All Contents of this Page Copyright(2015) of Randolph Kashino

Maui 2015
"Return to Maui"





Joe, Cathy and Randy, Da Maui 2015 Crew


March 26 to 27, 2015
Joe, Cathy and I landed on Maui on Thursday night. Peter had left my car in the airport parking lot. Mahalo to Peter. After stowing the luggage in the car, we first drove into Kahului to get some groceries, beer and wine. The drive to Puukoa in Haiku was easy. At Pu'u Koa we moved into our digs at 1A. It's a small comfortable groundfloor 1 bedroom suite. To aclimatize, we opened a beer and had some Ahi Poke and stayed awake until near midnight. Next morning there were some light trade winds blowing, but not much rain. For breakfast we had some traditional rosemary'd bacon and eggs with pan fried red potatoe and half a basilled tomato. The rosemary came from the plant on the property. The rest of the morning was spent digging out and rigging our boards and gear. We headed down the road at the crack of 1 PM. Stopped to get some gas and a short visit at Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport Shop in Kahului, then headed to the south side and to Ukukmehame Beach Park. None of Da Crew were there, which was unusual since the surf looked about 1 t 3 feet with a 13-15 second period. Joe and I headed out and my first wave was a good one. A little bit of onshore wind made it a bit challenging, since we were both on our smallest boards. I was on my 9 foot custom KT Quatro and Joe on his new 8'7" Jimmy Lewis Stun Gun. Cathy was our official photographer of the day. We had couple of pretty good sessions and once in awhile a good 4 foot set would happen. We surfed until about 5 o'clock and left the beach as the sun was setting. We picked up some groceries on the way home. Back at Pu'u Koa, I cooked up a Mahi Mahi with Rice and Asparagus for dinner served with wine. After dinner, played the Ukulele for a bit and found that Tony Litke from back home was staying at Pu'u Koa as well. More wine until we couldn't stay awake any longer. Pretty nice first day on Maui...



Joe catching an Ukumehame wave





Randy catching an Ukumehame wave



Cathy, our official photographer, Joe out at Ukumehame



A local bee at work on the desert beach plants



Ukumehame Sunset Waves




March 28, 2015
Trade wind showers this morning when I woke up, but the rain subsided and the sky became a mix of low cumulus. Wind was very light and the sunlight was poking through occassionally. I checked the weather for wind and wave to get a handle on the forecast for the next few days. I started working on this webpage and then made some coffee. On the road we decided to head to Ukumehame. When we got there it was kind of windy. R.O. was already there and we talked with him for awhile, before deciding to head up to Launiupoko. It was still a bit windy,so we broke out the beach chairs and had some lunch and a beer. The wind seemed not so bad so Joe headed out on his JL Stun Gun and it looked like he was doing OK on the middle reef just off the breakwall. Cathy was eager to get on the water so we walked our boards down the the south end of Launiupoko which had a nice sandy beach. We launched there and Cathy paddled around the beach area. I headed way out to the outside reef which seemed to have the occassional break. The water was pretty clear and this reef actually seemed pretty nice. I think a future snorkel out here might be good. I finally had a good swell come in and managed a very short ride before the surf fell off as it reached the inside deeper water. I moved in closer and got a couple of rides over to where Cathy was paddling. Joe was having some good rides at middles. The wind wasn't bad, but the wind chop made things a bit challenging for Stand Up. I ended my session by paddling over to the right break and catching a nice wave that rode me right into the beach. I relaxed had a beer and an extra wrap. On our way back to Pu'u Koa we picked up some groceries. For dinner Joe barbequed us a steak and we had that with some rice and aparugus served with red wine...



