clock. Hookipa had still been going off when I drove past it this morning and it looked like even the channel at Kanaha was closing out at times. The wind looked a little lighter than yesterday, but it still looked good enough to rig the Sailworks 5.0 with my JP96 Wave board. My first reach was out through the channel. Perfect 5.0 sailing and it was really smooth outside for jibing. My first ride in was on a nice chest high wave. Two tacks on the inside and I was heading back out the channel again. I totally missed my second attempt at catching a wave. Timing is everything. You can pick something that looks like a good wave on the outside, but by the time it gets to the reef it will either peak up, or it will completely disappear and you've got nothing to ride. I was pretty much done my 1st session and came in at 1 o'clock for a lunch break. My second session was more fun than the first even though the wind was starting to lighten up a bit. It took a lot of concentration to keep planing with the 5.0. My sessions on the waves were getting better and there were an occassion head high to logo high face. After an hour or so, I came in for a beer break. My third session had winds getting even lighter, so it was challenging tacking back up in order to get out. My second wave of this session was a house, close to mast high face and I was able to get 2 or 3 bottom turns on it. Then the waves seem to die right off, it was like that last wave was a punctuation mark for the day. I spent the rest of the session practicing tacks and lay down 360's. I was pretty tired and I took my time derigging everything. It's the tropics..no reason to hurry...
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
I headed up to Pauwela cafe this morning for breakfast. A little later than usual so it was pretty busy. After breakfast, Ho'okipa was going off again as I drove past. I had to stop for gas in Paia. It's $3.23/gallon here on Maui. Fortunately, you don't have to drive very far. I got to Kanaha at noon. It looked light but was filling in. I rigged the 5.0 and went out on the JP96 wave board. No real waves today, but pretty nice sailing once on the outside. Turtles poking their heads up everywhere. I just cruised around. Jibe here, tack there. Pretty soon it was 2 o'clock and time to come in for a break. I took a half hour break and during that time the wind had come up a lot. I headed out and it was soon apparent that the 5.0 was way too big. After a couple of jibes I headed back to the beach and rigged the 4.4. Back out again the 4.4 was even a bit large, but it was useable. On the outside past the reef the wind was a little more consistent and the water was not too choppy. Even so, I only lasted about another hour before deciding to call it a day. Windy..windy..windy....
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
This morning looked much the same as yesterday and the forecast calls for tomorrow to be light. I decided to get to the beach early so that I could get a session of more mellow 5.0 sailing in before the potential afternoon blast. At Kanaha I was rigged by 11:30 and headed out. It was a bit light on the inside, but became solid once I was at the reef. No real big waves today, even weird wave looked unimpressive. I headed up toward Uppers, staying on the outside of the reef. Nice cruising weather...real nice. After awhile it was definitely filling in a bit stronger, so I sailed down towards Lowers. waves were small, maybe 2 ft faces. Almost uncatchable, however they made for great jumping waves. Then as I was cruising in a bigger set came in and I managed to get a nice 5 footer. That wave was so good I was able to get about 5 bottom turns before it was finished. And then nothing, the waves seemed to have turned off. The wind was getting lighter too, so I did a real long reach outside and upwind, jibed and cruised back to the beach for a break. After a half hour break the wind looked like it was backing off serious, but I decided if I could get back out the reef I could still get some cruising in on the outside. Fortunately, I timed my launch just right and was able to get out without too much problems. The wind was just barely 5.0 and I managed to keep planing for another hour, then I could see the wind was dropping rapidly, so I got the board speed up and was able to plane most of the way back to the beach and slogged about 100 feet to get to shore. That pretty much was the wind for the day. I hung around for another hour, but nothing appeared to be happening so I called it a day and drove up to Ho'okipa and hung around there for awhile before heading back to Pu'u Koa.
