All Contents of this Page Copyright(2012) of Randolph Kashino

Maui 2012
"Tropical Windsurfing and Surfing Adventure"




March 24, 2012
Left Victoria today and got into Kahului about 5:30 PM. My van rental from Aloha Car rentals was waiting for me. Amazingly,it was the same Dodge Caravan that I drive back home, except it was a little more beat up. Before heading out to Haiku, I went to get some beer and groceries. Tonight I was staying at Rich and Cathy's place up off Peahi road, because they were full at Puu Koa for the night. Cathy fed me a nice bowl of chicken soup and I had some of the Taco Poke I had bought with a beer and then I crashed for the night.



Peahi Rain Tropical Forest


March 25, 2012
I Woke up a few times in the night to the sound of heavy trade wind (mauka) showers. The few from my temporary bedroom was over a spectacular green rain forest. For breakfast Cathy made some tasty sour dough waffles with bacon and eggs from their own chicken. After breakfast Rich took me on a walk of their property which was rich with tropical plants and trees and had a small stream running through a gulch due to the heavy rains last night. Then it was off to Pu'u Koa where I dug out my surfing and windsurfing gear, assembled the fins on the boards and loaded it all in or on the van. By the time I had finished all this it was well after noon. The wind was blowing and as I drove past Ho'okipa there must have been well over 20 windsurfers out. The waves looked a lot smaller than what I had seen last night on my drive out to Haiku. When I got to Kanaha, the regular and not so regular crowd was there. It was definitely windy. I rigged my 5.0 Goya Eclipse a little bit flatter than normal. I headed out on my Quattro 95. The wind was nicely filled right to the beach and it is not often that you can jump on the board and be plaining within a few feet of the beach. The wind was perfect for my setup right from the beach and I cruised out on a nice full plain past weird wave, which was none existent. The waves were small, but there was some nice wind swell for jumping. The sailing was perfect for a first day of Maui sailing. A nice warm trade wind that was about 20 knots. I just had to watch out I didn't hit any of the turtles just out beyond the reef. The wind was so steady that jibbing was a smooth and easy. Each reach I did was better and better as I got more in tune with my rig and the ocean. By the time I finished it was already 4 o'clock. I rinsed off the gear and then had a couple of beers with the Kanaha windsurfing crowd. Back at Pu'u Koa I pan fried a fillet of Mahi Mahi in ginger and butter and served it with rice and Kim chee. And a Big Swell IPA. A glass of Hana Bay rum with a lime from the tree outside. A perfect start to my Maui pilgrimage...





Kanaha Sailing


March 26, 2012
There was no real rain last night and only a hint of wetness on my lanai deck. Nice blue sky this morning and the trade wind was very light. I slept quite late, probably still tired from the travels and I was trying to get rid of a cold that has been bothering me for the last couple of weeks. Made my some bacon and pan fried red potatoes with eggs for breakfast. I did some more sorting out of gear and got this blog up onto my website before heading out. Driving past Ho'okipa it was really flat and about a 10 knot trade wind. I stopped at Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport to say hello and picked up a fin and a SUP magazine. Although I didn'think it was windy I headed to Kanaha Beach Park anyway. My freinds from Victoria, Tom and Louise Vandall were there. Tom had scored the loan of some big slalom race gear from Phil McGain of Maui Sails. After hanging around and taking some photos, I decided to head out to do some stand up paddling. I ended up at Ukumehame where the surf was less than one foot, but good enough to get on the board. I took out the Angulo 9'6" board. The wind had come up onshore and it made it challenging to pick out the surf from the wind chop. I paddled for about an hour then came in and had a beer and sandwich. I relaxed for a bit and then headed back over to Kahului to do a bit more grocery shopping. Back at Pu'u Koa I cooked up some pork chops and watched the Canucks versus L.A. Kings Hockey game on TV. Canucks won. Then I watched an episode of the old Hawaii 50. After dinner I did a little reading and had a rum before crashing a little after 9 pm.





Met up with Louise and Tom



Tom out Sailing Race Gear from Maui sails



Lots of big sails out today




March 27, 2012
I woke before 6 AM this morning. Mauka showers were falling then as the clouds cleared to the east a brilliant rainbow appeared to the west. Made my usual bacon and eggs with pan fried potatoes for breakfast. The rest of the morning was leisurely because the wind was pretty light. When I got going it was around noon. When I got to Kanaha it looked like the wind had picked up so I rigged the 5.0 Eclipse and headed out on my Quattro 95. The wind was barely 5.0 and I probably should have rigged the 5.5, but I made it work. Being downwind when it got light I was able to catch one wave at lowers. After and couple of hours I came in and had a beer with the regular crew. After this I decided to head to Pinata's for a burrito dinner. Back at Pu'u Koa I was dead tired. It is a lot of work when the wind is a bit light. I crashed early



Mauka showers Rainbow (Anuenue)


March 28, 2012
I woke up pretty late at eight. The sky was a overcast, but cleared a little later. I could see the island of Molokai off in the distance to the northwest. Made some breakfast and then did some work on putting the handle on one of my paddles. I packed up a lunch of beer and pineapple. I headed up to Pauwela first to say hello to Pascal and Francisco at the Quattro/Goya shop. Ran into Macrae and Fiona Wylde, who I know from the Pistol River event. New in the shop was a couple of nice looking SUP boards shaped by Keith Taboul and eight six and a nine six. Pascal said I could try them out in a couple weeks after their finished with a photo shoot with them. The wind was starting to pick up so I head to Kanaha. It was looking a lot like yesterday, so I rigged the 5.5 Sailworks. By the time I was ready to sail the wind was picking up. My first ride was powered up to the maximum and I made one jibe on the outside and came in. I re-rigged down to my 5.0 Eclipse and headed out again. Thta was perfect, I blasted out and made a couple of reaches to get to upper Kanaha. Caught a couple of waves and decided to head down to lowers. That only required a couple of blasting downwind reaches. Probably should have stayed at uppers, because I could seem to synchronize any of my reaches to get a good wave. The sets were either ahead of me or behind. The only upside was that I was making my tacks on the inside. I finished sailing about 4 o'clock and had a couple of beers and my pineapple lunch. I packed up and then did some grocery shopping. Back at Pu'u Koa made some Ahi sushi and sashimi for dinner with some Tako Poke and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Watched a bit of TV and caught up on the blog before calling it a night. Tomorrow the wind forecast looks a little stronger than today.