Surfing at Launiupoko



March 29, 2015
Trade winds this morning, so it looking like a Windsurfing day. We pulled the windsurf boards out of the garage and arranged them in the car. For breakfast Cathy and I built an Omelete with red peppers and green onion. When we got to Kanaha Beach Park it was looking pretty windy so I rigged my 5.0 Goya Eclipse for my Quatro 95 and Joe rigged his 4.5 Ezzy for his JP board. As we finished rigging the wind died down, but Joe was intent, and headed out and slogged around for a bit until the wind gusted up to a sailable strength. That was when I headed out. I had some harness problems and had to come back in and fix it. When I finally got going the wind was pretty good and I headed out through the channel between Lowers and Weird wave. The first reach reminded me why I came to Maui in the first place. Warm, blue water and riding across the water with the help of the trade winds. I did a couple of nice reaches from outside and back to the launch beach and got the feel of jibing and managed to make one tack. Cathy was having fun taking pictures and video of Joe and I. I came in after an hour and had some lunch. For our second session we sailed down to Kanaha Lowers and had some fun jumping and riding waves. Back at the beach we had met one of our Nitinat comrades, Alain Charet and he was sailing his 7.0 slalom gear. Joe mentioned that was very comfortable sailing today and had some good jumps near the end of the session. After sailing we relaxed and socialized with the Kanaha regulars and off to the east the trade wind rain produced a nice little colourfull anuenue (rainbow) after sailing. For dinner we made Gemeli Pasta with a pseudo-carbonara sauce.



At Kanaha, we met one of our Nitinat comrades, Alain



I was pretty comfortable sailing my 5.0



Joe was sailing his 4.5






March 30, 2015
Mauka showers this morning which meant it was going to be another Windsurfing day. The forecast this morning looked pretty good. I made us the bacon and eggs with pan fried red potatoe breakfast. At Kanaha it was looking much windier than yesterday, but I decided to rig the 5.0 Eclipse on my Quatro 95. Joe paralleled my rig with his 4.5 Ezzy with his JP. We headed out and and was pretty much powered up all the way out. We made a long reach to the outside beyond uppers and jibed where there were some Paddlers doing a downwinder, most likely from Maliko Gulch. We decided to head down to the Lowers break at Kanaha. Waves were small for Kanaha, only about 2 to 4 feet and mostly wind swell. There was the occassional larger northwest swell that was coming in which made for the best waves. It was Alain's last day on Maui so we headed to Cafe Mambo in Paia for dinner. I had the Mahi Fish and chips with a Big Swell IPA while, Alain had the Ahi burger, Cathy the duck and Joe his regular Shrimp served in a garlic and herb sauce with some red wine. Back at Pu'u Koa Alain visited for a bit. While I discovered that I was dead tired from the last couple of days of Windsurfing.



Joe and Randy, powered up on a reach outside of Uppers



March 31, 2015
I woke a before 5 o'clock this morning. Outside the sky was clear and the stars were brilliant. This gave way to a equally brilliant blue sky as the sun came up. No rain this morning, but I remember hearing some during the night. Today was moving day. We packed up things and headed up to the Pauwela Cannery for breakfast. Then it was over to Kihei. We checked into to the Hale Kai O'Kihei at about 1 o'clock and rigged a beer and a lawn chair. Hale Kai O'Kihei is my old digs from the early 1990's. It is right on the beach at the end of Lipoa Street. Just before sunset we went for a paddle. It was a bit windy and waves were 1 foot, but Cathy was getting stoked on some of the waves. I caught a couple of small ones before heading in. We watched the sunset and then walked up to the Times market and got some fresh Ahi Tuna Steaks for dinner. We barbequed them and served it with rice and salad. After dinner I was pretty tired and didn't last very long.



Visting Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport/b>



Sunset off our new digs at Hale Kai O'Kihei/b>


April 1, 2015
Woke up fairly late this morning, tired from yesterdays moving. Looking out off Hale Kai, the sea was calm with the occassional swell breaking on the shallows offshore. For breakfast I made our usual bacon and eggs with pan fried red potatoes, but we had them outside amongst the coconut trees just as a onshore breeze started. This hinted at some potential sailing on the north shore. We packed up and headed over to Kanaha. The wind looked pretty solid when we got there, so we rigged the same as yesterday. Waves were a lot smaller and the wind was a bit more offshore so we headed straight out and up towards uppers. Sailing at the Kanaha Aquarium today. A school of Eagle Rays off uppers and a Monk Seal at Lowers made things interesting even though there was hardly any swell for riding. For dinner we had Rosemary Pork Chops with Rice and Brocolli served with Blackstone Merlot. The almost full moon was overhead when we finished dinner...



