All Contents of this Page Copyright(2011) of Randolph Kashino
Maui Christmas 2011
"Tropical Windsurf and Surf Escape"
Dec 16, 2011
Left Victoria yesterday and got into Kahului about 7:00 PM. The flight inbound was pretty nice and just before landing I had a real nice view of a brilliant red sunset. After landing it was early enough to go shopping for breakfast stuff and beer. This morning the sky was clear, I could see the top of Haleakala and the trade winds looked pretty light.
Red Sunset on my flight to Maui
Aloha Friday, December 16, 2011
Trade Wind, Mauka, showers this morning. For breakfast I made myself some bacon and eggs with pan fried red potatoes and had some Anthony's coffee with it. I spent most of this morning unpacking my gear from storage then loading into and on top of my Aloha car rental. I started down the road to Kahului, but of course, had to stop at Ho'okipa Lookout to see what the ocean was doing. The surf looked large at about 6 to 12 feet with a 14 second period. About a dozen surfers had gotten out through the break. After Ho'okipa, I headed into the Hawaiian Island shop to say Aloha to everyone there. I ended up buying a few things I really needed..like the new GoPro HD2 camera. After this I headed over to the shopping center to get a few things and some lunch. Now it was time to head to a beach. Wind was a little light, so I decided to head over to Thousand Peaks area. The wind was blasting out of Ma'alea Harbor and when I got to Ukumehame it was looking a bit too windy to Stand up Paddle there. I drove a bit further, up to Launuinopoko Park. The surf there was pretty small, maybe 1 to 1-1/2 feet, but I decided to get wet anyway. Once out, It was a bit choppy, but I was OK with that and ended up surfing for a couple of hours. When I came in, I had my late lunch and a beer and relaxed on the beach, enjoying the tropical climate. I drove back via Kihei and stopped at the Times Market to pick up some groceries for dinner. Back at Pu'u Koa, I panfried a Marlin Steak in Panko batter served with rice and Kim Chee. This is one of my standard Maui dinners. I watched a surfing video and then crashed early.
My view of the neighbors Kou tree in bloom
Ho'okipa was 6 to 12 feet with a 14 second period
December 17, 2011
Heavy Mauka showers this morning and even by late morning the clouds were still around. I caught up on a few things then gave Ed Angulo a call about getting another Stand up Paddle board. I drove into Kahului to meet him about noon. He had gotten me a 9'6" x 30.5" Surfa pintail prototype. After this I headed to Hitech and Hawaiian Island Surf shops to pick up some fins and deck pad for the board. Traffic was heavy in Kahului with the Christmas shoppers today. After shopping, the wind was looking a bit better and the rain had stopped, so I headed down to Kanaha Beach to see if I could get some windsurfing in. Once there, I met up with the regular crew. Juia and Ben, Fred and Debbie and Garth were getting there gear ready in hopes of some wind. It was pretty gusty and light, so I decided, instead, to take some photos and have a beer. Offshore it looked like some house size waves were breaking way out on uppers and the outer Spartan reef. After hanging around on the beach for awhile I headed up to Pinata's to get my self a Burrito. This was meant to be a snack, but ended up being my dinner. Back at Puu Koa I laid out the deck pad I had gotten then did some measuring and trimming to get it the shape I wanted. Once this was done I mixed myself up a rum with ice and a lime from the tree outside, then watch a pretty good video by Mike Waltz that was about the history of Stand up Paddle Surfing called "That First Glide" . It was pretty cool because it, had some actual footage of Duke Kahanamoku using a paddle to get some surf at Waikiki and also probably first real Stand Up Paddler, John "Pops" Ah Choy. It's a movie well worth watching if you get a chance.
Mike heading out to Upper Kanaha
December 18, 2011
Light trade winds this morning and the Mauka showers were light also. It was shaping up to be another light wind day. Made myself a Hawaiian breakfast of Bacon and Eggs with pan fried Rice instead of potatoe and served with Lion's Brand Coffee. Caught up on the blog then packed up for a day at the beach. On my way by Ho'okipa the wind looked pretty light and waves were down a notch. When I got to Kanaha, it was also looking pretty light, but anoyingly too windy to Stand Up Paddle surf, so I decided to head over to south shore to see if it was useable over there. At Ukumehame it was nukin' one minute then dead calm the next. I met up with one of the local crew there and had a beer while discussing the state of the world and beer. After this i decided to head up past Lahaina to see if I could get a paddle up there. Just past S-turns and not as far as Napili is one of my favorite secret spots. Ka'opala Beach. I got out the new Angulo Board and took it out for a Paddle. Inside the bay was calm but just outside where the break starts it was windy, which made it a bit challenging. I managed to catch a few waves on the left side of the channel and then went into the lee to catch the smaller waves on the right side. After my session I relaxed on the beach for awhile before doing the drive back to Puu Koa. Heavy showers through dinner time and then the sky cleared up and I got a real nice few of the stars. For dinner I cooked up a New York Steak with rice, kim chee and sliced tomatoes in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Served with a nice Argentina Malbec wine called "Calores del Sol". After dinner, I did a check on the weather and tomorrow looks like it really might be a windsurfing day.