Helicopter photo shoot up by Camp one.


March 29, 2012
Up early this morning at 6 AM. Sky was clear and no signs of trade winds showers. I made breakfast, packed up and was on the road by 8 AM. I had decided to take a day off windsurfing because it was looking like it might be a light day. I headed over to Ukumehame beach. It was windy offshore when I got there, so I decided to drive up to Launiupoko Beach park. There was no wind, but there was no waves also! So, I decided to head back to Ukumehame. Along the way I stopped at Olowalu. Also, peacefull, calm and no waves there. Back at Ukumehame, John Sewell and Da Crew had just arrived and expecting some south swell. I unpacked my Angulo 9'6" Stand Up board and just as I headed out the wind started coming up onshore from the south west. Totally opposite than earlier. I persisted out into the wind chop and did catch one good wave, then came in for a break and to wait out the wind. There was some county shore protection construction happening to the east of the beach. This kept us entertained, watching big machines move big rocks. The wind finally dropped at about 11:30 and I headed out and had a really good hour of Surfing by myself. Back at the beach I had a beer and lunch of Spam omisubi and pineapple. The wind came up again, so I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with the crew and did some work on my Naish paddle and also made a wrack for the Van. Back at Puu Koa I panfried some Ahi Tuna in Ginger, garlic and soya sauce for dinner and watched some more Hawaii 5.0. I was dead tired by 8:30...



Peacefull Olowalu



Johnny catches a wave



Ukumehame


March 30, 2012
I woke up late again, feeling a bit sunburnt from yesterday. My body was also feeling the effects of the week. Outside it was windy, but there was a big black cloud covering the whole of the north shore. On the satellite photo it looked like it was streaming in from quite a distance with the northeast trade winds. I opted for lounging around this morning. Made my usually bacon and eggs breakfast and a had a bagel later in the morning. Did some reading and some work on the internet. By the time I left Puu Koa it was after lunch. Only a couple of windsurfers sailing in the rain off Ho'okipa. That big black cloud was hanging around. I drove into Kahului and stopped in at the Hitech surf shop. Checked out some of the new SUP's in their wracks. The Koala's looked nice. There was a new Angulo Surfa board and the Starboard lightweight carbon boards as well. The best prices seemed to be on the PSH (Pacific Surf Hawaii) boards. While I was at the shop I said hello to Russ who is working there now. Next I headed down to Second Wind to check out some boards. There was a nice Kazuma bamboo deck 9'8* longboard in their wracks and a great selection of Elua Makani Stand Up Boards. The Naish shpe was just next door so I dropped in to say hello to Coach. While their I made arrangements to try out one of the Naish Hokua Guns' sometime next week. I also bought a retro windsurf dvd that was had been recompilation of the Trade wind films. Next I cruised on over to the Neil Pryde shop to check out the gear there. Always lots of nice sails and the Cabrinha SUP's looked nice as well. Talked with Gus awhile. After my tour of Windsurf shops I decided to head over to the south shore past Wailea to Oneuli beach. The water was a bit murky from the south swell and wind chop so I headed over to Makena Landing to see if it was any better. Looked the same so I decided to check out the Shops at Wailea for any inspiring Aloha shirts or Tshirts. The art shops are always nice to cruise through, but a little rich for me. After this I headed to to the Times Market in Kihei to do some food and beer shopping before heading back to the norht shore. On the way back I stopped at Mana Foods in Paia to pick up some vegetables. By the time I got back to Pu'u Koa it was past 6pm. Made some dinner and watched the Trade Wind video. Did we really windsurf on that old gear?? Good thing this was a day off or I wouldn't know what to do with myself...



West Maui Mountains from Oneuli Beach



Shops at Wailea




March 31, 2012
Slept unti 8 o'clock again. It was sunny outside and very windy. When I walked out onto the Lanai I could see that the ocean was white with waves. Made myself some Lion coffee to start and then some Bacon and Eggs with pan fried Okinawa sweet potato. Having breakfast out on the deck as gust after gust of wind blasted through the trees was a bit distracting. When I headed out the door it was about eleven o'clock. In Kahului, I stopped at the Kmart to pick up a beach chair before heading down to Kanaha. At Kanaha it was very smokey because of a brush fire up in Sprecklesville. The firefighters were hard at work and a couple of helicopters were lifting water from the sea off Camp One onto the fire. The parking lot was nearly deserted at Kanaha because of the thick smoke earlier. Out on the water it was smoking too. Tom Vandall was there also and he had rigged a 4.5 Sailworks, so I decided to rig my 4.6 Sailworks as well. When I sailed off the beach I was blasting. I headed out towards uppers just above "Weird Wave". It was nukin' and I was just barely in control. I jibed and came blasting in. I adjusted the 4.6 to flatten it, then headed out again. That was a bit better but still well overpowered so I came in again, then rigged my 4.2 Ezzy Sail. Back out again it was better, except in the waves I was under powered. The Waves were pretty big, so I didn't feel all that comfortable being underpowered. On the reach in the waves were big enough so I couldn't see the horizon behind me, nor the beach in front of me. After a couple of reaches I just came in. Had a beer or two and relaxed. Back at Puu Koa I got the BBQ going and through a steak on. I also hacked up a couple of coconuts that had fallen off the tree and got some nice juice. The coconut meat would be for desert. Had my dinner as the sun was setting over the west Maui mountains. With a little bit of Malbec wine. Some coconut for desert and a little later some Awa tea to mellow things out after a nukin' day of windsurfing...





Sprecklesville on Fire



It was smokin' wind offshore too.