Joe and Randy sailing in solid wind at Kanaha


April 2, 2015
It was calm, with a very low swell coming in offshore when I woke up this morning. No sign of trade winds. Joe and Cathy were still asleep when I went for a paddle out off Hale Kai. I passed a school of goatfish who were riding the small surf as a pushed out over the wave. I followed a spur of rocks out offshore and found a good grouping of coral heads. A swell came in that was good enough to surf and I got a short ride then continued my paddle in and caught couple more small ones then made my way back to the beach to finish my early morning stand up paddle session. Joe and Cathy were up and coffee was made. Before breakfast, we went for a walking session to Azeka's Place shopping area. Not intending to really buy anything, I ended up buying a nice T-shirt for $5.00 at the Ace Hardware. It had the design from last years Merry Monarch Hula Fesitval. Our search was for a camera tripod for Cathy. This took us to the Radio Shack, then Longs Drugs then to the Camera Haus. No luck with anything reasonable. After we returned to Hale Kai, I made the regular bacon, eggs and pan fried red potatoe for breakfast/lunch. There was a hint of trade winds on the water, and the Kahului Harbor weather station was showing 14 to 19 knots, so we packed up and headed over to Kanaha. On the way we stopped get some coffee at Starbucks and Joe and I ended up buying a rash guard at the ABC store. Then in Kahulue we stopped to do some shopping at Target and found a Tripod that looked good. At the beach it was looking not so windy. Lots of big sails and slogging seemed to be happening. Joe had a mission to find a Jackson Chameleon up country, so we drove up to Kula. We had lunch at a nice Park just off the road before finding Kula Park and doing the chamleon hunt. We picked up some groceries in Pukalani and back at Hale Kai, Joe made us a nice Pasta dinner, served with a Yellowtail Merlot.



The Jacaranda trees were in bloom at Kula Park



And also the Bottlebrush trees




April 3, 2015
Another calm morning when I woke up. I got the Stand Up Board out and went for a paddle out offshore. The water became clear and the extent of the coral reef out off Hale Kai was impressive. Through the clear water I could easily make out the reef fish. A group of yellow and white Pyramid Butterflyfish. Hawaiin Triggerfish (Humuhum nuku nuku apu a'a), and a Trumpetfish were amonst the myriad I saw. Joe and Cathy came out for a bit, and then a turtle surface and then about another 3 small turtles. One had what looked like a small bite out of its shell. We followed there swimming, paddling just above them. Some were just resting on the coral, probably waiting for a Cleaner wrass to do its job. After a nice hour of paddling we came in. I cooked up some bacon and pan fried red potatoes while Cathy built a nice red pepper, tomatoe, green onion and cilantro Omelete. During breakfast we were entertained with the Gecko on the palm tree fighting for territory against the Anole lizards. We then headed over to Kanaha where the wind was light but sailable. I rigged my Sailworks 5.5 Retro sail and Joe his 5.0 Ezzy. It was very nice sailing with cruises up towards uppers. Waves were pretty small so sailing out around Weird Wave wasn't much of an issue. We ended up doing some long reaches out towards the outer Spartan Reef. Joe had a problem when he did a jibe and lost his rig which in the wind sailed away from. He had to do a bit of a swim to retreive it. Back at the beach, Ben and Julia were there so we spent some time catching up. We got back to Hale Kai O'Kihei just in time to watch the sunset. For dinner I barbequed some fresh Mahi Mahi and we served it with rice, salad and a New Zealand Savignon Blanc and Chocolate ice cream for dessert. After dinner we watched Kai Lenny's SUP movie








Joe on his 5.0 and Randy on his 5.5 Windsurfing at Kanaha




April 4, 2015
I woke up early this morning to another view of calm seas. It looked like the swell was a bit bigger than yesterday so I got the Stand Up Board out and went for a paddle out offshore. I caught a couple of nice 2 footers. Cathy and Joe soon joined me and we surfed most of the morning. When we came in I made a breakfast of bacon and eggs with the purple coloured Okinawa sweet potatoe. Again this ended up really being about lunch time. We checked the windcam for Kanaha and saw a humback whale splashing its tail way down by the Kahului Harbour. We packed up our stuff and headed over to Kanaha. The wind was a solid 20 to 25 knots, so I rigged my 5.0 and Joe his 4.5. There was no real northwest swell, but there was some almost rideable wind swell waves at uppers and we played on that for most of the afternoon. I got put through the washing machine a couple of times after crashing in the surf. The waves didn't have much power so I was up and sailing pretty fast. We came in after an hour or so of sailing and socialized with the Kanaha regulars. We got back to Kihei just after the sun had set, but a beautiful pink sky afforded another spectacular view.