Ka'opala Beach
December 19, 2011
Lots of clouds this morning with heavy Mauka showers. I made my bacon and eggs for breakfast and then did some work to fix my old paddle which had gotten a crack in it. I also, did some actual office work this morning. By the time I had finished it was noon and I headed for Kanaha. On the drive by Ho'okipa there were Windsurfers out, but waves looked small. At Kanaha the regular crew was there and the wind looked light but really steady. I rigged my 5.5 Sailworks and sailed out on my Quattro 95. What can I say?!? It was perfect sailing..nice and steady..not to big waves for my first sail in 3 months. A turtle here and a turtle there...a wave here and a wave there. NICE! I actually stayed out for quite awhile until I was doing a reach out and heard a sudden creak in my boom front end. I immediately jibed and and sailed in. I had been out for over an hour. I took a look at the boom and sure enough there was a stress crack on my starboard front side. Well..a beer and then derig and then head to Hawaiian Island. I bought a nice new Carbon Wave Boom for a really good price, so I'm set for the rest of this trip. I stopped to get some groceries and then headed back to Puu Koa. I cooked up some rice and then warmed up the Barbeque outside. I had a nice fillet of MahiMahi. Served with some Kim Chee and more of that Malbec I had opened yesterday. After dinner I took a look at the boom and then realized I had done something similar a couple of years ago and I had kept the pieces in the garage. As it turned out the arm that I had just broken was the arm I had left and I was able to make an easy repair by replacement. What luck. Now I have 2 working booms which will make it easier to rig 2 sails if I have to. An after repair Rum was in order with a piece of lime from the tree outside...
MahiMahi, rice and Kim Chee with wine
December 20, 2011
Very heavy Mauka showers this morning and gusty trade winds. My traditional breakfast of Eggs, bacon and Potatoes with Tomato with coffee and a Limonade made from the limes from the tree outside. I checked some email and then packed up and headed up to Pauwela to see what was new at the Quatro Shop. Talked with Pascal for awhile and asked about trying a demo on the new 5.0 Eclipse Sail. I ended up talking at length with Franscisco Goya about the sail and he gave me some pretty good tips on out to tune it up. While I was there, Pascal Maka also showed up. Seems like the prime windsurfing professionals like Quatro and Goya equipment. Fred showed up and was eyeing the new Quatro system with Quad and thruster set up on the fins. Talked with Francisco about the fin boxes they were using. There aim was to get the lightest box that would work and checked out there new "secret" system for fin box that would significantly lighten the whole system. Interesting... While in Pauwela I went into the Dakine shop and ended up buying a T-shirt and then headed to Kanaha. It was still pretty cloudy and the wind looked light so I had a sandwich and a beer for lunch. After a few minutes later the Ben and Julia showed up followed by Garth then Mike. The wind was still refusing to pick up to its' potential because of the cloud in the sky. The wind was anoyingly at the edge of sailable. I spent the time putting new harness lines on the "new" carbon boom I had bought yesterday. Meanwhile the local tree maintence crew was trimming the trees around the parking lot. I scooped up a piece wood that looked like it had potential for a Stand Up Paddle handle material. Eventually, I couldn't stand waiting any longer so I rigged my 5.5. and got the Quatro 95 down to the beach and slogged out. It was still really cloudy, but there were waves of gusts pushing through. My first couple of reaches were really slogging, with intermittent planing. Then all of a sudden an really dark cloud started pushing towards and a bit of blue sky opened up over Wailuku way and the wind picked up a couple of notches. I had a pretty good session after that. I didn't go far out, but instead practiced jibbing and tacking. I finished about 4:30 and came in and eventually derigged then headed back to Puu Koa. In Haiku, I picked some groceries and replenished the beer supply. For dinner I cooked some rice and made a Hamburger mix of fresh ginger and garlic with green onion, an egg and some Panko Batter. It panfried really nice. Served with Kim Chee and more of that Malbec wine....