Wild Waie'e Coast
Waiehu Beach and Kahului from Waie'e
Thursday, April 12, 2007
This morning it looks like the trades winds have backed off and I was prepared for a day off of sailing. First thing was to drive to Ho'okipa and check things out. Waves looked a lot smaller and no sign of wind. Next was a drive to Kanaha arriving at eleven o'clock. No wind here, so maybe lets do a drive over to Waiehu Beach Park on the other side of Kahului Bay. When I got there some of the locals had just come in from a little spearfishing. Waves were really small here and nobody was surfing. The wind came up a bit and it looked like it might be sailable on a big board..maybe. I wanted to get a better view so I drove up the Kahekili highway to a good viewpoint and took some pictures looking back toward Kahului. Well, it was about lunch time so I stopped in Waiehu to get a local plate lunch..Chicken Katsu with rice and macaroni salad. After lunch I drove back to Kanaha Beach Park. No sign of wind here, so I drove up to Sprecks.. Only a couple of desparate sailors out slogging around. I decided it was time to do some surfing and drove over to Papalaua Beach. There was some nice sets of south swell coming in and it made for a good hour session of longboarding. Well, maybe there is some wind now, so I drove back to Kanaha and got there a little after four o'clock. Looks like it might be sailable with a bigger sail. Some racers were rigging 7.0 to 8.0's and they looked powered up. I rigged the 6.0 Sailworks and went out with my JP96. The first couple of reaches were perfect cruising out past the reef and back. A couple of reaches later and the wind got really light on the way back in and I end up on the lowers beach. I walked the rig back up to the swimming area and the wind had come up again, so I launched and got planing right away and made a long cruising sail out and upwind, sailing through the normally impassable weird wave reef. After a couple more reaches the wind was starting to get light again so I made for the beach and called it a day. I wasn't expecting to get any sailing in today. Things were better than they had seemed....
contemplation at Papalaua
Friday, April 13, 2007
It's looking pretty windy out this morning. Just after breakfast the wind at Ho'okipa looked like it was filling in. Waves looked pretty small. I headed for Sprecklesville and had the 5.0 rigged and was sailing before 11:30. Perfect wind and the sea inshore was that perfect light turquoise blue. A couple of sea turtles out here as well. The wind was fairly onshore and it made for easy reaches up to the Sprecks reef. It flat on the inside which made for easy jibing. At one o'clock the wind shift to more offshore and it started cranking up. I came in and derigged the 5.0 and rigged up the 4.4. This is a bit of a task at Sprecks since there is no grassy spot for rigging. Wet equipment and sand makes for challenging rigging. With the 4.4 rigged I sailed out again and it was perfect for about an hour then the wind cranked up another knotch. I came in for a short break, hoping the wind might back off a bit. No way...it was going to stay nuking. I waited for what seemed like a lull and went out for one last session. Screaming reaches out and back with really, really long wide jibes. The trade winds had returned to Maui...
Sprecks..the perfect windsurfing beach
Sailors of all ages sail at Ho'okipa
1/2 of the Eh Team, Glenn Haslbeck gets ready for a forward at Ho'okipa
Didn't time that "off the lip" quite right
There could be a problem here
Saturday, April 14, 2007
The trade winds woke me up this morning with the sound of howling through the palm trees outside. Hmm.. I think I better get a smaller board. After breakfast, first thing was to head to Hawaiian Island and rent a Naish Gobal Wave 87 liter board. I headed down to Kanaha at 11 o'clock. It didn't look like the wind had filled in yet, so I rigged the 5.0. I went out first on the JP96 and it was definitely windy on the outside. I came in and changed over to the Naish 87. It was a little tricky getting the smaller board away from the no wind zone at the beach, but once away I planed to the outside and it was definitely getting windier. I jibed and screamed back into the beach. I derigged the 5.0 and rigged the 4.4 Sailworks. Next time launching was no problem because by then the wind had filled in right to the beach. I did one big reach straight out. The Naish 87 had a smaller fin than I'm used to and I spun out a couple of times before adjusting my foot pressure. The 4.4 and 87 liter board was a perfect combination. I was powered up most of the time and the other times I was just plain overpowered as some huge gusts blew over the reef. After an hour or so of this I came in for a break. During the break a helicopter flew over from the airport