April 1, 2012
Some light mauka showers, but Calm this morning as the trades seemed to have backed off to nothing after that blast yesterday. Made some breakfast of bacon and eggs with pan fried Okinawa sweet potato. I got going around ten o'clock. It was flat and crowded with Sunday surfers as I drove past Ho'okipa. When I got to Ukumeham, the crew was already setup for "opening day", the official first south swell day. There was a nice 1 to 2 foot swell coming in. I got the Angulo 9'6" off the board and went out for an hour or so. I did the main reef break and also went over to the left break and managed to catch a nice long ride in. I had a good lunch break and relaxed for a bit. For my second session it was a bit more challenging as an annoying 5 to 8 knot onshore wind had come up. In spite of this I managed to get a couple of good waves. I tried the left break again, but it was a lot harder than earlier because it wasn't easy seeing the swell in amongst the wind waves. When I came in, Mo had been busy barbequing some chicken. That tasted so good that I had to barbeque my own version of Huli huli chicken when I got back at Pu'u Koa. I spent the evening watching the Star Trek movie on TV and crashed about nine o'clock.



Sunset from Pu'u Koa




April 2, 2012
No rain or wind this morning. So it looked like another Paddle surfing day. I made my usual breakfast of bacon eggs with red potatoes. On my way down the road I stopped at Ho'okipa and then Secrets to check out if the north shore was going to be surfable, but trade wind was picking up enough to cancel paddle surfing on north shore. I drove to Ukumehame and surfed Until about 3 o'clock. I then headed to Wailuku and check out the dive store, Maui Sport Goods, and picked up the latest issue of Hawaii Fishing News. I then headed down to Waihe'e Beach park. The trade winds were blowing light and a couple free divers were out on the reef fishing. On my way back home I stopped at Pinata's for Burrito beans and rice dinner with a Pacifico. Back a Puu Koa I did some laundry and Tom Vandall stopped by and we had a beer out on the Veranda until the sun disappeared. After Tom left, I watched some TV, Hawaii Five-O, which had a very young Ricardo Montalban playing a not very believable character of a Nisei Japanese American. Maybe it was because it was Ricardo Montalban in retrospect. After this I did a little bit of Internet surfing to check out what might happening with the weather tomorrow.





Surfing at Ukumehame



Waihe'e Beach


Flowers of Waihe'e



April 3, 2012
Some very light Mauka showers this morning. I woke fairly early with the intent of getting to the beach early. However, I got caught up with repairing one of my paddles and then breakfast, so by the time I got to Kanaha it was about 10 o'clock and the trade winds were picking up. Not enough to windsurf, just enough to make it annoying for paddle surfing. I decided to head over to the other side. As I drove past Ukumehame it was looking small, so I decided to to head over to West Maui shore up by Kahana/Napili area. I parked at Ka'Opala bay and could see that some of that Northwest swell was reaching in to the reef offshore. I went out on the Angulo 9'6". The trade wind was wrapping around the West Maui mountains and creating an offshore wind. This made it difficult to catch the waves as the wind gusted up the face of the wave as I was trying to surf down. It basically stalled the board. This made it challenging for both paddling and surfing. Inside the bay the wind was light, but out on the break it was gusting up. I did manage to catch about three good 6 footers which made the surfing worthwhile. After surfing for a couple of hours I drove up to Kapalua, parked then walked down to Makalua puna point to see the "dragons teeth" rock formations. After this I headed back to the north shore, but stopped at Ukumehame and had a beer with John and Lenny who were just finishing up after a day of surfing. On the way back I stopped to get some groceries at picked up some Spicy Tako Poke for dinner. Back at Puu Koa I turned on the TV and watch the Canucks and the Ducks play some hockey. Very entertaining game that ended with a shootout. Canucks won with a nice backhand shot by LaPierre. After the hockey game I mixed up a rum with coconut juice and a lime...



Ka'opala Beach







Makalua-puna's Dragon's Teeth


April 4, 2012
The sky was still clear but it was hazy. Probably some Vog from the Big Island. Made my regular bacon and eggs with pan fried Molokai sweet potatoes. After breakfast I did some repair work on my wood Paddle which had a crack. I glued in an Oak insert in the section that needed repair then let it set. There was construction happening on the Hana highway near Kua, so I opted to drive upcountry around through Makawao and Pukalani then back down into Kahului. I got to Kanaha a little after noon. It was looking a bit light so I rigged the 5.5 Sailworks. That worked pretty good. The wind varied from slogging to blasting. At times I could easily have been on a 4.5, then at other times I was just barely planing. A couple of times I was in the surf break and the wind died, but fortunately I could pump onto a wave and surf to the inside. I finished sailing at about half past three. Back at the beach I had a beer, relaxed and planed out the wood paddle insert to match the rest of the shaft. At the same time I talked with Ben and Julia. Tom Vandall convinced me to go for dinner at Milagros in Paia. He had a Margarita waiting for me when I got there. I order a Mahi Mahi Enchilada dinner and Tom had the same. Tom generously bought the dinner in celebration of my birthday. After an excellent dinner we headed back to Puu Koa for a couple beers and rum on the veranda and then watched a windsurfing video.





Pancakes in Paradise


April 5, 2012
Lots of Vog (Volacanic haze) this morning and the sky was overcast. For breakfast I made some pancakes with bacon for a change. Covered with Maple Syrup of course. After breakfast I did some more work on the Paddle repair. Finaly sanding and shaping then staining the Oak insert to match the red cedar shaft. When I left Puu Koa it was about noon. I drove into Kahului to pick up some carbon fiber tape at Fiberglass Hawaii and then went shopping to get some beer and lunch and a few other groceries. When I got to Kanaha it was about one o'clock. With the overcast sky the wind felt cooler than normal. Guess I'm getting aclimated to Maui weather. I wasn't real enthused because it didn't look that windy, but people coming off the water said otherwise. I rigge the 5.0 Eclipse and headed out on my Quatro 95. I was totally powered up blasting out and up towards Uppers. Lots of turtles around, so I had to be careful not to hit any of them. Waves were smaller than yesterday, but seemed a bit more consistent. I caught a couple of nice head high waves. When I finished sailing it was a little after three o'clock. Had a beer and my lunch while I waited for the sail to dry off and chatted with Tom and the rest of the Kanaha crew. Back at Puu Koa I relaxed had a beer and finished of the spicy Tako Poke for dinner with some rice in tea. Watched Hawaii Five-O on TV then relaxed with a rum...