The Goya Eclipse 5.0 rigged with my new Carbon Boom
December 21, 2011
The Mauka showers were not as strong this morning. I woke up a bit later than usual and the sky was a bit clearer. As I cleared the cob webs from my nind I sat on the the veranda and admired a ranibow off towards the West Maui mountains. I brewed a pot of Coffee and started the bacon frying. Added some sliced red potato a bit later and let them brown in the pan. As a finaly the egg went into the pan, while a bagel was in the toaster. I squeesed a lime into a glass then added some water. Then breakfast was ready. The sky was clearing up nicely, not like yesterday when the rain was persistent. After breakfast I worked on repairing one of my paddles which had shown a sign of a crack. I had decided to repair the section with a piece of oak instead of the red cedar it was made of. I had decided the red cedar was a bit brittle for the area that had cracked and the oak would be a better substitute for that section of the shaft. After this I decide to make some Spam Musubi. This is a real Hawaiian food. Take some spam slice it into 1/4" sections then while frying it sprinkle some soy sauce on it. Take some pre-cooked rice that has mixed with rice vinegar and then put about 3 tablespoons of rice into that Spam can and then and press it down. Then take 2 pieces of spam and put it onto rice then add some more rice on top of the the spam. Press it down and let sit for a couple of minutes. Invert the can then tap it untile the press spam and rice fall out. Take the the 2 pieces of rice and spam and around each wrap a 2 inch ribbon of Nori. Take these and wrap them in plastic wrap. And there you have a Hawaian lunch ready to pack into the cooler. I was ready to go by 11:30 and headed to Kanaha. As I passed Ho'okipa it was still looking a bit light but the sky was a lot clearer than yesterday. When I got to Kanaha there was some texture starting to show on the water, so I decided to rig the 5.5 Sailworks. Once the wind looked like it was strong enough I headed out on the Quattro 95 and sailed out and towards Uppers. It was nice sailing and a lot steadier than yesterday. I saw a couple of turtles on the outside and on the way in I was impressed by the clouds that clung to the rim of Mount Haleakala. I sailed for about an hour before coming in for a break. On my next session I decide to rig the Hero Cam on the mast and then went out for a short sail with it taking some photos then video. The wind was picking up, so I decided to rig that nice new Goya Eclipse 5.0. I headed out as a gust blew into the beach and blasted off the beach. The Goya Eclipse was very nice and it was powerfull enough to keep me going. It was pretty good in the gusty conditions that prevailed as I sailed through the surf zone. On the outside the wind was blasting and the sail still felt very controlable. I came in and then downhauled the sail and headed back out. That was perfect and I sailed for another hour before coming back in a very happy sailor. A apres windsurf beer was in order. After sailing I stopped in Paia to pick up some groceries at Mana foods and then heade back to Puu Koa. I mixed up some Mahi Mahi with some mayo, tomato, green onion and Molokai sweet potatoe. Had a Big Swell IPA with that and followed it with a Hana Bay rum...
Sailing off Kanaha Beach with Haleakala in the background
December 22, 2011
I woke up really late this morning just as the Mauka showers were dimishing. Outside to the west an Anuenue (rainbow) was brilliant in the sky. The trades were still blowing so it looked like another windsurfing day ahead. I made some bacon and eggs with pan fried Molokai sweet potato and had them outside on the veranda. After breakfast I did a little more work on repairing the paddle. About 11 o'clock I headed into Kahului to pick up a few things I needed to complete the repair and then headed down to Kanaha Beach Park. The wind had shifted a little more to the east which resulted in a stronger trade wind at Kanaha. Debbie and Garth were coming off the water saying it was Gorge like nukin'. I decided to rig the 4.6 Sailworks and rig it flat. When I went out it was slogging out close to the beach because it is slightly in the lee of a real east wind. When I hit the windline I was planing. Going through the surf zone was a bit light but on the outside I was blasting. I cruised past a couple of turtles on the way out and looked for a nice wind swell to jibe on. On the way in I found a nice wind swell wave and was able to make a couple of bottom turns before it mushed out. A few more runs like that and it was time to come in. I had a beer and Omusubi for lunch and did a bit of sanding of the paddle I was repairing before heading out again. It was a lot steadier wind and I felt totally comfortable with the 4.6. After a few more reaches it was already 4 o'clock when I decide to make it a day of sailing. At the beach everyone was saying it was like summer sailing. Not a normal December when the trades were usually absent. Whatever..I'll take it. Back at Puu Koa I barbequed a New York steak and finished off that bottle of Malbec wine and then watched the original Hawaii Five-O on TV.
Anuenue hulali o kakahiaka
December 23, 2011
I woke late again. I must be getting tired or something. The sky was really overcast but the Mauka showers were light. I made my breakfast and ate it out on the veranda while admiring the anuenue (rainbow) to the west. After breakfast I did some more work on repairing the paddle and then I did some real office work. That actually took me until 2 o'clock and by that time the sky was clearing up and the trades looked they were solid, so I loaded up the car and headed to Kanaha. It looked windy enough so I rigged the 5.0. By that time the wind was backing off but I decided to head out on a gust. Well..that got me as far as just inside the reef so I jibed and sailed in as another gust pushed through then I jibed again and got about as far as the reef again when the wind died completely. I ended up swimming in, which took about 15 minutes. I packed up and headed over to Kihei to vist Mark and Marcy who also on the island for the next couple of weeks. When I got back to Puu Koa it was nearly 9 pm which is really late for me. A rum with lime helped wind me down for the evening. This was my rest day. More wind is coming tomorrow...
