All Contents of this Page Copyright(2013) of Randolph Kashino
Maui Christmas 2013
"Tropical Windsurf and Surf Escape"
December 15 to 24, 2013
I arrived on Maui on the evening of December 15th. Joe McBride arrived a bit later. The first day was spent fixing my car which had a problem with the gear shifter. We eventually got going and the first thing was to pick up my custom Quatro Stand Up board that Keith Taboul had shaped for me. The Quatro crew had also done an awesome job of doing my design paint job. On December 17 we went surfing at Ukumehame in some quite small waves and the next day was at Launiupoko beach park. Joe saw a small (<3 foot) reef shark as we paddled out. Even though waves were small it was a fun enough. The next day was even smaller and we searched for waves all the way up to Kapalua on the west side. We ended up in Lahaina and found a bar with the Canucks hockey game on tv. The next couple of days a nice southwest swell brought some good waves at Ukumehame. On The trade winds kicked in on Dec 23 and 24th and I was sailing at Kanaha with my 5.5 Sailworks and Quatro 95 board while Joe sailed witn a 5.0 Ezzy sail on a JP 85 litre board that he had bought at Hawaiian Island for $99. On my first sail out, the sailing was easy even though I hadn't been out sailing for a couple of months. Waves were pretty small with pickings being pretty scarce for any wave rides, but the wind was as steady as I had ever seen it at Kanaha. Almost a Nitinat like wind. And the water temperarture was 25 C, which made it even nicer. Joe left Maui to go back to be with Erin and Cathy for Christmas.
My new custom Quatro 9 foot Stand Up Paddle Board
Another view of my new board
Surfing my new board
Windsupping my new board
Testing a 5 fin setup on the my new board at Ukumehame
Sunset Paddle at Ukumehame
Sailing off Kanaha Beach
Debbie was in the Christmas Spirit sailing with her Santa hat
I had a Red Cardinal decorate the top of my pine tree
Mele Kalikimaka! December 25, 2013
Some Mauka showers this morning which meant more trade winds. After my usual bacon and eggs breakfast. I spent some time packing up Joe's boards. Then it was off to the beach. Trades looked a bit lighter today as I drove past Ho'okipa and waves looked a bit lower as well. At Kanaha, things looked a bit lighter than yesterday. I rigged the 5.5 Sailworks sail and went out on my Quatro 95. It was slogging time. The wind seemed to have a bit more north in it and I could only seem to get on a plane coming in nearshore. No chance out by wierd wave. After trying a few desparate tacks I gave up and came in for lunch and a beer. I decided to pull out my new Stand Up Board and put the Sailworks 5.5 on it. I sailed out and down towards Lowers where it looked like there were a few waves coming in. This would be my first test of the new board wave sailing. My first reach in was miss timed and I missed the wave set. On the second reach out I saw a bigger set coming in and then jibed and started in. Well, this was the wave of the day being overhead with about a 7 yo 8 foot face. I got a real nice left backside ride on the face which was breaking just behind me all the way in. Another couple of reaches out and I got another nice 4 footer and got a good bottom turn. The waves kind of died off after this so I tacked back up wind and came in, satisfied that I had gotten a nice christmas present of a wave.
Surf sailing with the SUP at Kanaha
December 26, 2013
More showers this morning which took awhile to abate. Waves were still up on the north shore. After breakfast and a few chores I headed to Kanaha. Things were looking the same as yesterday but maybe a bit stronger. However, just after I finished rigging the wind died down a notch. So, I decided to take the Quattro SUP out for a sail. I also rigged the GoPro camera on the deck. I headed down to lowers and caught a few waves.
After sailing I had my mandatory beer while the gear dried out before packing it up. Back at Pu'u Koa I made a dinner of Pork Chops with a Vegetable Stir Fry and served with rice.
December 27, 2013
Heavy Mauka showers this morning as a trough of low pressure moved over the islands. This really shut down the winds for the most part. At lunch time I headed to Kanaha to see what was happening. Pretty light wind. I had kind of decided that my body needed a bit of a break, so I decided not to sail today. Instead I did a bit of shopping up in Wailuku and then headed over toward thousand peaks to see what was happening. As I drove past Ma'alea bay the wind was nuking, probably up to 40 knots plus. At Ukumehame I stopped and had lunch, not contemplating surfing, because the wind was dead offshore coming over the west Maui mountains at 20 to 25 knots. Back at Puu Koa I made a dinner of stir fried chicken with snow peas and rice. I practiced on the Ukulele for awhile then watched some television, before crashing.