Overcast sky but still sailable


Still some Wave sailing happening



April 6, 2012
I had slept like a log last night and there were light Mauka showers falling outside. It was eight o'clock when I got out of bed. I made some coffee then a bacon and egg with pancakes breakfast. The pancakes were from yesterday and then reheated, but for some reason the egg on them made them even tastier than yesterday. Could be I was just hungry. The trade winds were picking up as the morning progressed. The forecast was for even stronger winds than yesterday and getting stronger into the weekend. After breakfast I did a little carving on a paddle handle I had started back at Christmas and also on the shaft for a new paddle. Then I packed up and headed into Kahului to pick up some carbon fiber tape for the repair of my other paddle. Then I picked up some lunch and beer for the day and headed to Kanaha. It was looking windy. I pulled out the 4.6 Sailworks, but before I could rig I saw my friends from Squamish, B.C. Vince and Diana with there son Tenzen. I chatted with them for awhile then went down to the beach and took some pictures of Dianne sailing. Just as she headed out, a nuking squall came through and she went blasting out. Other sailors were coming in, wide eyed, about the wind squall. I then decided to have lunch and wait it out for a bit. I finally rigged the 4.6 Sailworks Revolution. Getting off the beach was a bit of a challenge because the wind was light at the beach. Once I got out to the wind line, the 4.6 was perfect and a sailed out and up towards uppers. I had lots of power and the swell was intermittent, which made it is getting out through the break. On the way back in I got some real nice rides. My last ride was right into the inside. I sailed in a little after 4 o'clock. Had a beer and chatted with the Kanaha sailors, and let the gear dry off. At 5:20, Joe McBride phoned to say his plane had landed at Kahului. I packed up the gear and then went to pick him up at the airport which was just 5 minutes away. We headed to get some beer and breakfast supplies and then headed to Paia and had dinner at Cafe Mambo. A bacon cheesburger, fries and a sleeve of Big Swell IPA. Then it was back to Puu Koa to decompress from the days activities with a beer and a rum and windsurfing videos.



Diana telling Vince and Tenzen: it's windy! Go hide behind the tree!


Diana blasts out off the beach




Mike and Julia come in out of the wind squall wide eyed



Diana blasts back in out of the wind squall




April 7, 2012
Light mauka showers this morning and the sky had a high level overcast of cloud. The trades were blowing and indications were that it was going to be windy. Across the room, Joe was already sitting up awake on his bed. I crawled out of bed and went out and sat on the veranda to clear the cobwebs from my brain. Joe made some coffee and a little later I made some bacon and eggs with pan fried red potatoes breakfast. I did some catching up on this blog and then we loaded up the cooler and headed to Kahului. We did the windsurf shop tour, starting with Hitech then Second Wind, Naish, Kanaha Kai, Niel Pryde then Hawaiian Island. Joe rented some windsurf gear and bought a nice red 8'6" Hawaiian Island SUP. We had gotten some beer and lunch enroute so we headed to Kanaha Beach Park. The parking lot was full with local Easter festivities so we ended up parking a little further away than normal. At the beach it wasl looking a little lighter than predicted. Joe rigged a 4.5 and I rigged my 5.0 although on the way to the beach Fred said that was going to be too small. Diana had showed up also and rigged and headed out. When I launched it was definitely light. I slogged out to Weird wave and then back a couple of times. I came in then loosed the downhaul and moved the outhaul up to the power grommet. That worked a bit better and I was able to get on a plane on the way out. The wind was actually a bit lighter on the outside so I ended up slogging onto a wave at lowers and got planing back to the launch at Lowers. I waited for a good looking gust and got on a plane back out through the channel, jibed then slogged until I got onto a Lowers wave, got planing and then surfed a nice 4 to 5 foot face with a 3 bottom turns then planed back to the beach and repeated this process for the rest of the afternoon. It was all worthwhile and fun because the waves were real nice and didn't break right away which meant for lots of carving bottom turns and off the lips. Fun..Fun..Fun! On my last wave I got greedy and did about 6 bottom turns into the white wash and ended up taking a wash myself. I ended up sailing back in at the Life Guard tower just above kite beach. I decided to call it a day and headed back to the van, opened a beer and relaxed. Joe came in about one long beer later. I eventually derrigged and had another beer and relaxed with the Kanaha crew. Diana stayed out the longest and was still out when Vince and Tenzen arrived looking for her. A little more relaxing with the crew and then off to get some groceries. When we got back to Puu Koa it was about 6 o'clock. A quick shower and then off to the Quatro/Goya shop at the Pauwela cannery for the the AWT kick off event. This was great and the AWT crew had organized a BBQ with food from Cafe Mambos and also Maui Brewing Co, Mana Wheat beer. A raffle for a nice Goya sail courtesey of Francisco. Most the local pros were in attendance. Kevin and Matt Pritchard, Keith Taboul, Francisco Goya, Josh Stone just to name a few. Most of the Kanaha crew was also in attendance. Brian Talma got the raffle finalized near the end. Thanks to Samantha Bittner for getting things organized. A great event...



It was a bit lighter wind today



AWT BBQ party at Quatro/Goya shop



Our hostess, Sam Bittner (middle) and Brian Talma (right)



Thanks to the AWT for a great evening


April 8, 2012
Mauka showers when I woke up this morning, but still a lot of high cloud in the sky. Joe was up and had made some coffee. I eventually got up and made some bacon and eggs breakfast. I did some blogging while Joe organized the van. We took of the big SUP and put it in storage. When we got to Kanaha the parking lot was pretty much full but we lucked out and got a spot. The wind was looking a little stronger than yesterday so I rigged the 5.0 Eclipse and Joe rigged his 4.5 Ezzy. While rigging I helped a novice rig his gear. When I headed out it was a bit light on the inside, but a bit windier outside. The wind had a lot of north in it, so we were pointing pretty high on the way in. Because it was light on the inside I was having difficult getting up wind, so I decided to sail in the channel and the upper part of lowers. Later the wind changed so it was windy on the inside but light on the outside. The waves were a bit smaller than yesterday, but still really nice. I got tired early and came in a little before 4 o'clock. Joe came in a bit later then went back out for another ride. I derigged had a beer and relaxed with the Kanaha crew. After sailing we drove to pick up some groceries and more beer. On the drive back to Puu Koa it was raining and we saw a nice rainbow over Paia. Just as we parked, Tom showed up with a bottle of rum and a steak for the Barbeque. I barbequed up some Mahi Mahi which we had with rice and an Avocado salad and some Yellow Tail Merlot wine. After dinner it was the rum...