'akalalani, a pink sky at sunsrise
December 24, 2011
I woke up before sunrise and the sky to the west was pink just above the clouds. No Mauka showers and I could see the top of Haleakala. The trade winds were still steady and the occassional big gust thrashed through the trees. I made breakfast then worked on the paddle repair until noon. When I loaded up the wind was still gusting but the rain was also coming down in a torrent. When I got to Kanaha there was a break in the rain. I waited for awhile..had a beer and some lunch. Broke open a coconut and had that for desert. A rain squall came in and we all waited under the back doors of the vans until it abated. Then a big blue patch of sky opened up. That's when I decided to rig. I rigged the 5.0 Goya Eclipse and also rigged my Hero Cam on the mast. At the beach I waited for a gust and was flying off the beach. I headed strait out to uppers. The 5.0 was perfect and I stayed out for quite awhile. On one reach out I caught a nice jump of a surf face and the sail felt pretty comfortable. On the way in the surf was kind of mixed up. Easterly wind swell mixed with a smaller north westerly swell. I came in as I saw a big rain squall approaching. I derigged in the rain, but hey! it is a tropical rain, not like I was suffering. After derigging I headed up to Hawaiian Island to wish everyone a Mele Kelikimaka and then went to Whole Foods to pick up some fixings for dinner. Back at Puu Koa I cooked up some rice. Then I steamed the Abalone I had gotten over some Sake for 5 minutes. I sliced up a nice block of Ahi Tuna for Sashimi. That was my first course. Abalone steamed in Sake then sliced for dipping in Wasabi and soy sauce and fresh Ahi Tuna Sashimi. For my second course I made a Noriaki Sushi roll with the Ahi Tuna, wasibi and ginger and sliced up some more Ahi Tuna for Sashimi. I served that with Sake. It felt like one of the best dinners I've made this trip. After dinner I had a rum as I downloaded the pictures from today. Outside the wind was still blasting and the rain coming down in torrents. The forecast says more wind for tommorow and beyond...
Sailing out with the Goya Eclipse 5.0
Getting some air time
Some time in the Surf
Abalone and Ahi Sashimi then some Norimaki Ahi Sushi
Kalikimaka, December 25, 2011
It was just before 8 0'clock when I opened my eyes. The sky was relatively clear and I could see the top of Haleakala. Brewed a coffee and sat out on the veranda waking up. For breakfast I panfried some Molokai Sweet Pototoe and had that with my usual bacon and eggs. After breakfast I checked the weather and did a finishing coat on my paddle repair. I also worked on my Hero Cam mount a bit. The trades were nice and steady and it looked like it was going to be a nice day of windsurfing. Winds at the harbour were already gusting to over 30 knots. When I got to Kanaha a lot of the crew were already out and back. Windy was the word. I decided to rig the 5.0 Goya and also set up the Hero Cam on the mast. When I went out it was definitely windy on the inside. It was also windy on the outside contrary to what Fred told me. The 5.0 was on the verge of being overpowered but it was still controlable. On the way out there was a couple of good mast high swells coming in. I lost the horizon on one that I climbed up and over. On the way in it was nukin'. Nearly hit a turtle. After a couple of runs I decided that was enough windsurfing and packed up and headed to the other side of the island and up to Honokawai. At Ka'opala Beach the swell was breaking about 4 feet, but the wind was messing it up a bit. I decided to take the Angulo 9'6" Stand Up Board for a paddle. I haven't been on the board for a week and I was a bit unsteady to start off. I caught a few waves and the last one just before sunset. It was well past 7 pm when I got back to Puu Koa and I cooked up some left overs for dinner with some beer, sake and a rum for desert. I was pretty tired from todays playing at the beach and didn't last long before crashing...
Hanging on to the Goya Eclipse 5.0
December 26, 2011
I woke up very rested. I had a solid sleep last night and was only wakened once in the night by a heavy shower pounding on the roor. However, now it was clear outside with only the occassional cloud to the Northeast. Off to the west the West Maui mountains were almost clear. The trade winds seemed to have come down a notch. I brewed some coffee then started the bacon frying and then after a few minutes added some Shitake mushroom to the frying pan. Then some fine choppped green onion and topped it with some left over rice. A little pepper and salt and then I let that fry for a few minutes. I moved the mushroom and bacon to the top of the rice and then added 2 eggs to the frying pan and a few minutes later I had breakfast. After breakfast I started work on carving a Paddle handle from some of that wood I got from Kanaha a few days ago. By 11:30 I was ready to pack up for Windsurfing. I needed lunch but had nothing in the fridge. Outside under the Coconut tree was a freshly fallin coconut on the lawn. I got that a chopped off the husk and through it the car before leaving. On the way to Kanaha I first stopped in Kahului to do a bit of shopping. Once I got the beach it was looking OK, but as I was rigging I big black cloud decended over us and started raining and killed the wind. Well, I put a hole in that coconut and got a good glass of coconut water and then cracked the coconut and there was lunch. I followed that with a beer. After an hour the wind looked like it was enough to sail. When I headed out I got plaining on a gust but started slogging as I neared weird wave. I ended up in the water and had to wait for another gust to get out of that situation. I ended up sailing in on a good gust then jibed and headed back out towards lower Kanaha. On the outside it got light when I jibed and a slogged to the surf break and caught a small wave and then sailed back to the beach. I did this slogging and surfing for a couple of hours and then decided to call it a day. I then went to do some grocery shopping and headed back to Puu Koa. I barbequed up some Pork shops that I had coated with Olive oil, Oregano, some Rosemary from the plant in the yard, some pepper and Alea Sea Salt. Served that with rice, organic brocoli and a Malbec wine. After dinner I had a rum and watched a new windsurf film called "Minds Wide Open" made by the same crew that brought us "Four Dimensions". Excellent windsurf action footage from around the world. Maui, Germany,Cape Verde, Morocco, Canary Islands, and Indo. Amazing stuff!...