December 28, 2013
Ligher Mauka showers this morning which made a nice rainbow off to the west over Haiku. Made a bacon and eggs breakfast with Lions brand coffee. Winds were looking a bit light as I drove past Ho'okipa and for some reason traffic through Paia was backed up all the way to Kuau. I had decided to drive over to Ukumehame to see what was happening over there. When I got there the wind was an annoying 10 knot onshore breeze, and waves were 1 foot or less. Looking over toward Kihei and Wailea I could see a good torrent of rain falling. I had lunch before heading back over to the north shore. I checked out Kanaha and it had the same annoying wind. I decided to drive back over towards Secrets Cove and checked out Sugar Cove and then went to Sprecks Beach. I decided to get wet here and went out on the Quattro Stand Up board. Waves were a bit inconsistent here and the wind was a bit annoying but not too bad. The main channel out seemed closed out most of the time and I think it was because of the low tide. After an hour of paddling I headed back in. The parking lot at Sprecks was unusually deserted. Not sure why, but I think it had do with the fact the parking area has not been kept up and was full of sand. I then headed back to Puu Koa and watched the sunset while strumming on my Ukulele...
The flowers of the Flame Tree or African Tulip Tree
December 29, 2013
Heavy overcast of clouds this morning but not really any rain. The wave forecast was showing a big set of 14 footers due to arrive today. I made my normal breakfast of bacon and eggs and had it out on my veranda. I took some time to admire the flowers on the Flame Tree (or African Tulip Tree) that was growing next to the Cook Pine. My pocket guide to Hawaiian Plants says the Cook Pine is often missidentified as the Norfolk Pine, but it actually comes from the south pacific islands of New Caledonia. It is also called the "columnar araucauria". On the road, I stopped at the Ho'okipa lookout. Waves were huge and the surf zone was completely closed out and I didn't see aingle surfer out. Off in the distance I could see big rollers breaking on the outside Spartans reef. I drove down to Kanaha Beach Park where a few sailors were out on big stuff with all the others slogging around. This didn't inspire me, so I decided to head to Ukumehame. On the way Ma'alea was windy as usual, but once past the tunnel the wind seemed to abate. At Ukumehame, the regulars were there having a barbeque, although on a couple of people were out surfing. There was a bit of onshore wind making the waves a bit choppy. I decided to have a beer and wait and see, contemplating maybe going further up the coast. In the end the wind started to come down a bit and I went out on my Quatro Stand Up board. The first ride was on a choppy 2 to 3 foot face and after that the wind calmed and waves were a lot more glassy. Had a good 2 hour session before coming in for a break. I had a beer and some lunch and socialized with the crew. By the time that was done, the Ma'alea wind was pushing in towards us and it started getting choppy again. Eventually, I packed up and headed back to Puu Koa and made a dinner of pan fried Mahi Mahi with a chinese beans and bok choy stir fry served with rice.
Big surf had closed out Ho'okipa
December 30, 2013
Light Mauka showers this morning and an overcast sky with light winds. The sun came out after breakfast about 11 am. The forecast is showing light winds today and the surf on the north shore is still up. I first went to Kanaha to check out conditions there and it looked kind of messy. Large billows of waves were still breaking on the outer reef and it didn't look like there was much room to get out through the channel. I headed over to Ukumehame where conditions were smaller but an onshore wind was messing it up. I drove up toward Olawalu to check things out but there was not any waves, so I turned around and went back to Ukumehame. I had lunch and a beer and the wind was looking like it was coming down. I needed some practice on the board in choppier conditions anyway. Like yesterday, the first few rides were bumpy, but then the wind started backing off and I spent a good 2 hours surfing. Nice sets of 2 footers with the odd 3 foot wave. As the afternoon progressed the sea got calmer and calmer. Off in the distance towards Kaho'olawe island there were some Humback whales breaching. On the way back to Haiku, I decided to stop in Paia for dinner.