and hovered just off the beach. It looks like the Starboard Sailors were doing a photo shoot real close to the beach. After an half hour break, I steeled myself for another session of power sailing. I launched and headed straight out beyond the reef. The rig and board were working great so I just kept on heading way out to the outer reef. I jibed on a nice fat face of a wind swell and came screaming back in. That helicopter was still hanging around doing the photo shoot and when I jibbed on the inside and started out again. On the way out, at the reef I could hear the chopper getting closer and closer from behind, then upwind I saw three identical orange sails go screaming past me. Looks like I was in the middle of a photo shoot. Then just ahead one of them started jibing and the other 2 followed. Unfortunately, the 2nd sailor was taking a really long jibe and we were headed for a collision. I stalled the board and dropped into the water.. collision avoided. I waterstarted and headed further out. I stayed out, putting the Naish 87 through some personal tests. It jibbed really nice and jumping it was a pleasure. In the lulls it came off a plane pretty fast and was difficult to get planing again. It went through the chop pretty well, way better than my bigger JP96. After another hour, my arms were beginning to burn, so it was time to call it quits for the day. Getting back in was challenging as the chopper was hover nearshore and just upwind of the launch and the wind was really squirrely nearshore. Well, that was a pretty eventful day of sailing. On the way home I stopped at Ho'okipa and watched the sailing action there for another hour or so.
Helicopter Photoshoot at Kanaha
My JP96 and the Naish 87
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Mauka showers this morning when I woke up, but it soon cleared. Looks like another windy day. First thing was to head to the shop to pick up another smaller board to test. I chose an 87 liter Starboard. Then it was down to Kanaha Beach Park. It was already cranking up pretty good when I arrived. I rigged the 4.4 Sailworks and downhauled it pretty good. The first hour of sailing was manageable and then the wind cranked up another knotch. My guess it was 35 to 40 knots and gusting. I came in and waited to see if the wind was going to moderate. After an hour of waiting, I headed out. The wind was most manageable close to the beach, but pretty gust. The Starboard 87 was pretty good in the lulls and it planed up pretty quick. However, it was bouncy and harder to control than the Naish 87 in the chop. It also was a very easy board to tack and jibe. After a half hour of getting hammered by nukin' winds I was finished at Kanaha. I hung around for a little while more before derigging. I had decided to head up to Ho'okipa to see if the winds were a little more moderate up there. When I got there it was a little late, a little after 4 o'clock. It was looking a lot more moderate. I saw Glenn out on his 5.0 and it looked like the other sailers were using 4.5 to 4.7. Waves were pretty small and the launch break was looking reasonable. I rigged the 5.0 Sailworks and decided on using the floatier JP96. No problem with launching and getting out through a set of small waves was easy. On the outside the wind suddenly got pretty light, but I was able to stay planing. Further out the wind picked up again and even further out the wind was cranking, probably 4.0 to 4.5. A long jibe on the outside then while cruising back in a couple of flying fish jumped out of the water. As I got closer to the break the wind started dying again so I jibed again and headed out. The same as last time the wind picked up on the outside. Then it started to rain.. I could see a rainbow over Ho'okipa point. Then a wind squall joined the rain and I had to hang onto the 5.0 as it was probably gusting up to 40 knots in the squall. When the squall subsided I could see that Ho'okipa was getting clouded in. Then the wind really started dying. Oh, Oh, better not get caught out at Ho'okipa in no wind. I jibed on the inside and then started slogged out and then the wind died completely. Not much choice here but to wait for a gust to waterstart on. After a couple of minutes a nice gust got me up and I was sailing out. I decided to go way out to the where the wind was cranking. Once there I headed way up wind to where I was directly off of Ho'okipa point then jibed. I got as much speed up as I could and was on a fast reach into the beach. I caught up to a nice piece of Wind swell as I got closer and was right on the face as it started to break. I rode this right to the beach and was able to get out with no problem. Absolutely, no wind as I got out. I was one of the last 3 sailors out at Ho'okipa. I'll call this another successful day of windsurfing.