December 27, 2011
It was well after 8 am when I woke up. I guess I must have been tired from yesterday. Made some coffee and then put a couple of slices of bacon in the frying pan and then some red potatoes. Then I sliced up a Shitake mushroom and put that in the pan as well. A couple of eggs a little while later and then had it out on the veranda. No showers this morning, but a little more cloud than yesterday. After breakfast I checked the weather and it looked like another windy day. I did a little wood carving on a piece of wood I was making into a paddle handle. I left the house about 11:30 and was at Kanaha by noon. It was looking a lot windier than yesterday. I rigged the 5.0 Goya Eclipse and headed out on my Quattro 95. Powered up sailing, I sailed up towards Uppers and then out. There was a boat out with what looked like a couple of divers down. A few turtles were just down wind of them. On the way in I managed a nice little wave ride on the reef. The sailing was powered up and I could likely even have been on the 4.6 some of the time. After an hour or so of sailing I came in and had lunch. A beer and some inari sushi. Then lied around on the grass, soaking up the sun for a bit. I steeled myself for another session and rigged up the Hero Cam on the mast to take some video. I sailed for another half hour or so and then came in and called it a day. On the way back to Puu Koa I stopped in Paia and got some groceries at Mana Foods. For dinner I warmed up the Pork Chop I barbequed yesterday and at rice and brocoli with it. I was pretty tired so I crashed a little after 9 pm.
December 28, 2011
I slept until just before 8 am again. The trade winds seemed light this morning as predicted. For breakfast I made my usual bacon and eggs with pan fried red potatoe. After a coffee I did a bit of carving on the paddle handle and then did some office work. I had already arranged with Mark over in Kihei to do some Stand Up Paddling today. Good thing..on the way past Ho'okipa it was flat calm and lots of surfers out. In Kihei I met up with Mark and Ian and we first went down to Kamaole Beach. Wouldn't you know it. It was too windy to SUP here, so we packed up and I took them over to Makena Landing which is out of the wind. There was Mark, Ian and his daughter Emma. I gave them a few minutes of lessons and then they were happy for the rest of the afternoon. We paddled out to a turtle that was on the surface and along the shore where we could see the coral below. I rigged my Hero Cam with the flat port to see how it would work. After paddling we went back to Kihei and had some Cerveza and pupus and relaxed in the sun...
Mark out on the SUP
Paddling my Angulo 9'6" Surfa at Makena Landing
A below the board view of the coral reef at Makena Landing
December 29, 2011
Woke up at 6:30 this morning. The sky was a bit cloudy, but I could see the top of Haleakala. The trade winds were still definitely blowing. I made some coffee, checked the weather on the internet and then made some breakfast. I headed out about 10 am up to Pauwela to the Quattro shop and paid Pascal for the 5.0 Goya Eclipse which was a brand new demo, but it is now mine. I had a coffee at the new coffee shop/bakery at Pauwela. Then drove up to the Haiku supermarket to pick up some beer for the day. I then headed to Kanaha. It was windy, and lots of white capping offshore of Ho'okipa and what looked like some bigger swell coming in. At Kanaha it was nukin' so I rigged the 4.6 Sailworks and then sailed out. It was light on the inside because the wind was definitely easterly. Once I got to the windline I blasted out. Once on the outside of the reef it was still very very windy and I was on the verge of being overpowered. It was also very choppy, but I was able to find some nice jibing on 6 foot wind swell. On the way in it was blasting in over the reef I tried to do a bottom turn but ended up nearly getting the sail ripped out of my hands. A few more reaches like this and I blasted into the beach. I had a beer and a Maple syrup bacon muffin that I had got at Pauwela earlier. I decided to rig up the Hero Cam on an extension to see if I could get and even wider view of the rig. I did a couple of runs with the camera then came in and took it off the sail then went out for a few more reaches of sailing. It was not as windier as earlier so sailing was actually quite nice. After sailing I packed up and went to do some grocery shopping. Back at Puu Koa, I cooked up an Opakapaka (red snapper). I first made a batter of chopped coconut with a squeeze of half a lime on it, the mixed it with an equal amount of Panko batter, a pinch of sea salt, Basil, Oregano. I cracked an egg and then dredged a fillet of Opakapaka through it then into a bag with the batter and shook it up to get good and covered. Then a re-dredge through the egg and back into the bag of batter. Meanwhile on the stove I've got a frying pan with some butter warming up with a clove of garlic. Once the pan is good and hot. The Opakapaka goes in skin first and grills for 3 minutes. The batter should be nice a brown when it is flipped and another 3 minutes on the other side. I served this with Rice and some Kim Chee and some warmed Sake. I even surprised myself. The Opakapaka was incredibly delicious. A rum after dinner and I my appetite was satiated for both dinner and windsurfing...