Aloha 2013, December 31, 2013
I woke up early this morning and there was no sign of rain and the sky was virtually clear. The morning was sunny with just a hint of trade wind breeze. I made my bacon and eggs breakfast and then started on putting together a contemplation of the last year. By lunch time I was ready to head to the beach. I headed up to the Quatro shop in Pauwela to wish Pascal and Francisco a Happy New Year. I then took the upcountry route round to Hawaiian Island and wished Dennis and the crew a Happy New Year. Next it was off to Ukumehame Beach where I met up with Ed and Ed from the crew and had lunch and a couple of beers with them. Same as yesterday there was an onshore convective wind which started dying about 3 o'clock. That's when I got the Quatro Stand Up Board out and headed out to catch a few waves. The wind was calming down right on schedule and there were a few nice 2 foot sets coming in. I surfed for about an hour then came in to relax for a bit. The parking lot was just about empty when another stand up paddler arrived. He headed out for a late afternoon paddle surf and I followed a bit later seeing that the waves were still good. I surfed for another hour or so before comeing a back in. The sun was getting lower on the horizon and it turned out to be an awesome last sunset of 2013. The sun was a red ball as it lowered itself below the horizon. Back at Pu'u Koa I cooked up some stir fry vegetables, rice and made an HP sauce to go with the steak I cooked up. Served with a Malbec wine this was a perfect New Years Eve dinner. I strummed the Ukulele for awhile then the fireworks happened over at the community center park...
... Happy New Year!....
¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
... Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!...
Last surf of 2013 at Ukumehame
Last Sunset of 2013
Midnight Fireworks over Haiku
January 1, 2014
I woke up late this morning and it was another sunny morning. Winds were light and no sign of rain. I made breakfast and did a bit of house cleaning before heading out. As I drove past Hookipa the sea was calm and there were lots of people out enjoying the surf. I headed to Kanaha Beach Park and to the Lowers parking lot. Ed and Ed were there having a small barbeque. I looked out offshore and there was a light wind and the swell looked nice. As I paddled out the water was a bit rough even with the light wind. When I got out to the lowers break there was the occassional 3 foot coming in and a Hobbie Sailboat trying to surf the waves as well, just to make things interesting. As I paddled in to get a wave there was a larger set coming in and I managed to get a nice 4 footer. After paddling back out to catch another set a nice 5 foot set came in, but it was a bit hard to catch. The waves were standing up but not realy breaking and I think it was because of a current moving out underneath. I eventually got a pretty nice 4 to 5 footer and got a pretty fast ride. After catching a couple more I came back in and joined the barbeque crowd for the rest of the afternoon. On the way back home, I stopped to check out surf conditions at Kuau Cove. Back at Pu'u Koa I enjoyed another great sunset. All in all a pretty relaxing New Years Day.
First surf of 2014 at Kanaha was a bit bumpy
Checked out the surf at Kuau
First Sunset of 2014 at Pu'u Koa
January 2, 2014
No rain and nice and sunny this morning and the wind was coming from the south. A Kona wind was blowing. It is essentially the inverse of trade winds as a low pressure had formed to the the Northwest of the Hawaiian Islands. I made a Hawaiian style bacon and eggs breakfast, which uses a fried rice instead of potato. Not sure what to do I decide maybe a trip over to the west side might be in order. Waves were really down as I drove past Hookipa and when I arrived at Kanaha the wind had picked up quit a lot from the south. It was dead offshore. Kind of like Ma'alea when it is blowing trade wind. I hadn't packed the windsurf board and it would have been a bit sketchy sailing in a offshore wind. I decided to stick to my original plan and headed to the south shore and up to Ukumehame. There, the wind was a 10 to 15 knot onshore wind and swell waves were invisible. I decided to have lunch. As I sat down I noticed that there were some humbacks just offshore a few hundred metres. I grabbed the camera and got some nice tail shots and a beauty of a breach shot. The tourists who were out trying to surf had there backs to the outside, were oblivious to this marvel. After lunch I decided to head up to Lahaina and did some book shopping and found a nice thick book of Hawaiian songs. I then drove up to Kahana to see if there was any possibility of surfing and that is when I regreted not having the high windsurf board. It was blowing 5.0 all the way up from Lahaina to Kanaapali to Kahana. However, the surf was non-existent to very small. I drove back to Launiupoko Beach park and almost went out sailing with the Standup board, but the wind was dead onshore which wasn't the best for making reaches through the coral bombies, and it was low tide. I had visions of breaking a fin off. I then decided to drive down and check out Oluwalu. The wind was really light there but the waves were choppy. Still, Oluwalu is one of the more beautiful spots on the island of Maui and conjures up the image of that classical island paradise with the blue lagoon. I next headed back to Ukumehame which was completely deserted except for a local who was looking to see if there was any fish worth getting just off the shore. Winds had dropped a bit but were still from the south at about 10 to 12 knots. With no surf, I couldn't get inspired to rig something. It was going to be a day off the water activity, so I headed back to Kahului to do some shopping at Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport shop. On the way home I picked up some groceries and then barbequed a steak and served it with Kim Chee, a vegetable stir fry. Had a Sierra Nevada beer and sorted through my photographs of the day.