Bacon and eggs with the purple coloured Okinawa sweet potatoe








A morning StandUp Paddle session at Hale Kai





April 5, 2015
I woke up early this morning to a view of the full moon setting behind the coconut trees. My main activity was having a cup of tea, and catching up on writing this blog along with some emails. Meanwhile Cathy went out for a morning paddle. I eventually made a Hawaiian breakfast. Bacon and eggs with Rice fried with green onion in a bit of bacon fat and a sprinkle of pepper, salt and soya. This again ended up being brunch. We were thinking about heading over to Kanaha, when the Ma'alea wind pushed into Hale Kai O'Kihei. So, we got the gear out and I rigged a 5.0 and Joe his 4.5 and we went for a sail directly off our beach. Solid wind and it got windier the longe we sailed. By the time we finished we were way over powered. We then relaxed and had a beer. A Coconut palm had fallen from the tree and Cathy then showed us how to weave. Each of us made a nice coconut leave mat. We derigged as the sunset and then started the makings for dinner. I made a marinade for some ribs. Cooked some rice later. Cathy made a nice Avocado and lettuce salad.



Solid Windsurfing off Hale Kai




April 6, 2015
This morning the wind was still blowing out of Ma'alaea Bay. So going for a paddle was going to be a challenge. This was looking like it might be a relax day. I did a bit of work and called a client in Oahu. After this I edited some photos for this blog. Breakfast was a light Yogurt and granola. Joe and Cathy went for a walk down the beach and did some tidepooling and collected some shells, one of which turned out to have been a home for a hermit crab. The wind was teasing us as the day progressed into the afternoon and at about 4 o'clock it looked the wind a built enough to go sailing. I rigged the 5.0 and Joe his 4.5 and we went for a sail off Hale Kai. It was a faily light wind, but got a bit windier offshore. Enough to have some fun. We sailed for an hour or so, then came in for an apres windsurf beer. I made some dinner as we watched on TV, the Vancouver Canucks and L.A. Kings face off against each other for the final time in this regular hockey season. The Canucks prevailed in an overtime shootout. After this it was a bit of Ukulele playing and practice.



Another late afternoon sail off Hale Kai O'Kihei


April 7, 2015
I was up early this morning. Made a pot of coffee and then did a bit of blog picture editing. At 9 o'clock I went out for a final morning stand up paddle off Hale Kai. Then it was time to pack up for a move back to Pu'u Koa. I did one trip to PuuKoa at about 10 o'clock and was back to Hale Kai about 11:30. We packed up the rest of the stuff and instead of the direct route we took the highway up to Wailuku and had a Local lunch at Wei Wei Noodles and Barbeque, which seemed to have all the favourites. I had a Katsu Chicken plate, Joe had the Mixed plate of BBQ Pork, Chicken and Beef, Cathy had the Seawood and Pork Soup. After our lunch we drove over to Puu Koa and moved into our old abode. We had a short rest and then decided to do more chameleon hunting. We drove up to Makawao and randomly picked the road next to the church in Makawao and drove as far as the first nice looking gulch. Joe and Cathy safaried into the jungle while I hunted along the roadside. After and hour we had no luck so we headed over to the Community Centre across from the Foodland and checked the trees and bushes there. Joe finally found a bunch on the bushes along the highway. 2 young ones and a good sized adult. After success we went shopping at Foodland and then headed back to Puu Koa. We made a late dinner of Maui Ribs, Rice and Asparagus served with a Merlot. After dinner we watched a "Bogie and Becall" movie classic, "To Have and Have Not"...