Windsurf action off Sprecks




April 9, 2012
More trade wind showers when I woke this morning still groggy from the grog last night. Joe was still feeling the effects of the rum last night. I made Pancakes with bacon and pineapple for breakfast. The decision was to take a break from windsurfing today. After stopping at Hawaiian Surf Shop we headed over to Launiupoko Beach Park. On the way over the wind was howling off the West Maui mountains and didn't seem to lessen until we got past Olowalu. At Launiupoko, We were slow to get going with the Stand Up Surfboards. Joe took a nap under a coconut tree and I had lunch and a beer. We finally took the boards off the van and headed out for a paddle. Offshore there were to U.S. Navy ships anchored. The internet said they were a Frigate and Destroyer from San Diego. I guessed they were also vistors to Maui on there way to Pearl Harbor. I surfed for an hour and then came in for a rest and a beer. Joe was concentrating on getting used to his new 8'6" Hawaiian Island SUP. Joe eventually came in and had his lunch and a beer. I went out again and Joe followed and I surfed for another hour then came in. I feeling tired from the weeks activities so I decided to rest and take some photos. Joe came in and then went out again. The swell over the day was about 1 to 2 feet and came in sets about every 3 to 6 minutes. Late in the afternoon the wind started to blow off the West Maui Mountains. There was a nice rainbow up in the valley. Joe was getting into the surf off the point which was breaking pretty fast. By the time we finished the sun was setting over the island of Lana'i. On the way back to Puu Koa we stopped at Pinata's in Kahului to grab some Burrito dinner and a cerveza. Back at Puu Koa I didn't last long before falling asleep watching TV. Good thing Joe was up to turn it off...




Navy visiting Launiupoko






Joe testing out his new SUP



Sunset over Lana'i from Launiupoko




April 10, 2012
Lots of rain this morning and a gusty trade wind. Made an Omelete with bacon for breakfast. Did some blogging for a bit and then headed into Kahului to the Hawaiian Island shop to get an opinion on whether or not to windsurf or paddle surf today. We decided to go windsurfing and Joe picked up a 5.0 sail and an 85 litre JP freestyle wave board. We then went to by some lunch sandwiches and beer. Then it was down to Kanaha Beach park which seemed abandoned when compared to Easter weekend. The wind was looking light and gusty. Matt Pritchard came in and said the wind was weird out there. It was very overcast and with some dark clouds out over the ocean. We decided to have lunch and rig a beer then make a decision. After lunch we decided to go sailing. I rigged my 5.5 Sailworks Retro and Joe rigged the 5.0 Ezzy. It was a challenge getting off the beach because the wind was light on the inside. I slogged out to the windline but got going pretty good about half way to the reef. I sailed comfortably out above weird wave towards Uppers. The wind was definitely gusty and shifting directions. I was powered sometimes and slogging at other times. I sailed all of the time outside the reef. When I came in a little after 3 o'clock, as soon as I got to the reef on the inside it was a slog to the lowers beach. Joe came in also, but did some sail adjustments and headed out again. I went back to the Van and decided to call it a day. Tom Vandall was there and headed out on a 6.7 Sailworks and a slalom board. Diana had also been out and came in a bit later. I derigged and had a beer and talked with some of the other Kanaha sailors. After a while Joe and Tom finished sailing. Tom suggested that he could be a nice cooked Chicken from Costco and come over to Puu Koa for dinner. We did some grocery shopping before driving back to Haiku. On the way it was pouring rain when we got home. Tom showed up and we made a dinner of the chicken with some rice, mashed potatoes and salad and some red wine. After dinner, Tom brought in a borrowed Ukulele and we got some lessons. Then some rum and lime and soon the "Pu'u Koa Ukulele Boys" were giving there rendition of "somewhere over the rainbow" and "Going up the country"



Dinner at Pu'u Koa


Somewhere Rainbow from Randy Kashino on Vimeo.

Tom and Joe on the Ukulele at Pu'u Koa




Going Up Country from Randy Kashino on Vimeo.

Tom, Joe and Randy with the Ukulele at Pu'u Koa




April 11, 2012
Very light mauka showers this morning and I could see the top of Haleakala. The sky was clear and it seemed a bit warmer. For breakfast and made a cheese omelete served with bacon. The wind seemed to be blowing so it was going to be a windsurfing day. At about 11:30 We headed to Ho'okipa Beach Park to meet up with Tom Vandall. He rigged a 4.7 Sailworks. I rigged my camera. Tom headed off the beach only to be becalmed half way out. Fortunately there were no giant waves and he was soon able to get out and started do some wave sailing. Josh Stone was also out there along with about 20 other sailors. We hung around watching and I took some pictures for about an hour and then Joe and I headed to Kanaha Beach Park. It was looking much nicer today but waves were small. Joe and I had a sandwich and a beer before rigging. I rigged the 5.0 Goya Eclipse and Joe rigged his 4.5 Ezzy. When I headed out I was lucky enough to get a good gust right away and reached up towards uppers above weird wave. On the outside the wind was blowing pretty good and I was powered as I head out into the ocean into the big wind swell. My reach in was a bit different. I didn't feel as powered and was pointing down towards lowers a lot of the time. When I got to the reef break area the wind picked up and I jibed and headed back out and upwind. I got a couple of nice waves at uppers then on one of the reaches in the wind died or the wind shifted offshore and I ended up down at the lowers reef. No waves today so I jibbed right on the reef and headed back up on a gust and did a couple of reaches towards uppers then sailed in for a break. Joe came in and he said he'd been swimming for twenty minutes after he lost his gear when he got eaten by a wave. He had finally retreived his gear down by weird wave. The current had swept it that far down from the uppers break. After another short sail we came in about 4:30 and derigged and headed back to Pu'u Koa. We turned on the TV and started watching the hockey game between L.A. Kings and the Vancouver Canucks. Tom showed up and I cooked some dinner. I redid the leftover chicken with some onions, garlic, ginger, jalapeno and soya served over some rice. Tom had brought a bottle of red wine which went well with dinner. Unfortunatley the Canucks lost the game, but there is a rematch on friday. No late night partying tonight and crashed early...