Monday, April 16, 2007
More Mauka showers this morning when I woke up and with wind hadn't died overnight. I hadn't had time to return the board last night because it was near 6 o'clock when I had finished, so I head to the shop early this morning and swapped the Starboard 87 for my next test board which was a JP 85 Wave board. I was at Kanaha early, about 10:30. The wind still looked reasonable so I rigged the 4.4 Sailworks and at 11 o'clock I headed out on my JP96 first. The wind was really nice so I came back in and swapped the JP96 for the the JP85. The JP85 was pretty good in the low wind zone close to the beach. It was very sloggable and it planed up pretty good when I got into some wind. On the outside it went through the chop pretty good. Jibing was a bit more challenging than the Starboard 87 because I tended to bury the nose. A little adjustment and I found the sweet spot for foot pressure on the jibe. Closer to the beach and I tried a couple of tacks and found the JP85 to be very tackable. The wind stayed real nice with my 4.4 sail. On the outside of the reef I noticed a sail racing buoy moored and looked further out and could see another way out. Looks like it was another day for a photo shoot or maybe a real race. After an hour and a half I came in for a short break. Yep, the Starboard crew was there with all the gear layed out. It was 12:30 and the wind was starting to look like it might start cranking up. I headed out and was really powered up on the 4.4. It made things real challenging for jibing. A jibe on the inside and I was headed out towards uppers when I heard that familiar sound of a helicopter behind me. Looks like I was in the middle of a photo shoot again. I stayed on my reach hoping that whoever they were photographing would jibe. I ended up way out in some big wind swell, probably 10 to 12 footers. With the wind cranking up even more I picked a lull and a nice swell to jibe on. On the way in it was cranking hard enough that I had to luff the 4.4 sail to keep everything under control. I made for the beach and decided that was enough sailing at Kanaha for today. Well, when I got to the beach it looks like another fellow Nitinat sailor had arrived on Maui. Mike had been out on a 70 liter Starboard with a 4.5 Ezzy sail and said he was overpowered. He said he was going to have to go back to the shop and get a smaller sail. I derigged, packed up and headed for Ho'okipa. I got there a little before four o'clock rigged the 5.0 and again chose the JP96. My launch wasn't as clean as yesterday and I got punished by a wave trying to get out. The current took me to just upwind of the rocks, I waterstarted and was able to get out this time. It was cranking on the outside, much steadier than yesterday. It was still light on the inside and the waves were pretty inconsistent and small, so I decided to do some cruising out offshore. More flying fish and a couple of turtles out here. The view from outside is pretty spectacular as upwind you can see the cliffs of Pauwela point and to the south you can see down to Paia and Sprecks. After an hour I could see the evening Mauka clouds starting to form up. I wasn't going to get caught out here like yesterday, so I made one long reach up wind and headed into the beach. I wasn't as lucky to be able to pick up a nice swell like yesterday and ended up having to slog to the beach. The landing wasn't pretty as I got backsided by a break just as I land. I was able to just manage the rig and get out without any damage. I was out earlier than yesterday so I was able to get the JP85 back to the shop before it closed. Forecast for tomorrow is more wind. The local radio station was telling everbody there is a Wind advisory up for drivers on Maui. Look for winds gusting to 50 MPH. Yep, it's windy on Maui today.
Look who shows up at Kanaha today
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Mauka showers are heavy this morning and the wind is blustery. My body is starting to feel the effects of the last days of windsurfing so I was a bit late in getting going this morning. A stop at Ho'okipa and that North West Surf had arrived. Big 15 footers coming in. Not being sponsered, I headed to Kanaha. When I got there the sky was still overcast and the wind looked pretty funky. Looking offshore I could see it was windy out there so I rigged the 4.4. There was almost no wind at the beach which made for a challenging launch and slog out to the wind. I got a nice blast which took me out past the reef. The wind still hadn't filled in so at times I came to a slogging stop. Doing the hula, I just waited for the next blast of wind and was off again. After an hour of this I caught a blast into the beach and took a long break. During my break the wind started to fill in and I went out again. Blasting wind, but I think I starting to get used to this. I had a fun time outside and took a big long reach way out slicing through 2 and 3 foot chop and sailing over 10 to 15 foot swell. Way outside I picked a nice bit piece of swell, jibed and slid down its face and was off towards the shore. Lots of turtles on the surface out here today. Maybe the big surf was bring them up. I say w 6 of them in one spot. It was getting real windy again so I headed in for another break. After a half hour the wind seemed to be more onshore and looked reasonable. It was filled right into the beach so I just blasted off the beach. Just too much fun out here. Blasting 4.0 to 4.5 and steady. It occured to me that if it was back home it would be really intense in 6 to 10 degree Celsius water, but here in Maui it's 27 Celsius and the blasting but warm trade winds made it another great day of windsurfing....