A tangerine, then bacon and Eggs with rice, Hawaiian style breakfast
At Ukumehame the surfers were oblivious to the breaching Humback whales just offshore
Peaceful Oluwalu lagoon
January 3, 2014
I woke up early this morning to showers and a light Kona wind from the southwest. Made breakfast then updated the blog for yesterday. I headed into Kahului and down to Kanaha to check things out there was a 5 to 10 knot onshore wind and no real waves so I headed over to Thousand peaks. As I drove down out of the tunnel I could see that the water off Papalaua (Grandma's) was red/brown with runoff from the beach. It looks like there was a pretty good rain last night. When I drove into Ukumehame I could see the water was brown. The wind was the same as Kanaha with an onshore wind of about 5 to 10 knots. I wasn't real comfortable about going surfing in water this dirty because these are the conditions that are common for getting a shark bite. I don't mind sharks around, it is just in conditions of poor visibility they could easily mistake you for a tasty turtle or other fish. I decided to head down to Kihei and then to Makena landing where the wind is usually calm. When I got there around the corner there was a good Kona Southwesterly blowing, but at Makena landing the water was calm and pretty clear. There was actually a good 2 foot swell comming into the landing but with no reef to break on it ended up washing up on the rocky shoreline to the east. I went out for a short paddle just to give the body some exercise since I didn't go out yesterday. Then relaxed and had a beer and talked to some people from B.C. who were doing a camping vacation on Maui. I headed back to Pu'u Koa and made a dinner of beef and bean and rice taco's served with Siera Nevada Torpedo IPA. After dinner I turned on TV to watch a Jack Johnson concert on the PBS channel. After this I played my Ukulele before crashing for the night.
The water off Papalaua last week and then today after the big rain overnight
Paddling off Makena Landing
January 4, 2014
Light showers this morning and also a light wind. I made my usual breakfast and then checked the weather and wave forecasts. It looked like there might be just enough wind to go sailing. First thing I still had to do was sacrifice my old broken JP 96. "Out with the old", as they say, "in with the new" was already my new 9 foot Quatro Stand Up board. I then loaded up the cooler and headed to Kanaha, when I got there the wind was about 15 knots, not quite enough for my 5.5 with my Quatro 95. I decided to head over the Ukumehame and check to see if any surf was happening there. Johnny and R.O were there, but the surf was small and there was an onshore wind. The water was also still brown/red with the run off from Papalua beach. I talked with the guys for awhile and had lunch, before heading back to Kanaha. It was about 4 o'clock and the wind was about the same, so I decided to go out with the 5.5 sailworks on my new Quatro Stand Up board. Offshore the swell was definitely getting big because the channel at weird wave was closing out. I sailed for about an hour catching some of the inside waves. I tested out a couple of fin set ups as well. When I finished the parking lot was pretty much deserted of windsurfings, with just some locals having a barbeque. Back at Pu'u Koa I made my grandmothers recipe of teriyaki chicken and served it with rice and Kim Chee. After dinner I downloaded the photos from my GoPro. On TV I watched another excellent concert featuring Mexican Guitarists, Rodrigo y Gabriela . This night the temperature felt a bit colder and later confirmed it had actually dropped to 65 degees F! That's 18 degrees C which is like our summer weather temperature back on Vancouver Island...
Out with the Old
Windsupping off Kanaha with the Iao valley in the background
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