Tom on a nice wave at Ho'okipa



Josh Stone having fun



Tom catches another one




April 12, 2012
Calm again this morning, but the birds seemed noisier than usual. The ocean looked like it still had a bit of trade wind on it. Today is Joe's birthday. "Hau'oli la Hanau" to Joe. I made pineapple pancakes and bacon for breakfast. After checking the weather it looked like a non-windsurfing day. We drove into Kahului to drop the windsurf board and Joe picked up a paddle. We then headed over to Ukumehame where Johnny Sewell, R.O and Lenny were sitting looking out at the wind chop on the surf. We joined them. Joe got out his board and was determined to paddle surf and went out. After a beer, I went out. The wind was blowing from the west at more than 10 knots which produced a good chop and made it very difficult to stand and to pick out the waves. I gave up after about a half hour of trying to catch waves and headed in for lunch and another beer. We chatted with the crew and waited for the wind to die. Finally at about 6 o'clock the wind died enough and Joe, Lenny and I headed out for a paddle. The swell sets were pretty lean and the waves were only about one foot. Occassionally a reasonable set would come through. We surfed until sunset. It was getting pretty dark when we packed up. For dinner we stopped in Paia and had dinner at Cafe Mambo's. Joe had the the jumbo garlic prawns with a glass of Pinot Noir wine and I had the Mambo's Cheeseburger with a glass of Big Swell IPA. After dinner it was back to Pu'u Koa where I didn't last to long before going to bed.



Joe paddles for an Ukumehame wave...



And gets it!




Aloha Friday, April 13, 2012
Windless and warm this morning. No showers and I could see the top of Haleakala. it looked like it was going to be another Stand Up Paddle surfing day. I made a breakfast of bacon and eggs and rice with onions. I did some laundry because I was running out of clean t-shirts. Tom showed up a little later and was keen to join us for the days activities. We took off his slalom board off his car and strapped my 10'6" Hawaiian Island SUP. First off we headed to Wailuku to check out Mele Ukulele and spent some time there testing out the nice ukuleles. Then it was off to Launiupoko Beach park. Joe was keen and headed out strait away. Tom and I had lunch first. Surf was about 1 to 2 feet with the occassional 2 and a half foot. This was perfect learning conditions for Tom. We surfed until about 4 o'clock. After packing up we headed into Lahaina, parked then walked to Captain Jacks bar to watch the hockey game on TV with a couple of beers. Canucks lost again. After this we walked up Front Street and checked out an Art store and then walked to the "Thai Chef Restaurant". This is a byob restaurant so we stopped at the nearby ABC store to pick up some beer before going in. We order a good spread of plates and had it with the beer. After this we walked Front street for awhile and checked out more art stores and t-shirt shops. Even though it was late there were still lots of tourists walking around and the shops were open. Lahaina is a lot busier place than the north shore...



Testing Ukuleles at Mele Ukulele



Joe and Tom on Launiupoko waves



I went out on my Angulo 9'6"



Thai food dinning in Lahaina


April 14, 2012
A little more cloud in the sky this morning and I couldn't see the top of Haleakala. The trades seemed to be blowing, but not very hard. We went to the Maui Mall Plate Lunch and got I got the Chicken Karage Plate to go. Then we drove up to Wailuku to Pick up my new instrument at Ukulele at Mele. We then Went paddle surfing at Launiupoko. There were small inconsistent waves and I only managed to catch 1 good two footer. Joe was more persistent and stayed out until 4:30. On the way back from Launiupoko we Went shopping at WalMart. Back at Puu Koa, Tom picked us up at 6:30 and we went for a hike down into Kulike bay beach for a campfire party. Met his housemate Barry and Janaia. Barry built a beach fire in a previously built rock fire pit. The rocky beach is in a bay protected from the trade winds by high cliffs. The sky was clear and as it got darker the stars got more intense. Campfire songs, rum and beer were done until the trade wind rains started just past midnight.




Sunset at Kulike Bay



Barry built us a beach fire



Singing by the Beachfire


Spooky Kulike Bay from Randy Kashino on Vimeo.

Kulike Bay Beach Fire Song



April 15, 2012
Mauka showers this morning were evident when I woke up. It was 9 o'clock, later than usual. It was a trade wind overcast. I checked the weathers to see what the best activity would be. I made bacon and eggs breakfast with rice while pondering the question. After breakfast it was decided to check out the west side for stand up surfing. As we drove past Hookipa we could see a nice swell coming in, but the wind was light. In Kahului, we stopped to get some gasoline and Joe exchanged his paddle for a shorter one. We drove over to thousand peaks but it looked windy there, so we drove further up the coast past Lahaina to Kahana to check out Kaopala. It was mid tide and there was some of that Northwest swell sets coming in, but it was just barely peaking up on the reef. So, we decided to go up to Kapalua Bay to do some snorkeling. In the water we swam out to the norh side where there were lots of fish. There isn't any spearfishing here so the the fish were not skitterish like in other areas. Lots of butterfly fish and triggerfish. On the south side of the bay we had a swim with a nice looking turtle that we found resting next to a coral bombie. By the time we finished it was 4 o'clock. We had our packed lunch then drove back to Kaopala to see if we could surf. The swell was breaking a bit more, but the offshore wind had also picked up. We decided to head down to Launipoko. When we got there the parking lot was full and the swell was pretty small so we headed further south to Ukumehame Park. The swell was bigger, but the wind was howling offshore. It was getting late so we decided to head back to Haiku. We got some groceries at the Haiku mart then drove back to Puu Koa. Turned on the TV to watch the Canucks and Kings hockey game. Canucks lost again. Joe cooked up Maui rib steaks for dinner and we had that with a Yellow Tail merlot. After dinner I pulled out the Ukulele and did a little practicing and checked the internet for music. I crashed a little after 9 o'clock.