The Starboard Kombat 86 vs JP FSW 85
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
It is yet, windy again this morning and Mauka showers are the norm. I walked out into the garden this morning and there was a full rainbow in the sky framed by the palm trees. I was very late in getting going and didn't leave until about 11:30. I stopped at the shop and picked up the latest board I wanted to test. The Starboard Kombat 86 Liter board. I headed to Kanaha Beach Park. It looked reasonable today, still very windy offshore and almost no wind inshore. That northwest swell had almost disappeared. Mike, Tara and young Kai had arrived at the beach as well. Mike was out on a 70 Litre Naish with a 5.0 Sailworks. I rigged the 4.4 Sailworks and decided to test the Kombat 86. It was very sloggable off the beach and when I got to the wind line it planed up pretty well. I went through the chop with ease. On the outside I jibbed on the top of a big swell and the Kombat jibed easily. On the reach in, I jibed just on the outside of the reef and the Kombat went through the chop on the opposite jibe with no problem. Lots of turtles out here again. You have to keep an eye out for them to avoid hitting them. A few more reaches and jibes on the outside and I cruised in toward the beach. At the point I tacked and the Kombat performed the task with ease. The rest of the session was cruising out offshore. The wind was much more consistent out there. After an hour break I headed out again and the wind had filled into the beach which made getting out easy. Heading offshore I first went up towards Uppers and then did a series of jibes which eventually got me down to Lowers. Almost no waves at Lowers, that NW swell had really disappeared. I only managed to get a part of a non=breaking wave face. A jibe at the Lowers beach and I started making a long reach upwind in order to get back to my launch beach. The Kombat seemed to go upwind pretty well even with 25cm wave fin. I eventually made it upwind and sailed into the beach and called it a day. It was abotut 4:30 by then. I derigged, had a chat with a few of the other sailors on the beach and headed back to Pu'u Koa. I pan fried a fillet of fresh Mahi Mahi for dinner.
More photoshoot action at Secrets
Thursday, April 19, 2007
The trade winds are still as strong as ever this morning. It woke me before sunrise. My body is definitely feeling the effects of all this windsurfing. Another slow start this morning. No worries, I think there is plenty of wind out there. It was noon by the time I made it to the shop. I chose the Kombat 86 again. Before heading to the beach I headed to the Star Market to pick up some food supplies. When I got to the beach it was blasting just like the last few days. Damn! it's wind here this year. I had my lunch and rigged the 4.4 Saiworks for the Kombat 86. It was filled right into the beach on my first run out. I blasted out to the reef. Just before you get to the reef the waves are a big jumble. It's like skiing moguls, except the moguls are moving chaotically. Just past this is the surf breaker zone. No problems today because the swell is so small its just peaking up but not breaking. This actually makes for great ramps for jumping. You can scare yourself here, because the ramps are so perfect it doesn't take much effort to get a 6 to 10 foot jump. With the strong wind you just float back down. On the outside the wind gets real strong, but consistent and then your into sailing through the big wind swell. Pick a nice smooth swell face and make a long jibe to depower your sail. Hook in and blast back toward the reef. If your lucky you can get a wave to surf on. Today, it's too windy to do this because the wave face has blasting wind. The best I can do is get an upwind backside. I went in for an hour break in order to wait for the wind to die down a bit. It just kept blasting. My next session I decide to sail close to the beach and practice tacks and jibing in the chop outside. This was a pretty short session as my body was definitely feeling pretty tired. My next break was to wait until about 4 o'clock when the wind has usually been dying down. It did, and the next session was one of the best I've had in the last few days. The 4.4 sail was perfect, the Kombat performed nicely and I got some jumps the just felt perfect. I stayed for over an hour before heading back to the beach. That last session was just too much fun!