Blasting out on my Sailworks 4.6 Revo
Opakapaka
Panfried Opakapaka coated with coconut and Panko served with Rice and Kim Chee
Aloha Friday, December 30, 2011
Again I Woke up at 6:30 this morning. The sky was completely clear and the trades seemed to be a whisper of yesterday. I made breakfast and checked the weather and the forecast was for light winds today. I did some work over the internet and then some handle carving and made plans to go Stand Up Paddling at Ukumehame Beach Park. I got there about 11:30 and met Mark and Marcy a bit later. Mark and I went out for a paddle and I left Marcy with my camera to take photos. The waves weren't huge, only 1 to 2 feet but they had a nice long 14 second period which made riding with my 9'6" board easier. After this first session we came in and had lunch and a beer and relaxed on the beach. Our next session had a bit of wind so it was a bit choppier, I saw a turtle and the splash of a whale offshore. Marcy got a good shot of one with Mark in the foreground. Mark was getting the hang of catching waves and I had fun catching a few. Our final session was even choppier and the waves were getting less and less as the tide got lower. It was a nice relaxing change after the last couple of weeks of windsurfing every day. Other windsurfers had showed up at Ukumehame to do a little SUP. I hung around the beach relaxing for awhile after Mark and Marcy left. On the way back to Puu Koa I stopped in Kahului to get some take away at the Maui Mixed Plate. Back at home I had the Chiken Karage with Rice and a Sierra Nevada beer while watching a spectacular sunset from my veranda. After dinner I watched a bit of TV and relaxed with another Sierra Nevada...
I caught a couple of nice waves
Mark was getting the hang of SUP surfing
A Humback Whale breaches offshore
I was happy to get stand up paddle surfing
Mark had a good day too
Marcy's collage of pictures of Ukumehame Beach Park
A spectacular sunset back at Pu'u Koa
Aloha Saturday, December 31, 2011
I was awake at 6 am this morning. I think it is the quiet due to no trade winds that make me a bit restless. I checked the weather and it was going to be an exceptionally non windy day. I made breakfast of bacon and eggs with Okinawa sweet potatos. After breakfast I did a little work on the internet and then packed up for the day. As I drove down from Haiku toward Maliko I could see the island of Molokai off in the distance. At Ho'okipa it looked like everyone not working today was surfing. I stopped to take a look at Secrets Cove. Waves were looking low, maybe 3 feet maximum. I picked a Ki leave for good luck and then drove over to Sprecks to see if it was any better there. The parking lot was abandoned except for some local fishers, and the wave were even smaller. I then drove into Kahului and picked up some staples of beer and Kim Chee and then headed to Kanaha Beach Park. It looked a lot better out at Lowers, so I got the Angulo off the roof and paddled out. There was an anoying 5 to 10 knot wind to start. I paddled out through the channel. The chop was making it challenging to balance on the board. Waves were about 3 feet with pretty regular sets coming in. I caught a few rights and then a left before I came in for a break. The wind seemed to have died off and the crowd out at the break lessened when I paddled out for my next session. There were a couple of guys out with SUP's with windsurf sails on them, so there must have been enough wind. It didn't seem like it to me, but maybe I was getting used to paddling in the chop. Waves were a little bit bigger and I caught a couple of nice 6 footers. My last wave was with one of the windsurfers and it was a nice 8 foot face. That would be my last wave of 2011. I paddled in and celebrated with an apres surf beer. On my way back to Pu'u Koa, I stopped to take a look at Kuau cove. It was low tide and there were a couple of tide pools that I checked out. Then it was back to Pu'u Koa where I made some Ahi Sashimi for pupu's then I pan fried some more of that Opakapaka I had got the other day. Served that with rice and Kim Chee and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Tomorrow (Next Year) looked like it was going to be another day of Ku Hoe He'e Nalu... Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!...
Ku'au Cove
Last Moon of 2012..Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!