Cleaner Wrasse (left) with client Saddle Wrasse (right)



Butterfly Fishes of Kapalua Bay



Found a turtle resting under a rock



Then a swim with the turtle as it came to the surface for air




April 16, 2012
No mauka showers this morning, the sky was clear and I could see the top of Haleakala. Some of the Vog had been blown away and I could make out the island of Molokai off in the distance. The trade winds were also blowing pretty fresh this morning. It looked like it was going to be a windsurfing day. Made some bacon and eggs with panfried red potatoes for breakfast. The practiced on my Ukulele for a bit. We headed out about noon and stopped by Hawaiian Island Surf shop so that Joe could pick up a board. We then went to Neil Pryde and picked up a couple of new SUP leashes. Then it was off to Kanaha Beach Park. It was very windy out on the water. I decided to rig my 4.6 Sailworks with a lot of downhaul and outhaul, lowered the boom a couple of inches. Hopefully, enough to lower the sails power for high winds. Joe rigged my 4.2 Ezzy sail. Getting off the beach was a matter of waiting for a gust and then we were quickly planing off the beach and out towards Uppers reef. The swell was small except for the occassional 6 footer. It was very gusty, but I managed to hang on and sail for about an hour before coming. Tom Vandall had showed up. He wasn't going to sail because his stuff was packed up, but he volunteered to take pictures of Joe and I sailing with my camera. We sailed for another half hour or so and then called it quits. The wind was still howling when we left the beach. Back at Puu Koa, I made a Steak dinner with rice and aparagus from Haiku mart. TOm came over after dinner and we had a couple of rums and looked at some of the photos from today.



I went blasting off towards Uppers



Joe went blasting off towards Uppers



Joe powering into a jibe



I powered through a jibe



A Shaka as I sailed into the beach




April 17, 2012
A little cloudier this morning, but look much the same as yesterday. Windy! We could see lots of white caps out on the ocean from our view. Breakfast was our standard bacon and eggs with panfried red potatoes with Lion French roast coffee and also a glass of Passion Orange Nectar Juice. Joe spent the morning making a box for shipping his new SUP. I spent the morning doing a report for my office. work-work. We headed out about one o'clock and went directly to Kanaha Beach Park. As expected, it was nuking! I rigged my smallest sail which was the 4.2 Ezzy and Joe rigged a 4.0 Ezzy. I rigged my sail to maximum downhaul and a flat sail. At the beach the wind was gusting onshore with some big lulls followed by big gusts. We screamed out offshore and out towards uppers. There was no big swell, but lots of big wind chop and short period wind waves. This made it very challenging sailing. Basically this was Gorge conditions but in the big ocean. Jibing had to be aggressive. On the way in I tried some backsides on what may have been swell waves. It was hard to tell with the wind waves messing it up. I only lasted for about 6 reaches before calling it a day. I opened a beer, relaxed and had an afternoon lunch. Joe came in a bit later and we packed up and did some shopping at the hardware store and then went to Paia to do some tourist shopping. Joe bought some nice stuff for his daughter and I bought a new Eddie t-shirt. We stopped in at Mana Foods and picked out a couple nice chunks of Ahi Tuna. Back at Puu Koa I marinated the Ahi tuna in a soy,ginger,sugar and rice vinegar. Added a little bit of Wasabi powder and then pan fried the tuna for six minutes in olive oil. Served it with rice and asparagus and a bottle of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc. Right after dinner Tom showed up with Barry for some help. He was stuck on Maui because the airlines had screwed up his booking and he, apparently, no longer existed in their database of bookings. We did a Skype call to Air Canada but they couldn't help because his booking was with Aeroplan and they were not open in our time zone of Hawaii until tomorrow. Tom will have to stay another night in Maui.



It was another nuking day


Aloha April 18, 2012
The trade winds were blowing strong again this morning as I looked down toward the ocean and saw it covered with white caps. This is Joes last day on Maui so he spent the time to pack up. Tom showed up just as I was making breakfast. I was making a breakfast of bacon with Banana Pancakes. After breakfast we packed up Joe's and Tom's stuff onto and into the van and then headed to Kanaha Beach Park. We dropped Tom off at the airport along the way so that he could make his flight arrangements. At Kanaha it was nuking wind again, probably as strong or stronger than yesterday. Here on Maui I don't really have any of my super high wind Gorge equipment, so was hesitating about going sailing. A beer was going to help make the decision. When Tom walked back from the airport we decided to go snorkelling over at Makena Landing. First stop was at Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport so that Joe could drop off is windsurfing gear rental. At Makena Landing, there was no wind and the water looked clear and We could see a turtle feeding on the rocks just off the beach. In the water, it was super clear and warm. I went to take some pictures of the turtle just at the rocks and then we swam out towards the point. The vlsibility was great. Probably 40 to 60 feet, which made it easier to make some deeper dives to the the bottom. The shoreline is a rock steep drop off to about 20 feet where there was a ledge of volcanic rock covered with coral. With the excellent visibility this made for spectacular scenery. Turtles were everywhere. Out at our furthest reach of the swim there was a group of 3 or 4 turtles all together feeding in the wave break on the shore rocks. When we had finished we relaxed and had lunch. It was about 4 o'clock when we headed toward Kahului and went to the Ale House Pub so that we could watch the Hockey game. We were very happy with the outcome as the Canucks won. I then drove Joe and Tom to the airport and dropped them off. Aloha to Joe and Tom.



Super Clear water made snorkelling spectacular at Makena Landing



And there was no shortage of turtles


April 19, 2012
Clouds in the sky this morning and the trade winds seem to have backed off. It was more serene than the previous days. I made a breakfast of bacon and eggs with potatoes and toast and coffee. I tried to get caught up on the blog entries, but I had fallen behind with the photo editing. I concentrated on getting a vimeo video done from the night of Kulike beach party. Then I packed up and headed up to Pauwela Cannery to the Quattro/Goya shop. Franscisco loaned me a new 4.2 Eclipse to try out with a 360 mast. Next I drove into Kahului and I dropped off Tom's borrowed fins at Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport and then headed to Kanaha Beach Park. Winds looked light and then it was blasting. Everybody that was out on a 5.0 came in. Then the wind dropped off again as a cloud covered the sun. Then it started cranking up again as the sun came back out. I decided to rig the 4.2 Eclipse just to give it a try out. When I went out the wind was light on the beach, but I waited for a good gust and I was planing very quickly out. Waves were really small and even weird wave was almost non-existent. Good thing because that is where I ended up sailing over. On the outside the wind started to die off a bit so I jibed and headed in. Only problem was that I was slightly under powered. Still planing I ended up on the Lowers launch beach. I waited to see a good gust of wind and beach started and reached back out and up wind. The wind stayed up and got stronger and soon I was sailing back up at uppers reef. The wind stayed up and the Goya 4.2 Eclipse was perfect. Thanks Francisco. I sailed for another hour and then came in for a break. Had a beer and sandwich and then decided it was time to rig the Hero Cam for some sailing photos. I rigged it up on the mast top and then went sailing. The wind was still up and strong went I went out and I made about 4 reaches before coming in. I put the Hero Cam away and then went out for another session. I sailed until past 4 o'clock, it was so nice having a good wind with the right sail. I came in had a beer to let the gear dry out a bit. I derigged and then did some grocery shopping. Back at Puu Koa I panfried a swordfish steak with ginger and soya and had that with rice and brocoli and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. After dinner I pulled out the Ukulele to practice then had a rum before going to bed...