Pu'u Koa Rainboa
Friday, April 20, 2007
Mauka showers were a bit lighter this morning and the weatherman Glenn James says it should be lighter this weekend. My body was not looking forward to today. I stopped at the shop and picked out a "Real World Wave" JP 83 to test out. At Kanaha I met up with Mike and Tara. They had little Kai with them and were taking turns sailing. It was looking reasonable so I rigged the 4.4 Sailworks. A blast out and it was just as windy as yesterday. I put the board through its paces. It jumps nice and handled the chop pretty well. Jibing was reasonable, but like the JP 85 it seemed to have a narrow range for a comfortable jibing arc. It tacked pretty well and sailing it felt pretty controlable. I didn't go all out sailing today because my body was feeling the effects of the last week. The last session was at about 4 o'clock. It looked like the wind was mellowing out and I had slog out to the windline. That was just an optical illusion as it was just nuking outside. I should have been sailing with a 3.5! A final blast in and I called it a day. For dinner I met up with Mike, Tara and Kai at the Ma'alea Grill and had a large serving of Hawaiian style short ribs.
Blasting at Kanaha
Saturday, April 21, 2007
I was out of coffee this morning so I went up to the Pauwela Cafe and had their weekend Eggs Benedict special. No Mauka showers this morning and the trades seemed to have backed off. While at the Pauwela Cannery I stopped in at the FWD windsurf shop and the guy there offered to let me demo a new FreestyleWave Quattro 85. It looked like such a nice board I couldn't refuse the offer, so I loaded it up. I headed straight to Kanaha and was rigged by a little after 11 o'clock. It had looked a lot lighter so I had rigged my 5.0 Sailworks. Perfect call. It was solid 5.0 on the outside and the Quattro performed beautifully. It was easy to jump and it jibed as well as the Kombat. It was very comfortable to sail and wen through the chop with no problem. It was the shortest of the boards I had tested and consequently it was very difficult for a heavy weight sailor like myself to tack without sinking the nose. There was some Northwest swell showing up. It was head to logo high (6 to 10 ft). The Quattro was a dream to surf on. It made doing bottom turns easy. I've always struggled with keeping the back foot in the straps to control the board. Not so with the Quattro. At Lowers I caught one wave and made about 5 or 6 bottom turns before it was finished. The wind was so nice today I hadn't come in for many breaks and sailed right through to 5 o'clock. I was done tired. I headed to Las Pinatas for a Burrito and cerveza.
The Freestylewave Quattro 85
Earthday
Sundday, April 22, 2007
Last day in Maui for this year. I spent the morning cleaning up my digs and packing. Then it was of to Kahului to Hawaiian Island shop to pick up a new Reactor Bar for my harness, since I blew mine up yesterday. Didn't I mention that? I think all that overpowered high wind sailing was just too much stress on it. Mike and Tara were at Kanaha Beach again and i got some sailing with them. Perfect 5.0 day again, although it got a little windy at 1:30. I used the Quattro again and was getting more and more used to it. Tacks were getting better and the waves at Lowers were a perfect head to logo high. I got one logo high wave that I made one bottom turn on and it started breaking left I surfed just in front o of the wave as it curled over my left shoulder. Stoked !. Another wave was logo to mast high and I got 5 or 6 bottom turns on it and by the time I was finished I was down at Kiter beach. Solid wind made getting out and upwind easy. This was the reason I come to Maui. Solid 5.0 sailing with beautiful waves to surf on. By 2:30 it was time for me to make a big reach out into the Pacific and sail back into the beach for the last time this trip. What a great way to end my windsurfing adventure this year.
Maui No Ka Oi
Pele, Goddess of Volcanoes, ruler of the great flows of lava, reveals herself throughout the Hawaiian Islands