Aloha Sunday, January 1, 2012
Aloha means both hello, goodbye, love. Aloha 2011. Aloha 2012...I woke up just before 8 am and made myself a good breakfast. I did a little more carving on the paddle handle and then worked on a ding repair to my Angulo 9'6". Since I had he resin going, I also did some fine touches to my paddle. I talked with Rich Pennington, the owner of Pu'u Koa while I was doing the fine touches. After this I went back to doing some more carving on the paddle handle then made some lunch. I finally got going about 1 o'clock and drove over to Ukumehame. John Sewell and some of Da Crew were already over there. I got out the Hawaiian Island 10'6" board and went surfing on some 1/2 to 1 foot swell. Not as big as yesterday at Kanaha, but still just as much fun. Later on it was just Kia and Kats and a couple of other surfers out and I had fun trying out my new Hero2 Cam and surfing. The view up the Ukumehame valley was pretty spectacular and out toward Lanai there were a couple of Humpback whales playing. When I came in we had a couple of beers and watched the sunset over Lanai. The sunset was spectacular with the sun red from the Volcanic Haze from the Big Island. It was dark when I left Ukumehame. When I got back to Pu'u Koa I cooked up a Burger and had it with rice, brocoli, Kim Chee and a Malbec wine. After Dinner, I download the photos from my camera and had a rum.
One goes left, the other goes right
Catching a nice south swell wave
Got the Sun in the Palm of my hand
Sunset from Ukumehame Beach Park
January 2, 2012
I woke up about 7:30 this morning. No trade winds and the sky was clear. It was actually clear enough to see the Island of Molokai. The breeze was light and must have been coming from upslope because I caught the fragrance of the neighbors Plumeria tree. Maui is not the first place I've smelled Plumeria Frangipani... actually the first place must have been Barbados years ago. But that's another story. I made some breakfast and the checked the internet so that I could decide where to go today. No windsurfing, but the waves looked on the large size for the north shore. The Pauwela Waverider buoy was showing 3 metres with a consistent 14 second Peak Period. It was about 11 o'clock when I packed up and left for a beach. I stopped at Ho'okipa on the way. It was looking about 8 feet with the occassionaly 10 feet. Not as large as I expected, but maybe my perception is getting a little biased. When I got to Kanaha, the winds were almost non-existent and the High Surf Advisory Red Flag was up. I looked out at Lowers and watched it for about a half hour. In the meantime Ben and Julia showed up and I talked with them for awhile. I finally decided to go out. (Eddie would Go). I paddled my way out to the channel at Weird Wave and that seemed to work. There was a good current ripping out through the channel and it got me on the outside without any real problem other than it was a bit choppy when a big swell broke. I caught a nice 5 footer on the upper edge of lowers and then paddled out and did it again. I finally worked my way over to the main break and caught a nice 6 to 7 footer. Smooth face until near the inside when it dumped. I paddled out again and managed to get a real nice 8 footer. No damage, so I decided to paddle in for a lunch break. Had some Paia Banana Bread and a beer and rested for about a half hour or so, then headed back out. The surf seemed to have actually backed off a bit and paddling to the outside was not much problem. I got a little impatient waiting and got myself a bit too far on the inside and ended up surfing some white water. I worked my way back out through the channel and looked out to the east towards Spartan reef and could a nice house sized swell breaking and I new that would be here in about 3 to 5 minutes some I paddled out a little bit further. The first swell didn't have enough slope to get me going so I turned an paddled out again just in time for another one that was about the same. The third one was looking good so I turned and paddled as hard as I could. I ended up on a real nice face that I surfed backside before bottom turning to the right just as it was about to break. OK..that was my wave of the day so I paddled back in, had a beer and called it a perfect day of Ku Hoe He'e Nalu at Kanaha. Before heading back to Pu'u Koa I stopped in at Second Wind to pick up a Board Bag for the the Angulo Board and then walked over to the Naish shop and eyed up a nice Paddle with a wood blade and carbon shaft. I did a little food shopping and then decided to stop at Pinata's for a Beef, Bean and Rice Burrito with a Pacifico. Back at Pu'u Koa I cracked a beer and turned on the TV just in time to watch another retro episode of Hawaii Five-O. I downloaded my photos of the day and checked the weather for tomorrow. It looked like the 10 foot swell of today was dying off but a northwest swell of the same size was due for tommorow...
The High Surf Advisory Red Flag is Up.