Sailing off Kanaha with a new Goya 4.2 Eclipse




April 20, 2012
Mauka showers this morning with clouds overhead and clearer off to the northwest. There was also the hint of a rainbow. The trade winds were very light this morning. There was no vog and I could see all the way to Molokai out to the west behind Kahakuloa point. The sky cleared right after I had my breakfast. It looked like it was going to be another nice day for windsurfing. I updated my blog then headed out the door. First thing was to go up to Pauwela and pay for the 4.2 Eclipse and thank Francisco for letting me try it out. Then it was into Kahului to pick uo some lunch for the beach. Then it was to the beach. Things were looking not to bad at Kanaha. No where near has windy as the last few days. Much more mellow. I decided to rig the 5.0 Goya Eclipse. It was light at the beach but as I got out further I was soon planing and headed out past the reef. I made a couple of reaches and then the wind started dying. I came in down at the lowers beach launch and made some sail adjustments and then headed it out. The wind was still light but I managed to catch a small wave on the way in and sailed to the beach and decided to call it a day. I hung out at Kanaha for the rest of the afternoon. I headed up towards Paia and decided to check out Secrets. The wind had come up again but the swell waves were almost non=existent. I decided to head into Paia and to Cafe Mambo for Happy Hour Beer and Burger. Ben and Julia showed up and almost ironically we started talking about skiinng and snow. A contrast to sitting in a open cafe on Maui. After dinner I head back to Pu'u Koa and watched Hawaii Five-0 on TV. Then I pulled out the Ukulele and did a little practice. Then I sat out on the veranda with a little rum while I watched the constellation of Orion and the planet Venus set into the west...



Secrets Cove looking towards Paia



April 21, 2012
More Mauka showers this morning and a lot more clouds than yesterday. The trades were light but picked up later in the morning after I had made breakfast. I did a little work on repairing my hand made wooden paddle and then got ready for the beach. It was looking pretty light when I drove past Ho'okipa Beach Park but when I got to Kanaha it was looking a bit windier. There were absolutely no waves except wind waves. I rigged my biggest sail, the 5.5 Sailworks Retro and went out with my Quatro 95. I was pretty much planing right off the beach, but it started to get lighter on the outside. I ended up slogging half way in until I hit a burst of wind and was planing again. I ended up down at the lowers beach launch. I beach started and headed out again, but get much in the way of upwind progress so I ended up sailing most of the session at lowers. There was an occassional 2 foot swell to ride, but they were few and far between. Eventually, the wind went up a notch and I was able to sail back up to the uppers launch beach. I took a break and rigged the Hero cam on the mast then went for another session until the wind started getting light again. I came in and called it a day of sailing. It might be my last maui sail for this trip, because the wind wasn't looking any better for tomorrow. I derigged and decided to drive over to Ukumehame beach to see if anything was happining there. Winds were blowing hard offshore and there was no swell at all. It looked like a lake. I headed back to Kahului and stopped in at Pinata's and got the Tamale Plate for dinner with a Pacifico Cerveza. I then drove back towards Haiku and stopped at Ho'okipa where it was definitely the smallest waves I've ever seen. I drove back to Pu'u Koa, opened a beer and watched the sunset. Practiced on the Ukulele a bit later, then started to think about packing up stuff. Had a rum for more consideration...



Sailing Shaka



Sunset over the northwest coast of Maui




Aloha Sunday, April 22, 2012
No Mauka showers this morning, but off to the north there was quite a bit of trade wind clouds. A little later a very light sprinkle of rain and then a rainbow off to the west. This is my last day on Maui for this trip. I made myself a traditional breakfast of bacon and eggs with pan fried rice mixed with onions and Alaea sea salt. Had that with Passion Nectar Orange Juice and a cup of Hawaii Lion brand coffee. After breakfast I did some pre-packing. I left Pu'u Koa about 10:30 and drove straight to Kanaha. The wind looked light but still a bit stronger than yesterday and there was the occassional gust that looked promising. Being optimistic I rigged the 5.0 Goya Eclipse on my Quatro 95. when I was ready to sail a rain squall was pushing through. It had a lot of wind in it, so I launched and was planing immediately. I got a few good runs in and then the wind dropped a notch so I was slogging most of the time. I came in for a beer break and then headed back out. The wind was still sub-planing speed for me so I decided to slog down to lowers to see if I could catch a wave. The first wave was pretty small and I tacked and headed back out. The next wave, which was my last of this trip, was a nice 2 to 3 footer and I got a pretty good ride. Planing on the way in a big turtle popped its head up, almost as if to say aloha to me. Honu Aloha. I sailed in to the beach at lowers and carried my gear back up to where I was parked. Let the gear dry out in the sun while I had a beer and chatted with the rest of the Kanaha crowd. I derigged and headed back to Pu'u Koa. Packing up took about 3 hours and then I had a final beer and then it was off to the airport. Another great Maui trip had come to a finish...



Traditional Maui Breakfast



Then a morning Coffee on the Veranda



Another morning Mauka Shower Anuenue (rainbow)



One final wave to catch at Kanaha Lowers





One last Maui Sunset for this trip

Aloha,
Ku Holoholo Pa'a!
Ku Hoe Pa'a!
Randy




Aloha 'Oe

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**Translations
Ku Holoholo Pa'a: Keep Sailing Hard
Ku Hoe Pa'a: Stand, Paddle Hard
Hau'oli la hanau: Happy birthday