Kanaha Lowers had some bigger swell today
January 3, 2012
At quarter to eight I opened my eyes. It was dead quiet outside and when I walked out on the veranda the sky was thick with VOG. VOG is Volcanic haze mixed with the air vapour from the always active volcano on the Big island of Hawaii. That indicated the wind was coming from the east but not very strong. I checked the weather and I could see the wave height at the Northwestern Weather Buoy had already come up to 5 metres, but the Northeastern buoy heights were stil below 2 metres, as was the Pauwela wave buoy just north of Kahului. That meant I still had time to get another Kanaha session in. I quickly made breakfast then loaded up the car and was on the road by 9:30. I think thats a record early start for me. I was at Kanaha about 10 o'clock and there was already a lot of SUP and Longboards out there. I got out the Angulo 9'6" board and paddled out. Carl from Hawaiian Island Surf Shop was also out there on a nice looking Jimmy Lewis Kwad board. I started off by catching a few waves on the reef just of the Weird Wave Channel and then worked my way over to the main break and caught a few rollers that were breaking inside of where everyone was sitting. i then went outside and waited for a larger swell. I can look over to the east a bit towards uppers and see what swell would get to lowers a couple of minutes later. So, when I went way out I got a couple of funny looks from everyone, until they understood a bigger set was coming in. The first one I got was a bit of a disaster. I got it OK, but then it broke right on top of me and I was down in the washing machine for a bit. Once I sorted myself out I paddled back out and tried to keep my position a little more to the east of where I was before. I also let the first couple of rollers go by and that took care of the other bodies out there. When I caught the next one It was a nice smooth face and I rode it backside to the left. I did a few more repeats in the next couple of hours and came in a little after Noon. Had a beer and a sandwich while I slowly loaded everything back in and on the car. I then decided to drive over to the south side, past Kihei and Wailea to my favorite Snorkeling spot, Oneuli Beach. I was just few minutes late because when I arrived there was a group of Spinner dolphins playing just out off the point. The sea was calm here, and when I swam out it was very relaxing. The reef actually looked a lot healthier than I last remember it. No turtles this time. They must be out somewhere offshore. Lots of nice coral and fish. I enjoyed this swim a lot. It was amazingly relaxing. The antithesis of the surfing I had done this morning. I'm always impressed by the pencil urchins and the coral. The coral reef is an incredible assemblage of creatures. The Coral itself is in a symbiotic relatsionship with an internal algae that provides it with oxygen and sugar, while the coral polyps provide nutrients and carbon dioxide for the algae. I kind of like to think of the coral reef as a megacreature. The coral itself protudes itself into the ocean currents and waves and actually changes the way the water flows. This changing water flow and turbulence enhances the feeding by drawing in and trapping plankton, and oxygenation of the rest of the reef itself. Every other of the thousand or so other species on the reef is just like a part of our own body which has a role in keeping the whole reef body healthy. After snorkeling for an hour I came out and then relaxed on the beach for awhile. I stopped in at the Shops at Wailea to check out a couple of souvenir shops and then headed back to Pu'u Koa. I got the Barbeque going and actually packed up some of my windsurfing gear. Saddly, I leave tomorrow. I threw a nice rib steak on the barbeque for a few minutes. For dinner I had steak with rice and, off course, Kim Chee. Served with an Big Swell India Pale Ale. Ate this out on the Veranda until the sunlight disappeared. After dinner I downloaded my photos for the day, watched some TV and had a rum...
I surfed Kanaha Lowers until just after noon and the swell seemed to be coming down
The always impressive Pencil Urchin
The Coral is alive with Polyps if you look close enough
School of Yellow Snapper
The moon was brilliant at sunset through the Koa tree
Aloha, Wednesday, January 4, 2012
There was a light rain this morning, like a trade wind was threatening. It stopped but there was still VOG in the air. I made a Cheese Omelete, with Pan Fried Red Potatoes for breakfast. It seemed peaceful this morning. I noticed a butterfly out in the canefield floating around some wild flowers. I checked the weather and the north shower was going off with huge surf. As I drove down to the highway I could see a helicopter off to the northeast just off Peahi (Jaws). I stopped at Ho'okipa Lookout and it was totally closed out and the parking lot was full of tourists. The waves were beaking with about 20 foot faces. There were some crazy tourists down on the rocks, naive to that the fact that a rogue wave could just wash them into the ocean, and there wasn't anybody that was going to go and save them today. It was my last day on Maui and I headed over to the much more serene beach of Ukumehame. I went out for a surf with the bigger 10'6" Hawaiian Island board and had fun on some 2 footers that were likely the left overs from the big surf wrapping around the island from the northwest to to south side. I tried out the Hero Cam on my spar buoy that I anchored out in the surf break area. It was an experiment to see how it would work. I would check the results later on my flight home. In the meantime I had a last good surf and then enjoyed a beer and lunch on the beach. I packed up and headed back to Pu'u Koa and then spent the next 3 hours packing up everything and storing it where it would be ready for my next trip in March...Aloha...Ku Hoe Pa'a.
At breakfast a butterfly was out in the canefield feeding on some wild flowers
At Ho'okipa the waves were breaking at more than 20 feet
Another nice wave at Ukumehame
And another last wave for this visit to Maui
Aloha,
Mele Kalikimaka!
Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!
Ku Hoe Pa'a!
Randy
Aloha 'Oe
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**Translations
Mele Kalikimaka: Merry Christmas
Hau'oli Makahiki Hou: Happy New Year
Ku Holoholo Pa'a: Keep Sailing Hard
Ku Hoe Pa'a: Stand, Paddle Hard
Ku Hoe He'e Nalu: Stand Up Paddle Surfing
Hau'oli la hanau: Happy birthday
Anuenue hulali o kakahiaka: Brilliant Rainbow of the morning