A view from my Stand Up Board of Hale Kai O'Kihei



Joe and Cathy's jungle adventure





A Jackson Chameleon was finally found at Pukalani



April 8, 2015
It was a bit overcast when I woke up this morning with the occassion mist of trade wind rain. Joe and Cathy slept in quite late, while I made the Puu Koa standard breakfast. I spent the rest of the morning make a new batch of HP sauce. I haven't been able to find HP sauce anywhere on the island, so I've had to resort to using my own tried and true recipe. Meanwhile, Jackson the chameleon was moved out into the Garden to allow it to get acclimatized to Puu Koa. Joe eventually got it to feed on a spider. Cathy set up here camera and got some good video. I got to editing and then when Cathy couldn't send it by email because it was too big a file, I posted it on my Vimeo site. The afternoon was spent relaxing. Joe decided to do some repairs to our table. Cathy got more photos of Jackson. I bottled the HP sauce and then did some work on photos and videos. Cathy and I went up to the Haiku Mart and got some groceries. For dinner we put some chicken on the barbeque. I seasoned it with some rosemary from the plant in the yard. Served with green beans and rice and a Merlot wine.



Puu Koa Chameleon from Randy Kashino on Vimeo.

Chameleon Feeding Time at Puu Koa




Anole Lizard (Mo'o) on the tree outside our door



April 9, 2015
Sunny and calm wind when I woke up this morning. By the time I had finished making coffee, Joe and Cathy were awake. For breakfast I made an Green Pepper, onion, tomato and cheese omelete which we had with a bagel. Joe had moved the chameleon bush out of the bedroom and out to the car and sometime in the morning Jackson made an escape into the Puu Koa wilderness. We coped with this by heading over to Launiupoko Beach park. On the way we had made a stop at Hawaiian Island Surf shop to pick up my new reactor bar. Driving past Maalaea and Ukumehame the winds were blowing hard at 30 knots. At Launiupoko there was some wind chop which made things interesting, but there was the occassional 4 to 5 foot face to ride. I surfed the right break for the day, while Joe surfed the right and mostly the middle breakwall and Cathy over on the right beach. We stayed at Launiupoko until sunset. To tired to make dinner we decided to stop at Las Pinata's for a Kitchen Sink Burrito. After Pinata's we did a little grocery shopping and then headed back to Puu Koa. We watched the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival on TV until my eyes got to heavy to stay awake...



Joe surfing middles at Launiupoko



while some Humpback whales played offshore



We stayed at Launiopoko until the sun set.




April 10, 2015
Some trade wind rain was lightly falling this morning. I made a traditional bacon and eggs with red potatoe breakfast. My morning project was to make some sandwich mustard from Colemans Dry Mustard. In my search I found the a recipe that seemed simple enough. 1/4 cup of Colemans, 1/4 Cup of white vinegar, 1/3 cup of wine Vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar), 1 Tablespoon sugar( I used corn syrup and a bit of brown sugar), 1 teaspoon salt, 2 egg yolks (to thicken). That took me about an hour. We packed up and headed to Kahului to do some beach chair shopping before heading to Kanaha Beach. The wind was enough to get me to rig my 5.5 Sailworks and Joe rigged his 5.0. My sail was good enough to get me planing and my first reach was out through the channel between Lowers and Weird wave. Weird wave was, however, pretty none existent as there wasn't any real big swell coming in. It was nice cruising sailing. On the way in I seemed to have more power and the direction of the wind made it easy to point upward along the beach. I was using my new reactor bar, which really made my sailing feel much more comfortable. There was a trade wind cloud hanging over Kanaha and the lighting on the blue water, really made the reef stand out as we sailed over it. Back at Pu'u Koa I panfried some Panko battered Swordfish and served it with rice and a nice Avocado salad that Cathy had made. We watched some more of theMerrie Monarch Hula Festival on TV.




A traditional Pu'u Koa Breakfast





Another great Kanaha sailing session







April 11, 2015
I woke up quite late this morning. Outside it was very overcast and a trade wind mist was in the air. The sun was trying break through to the east. For breakfast we had scrambled eggs with bacon and pan fried red potato and had it in the Pu'u Koa garden gazebo. On the road there were a few sailors out at Hookipa on bigger sails. We stopped in Kahului to get gas and beer before heading to the south shore. Maalaea winds were blowing and off MacGregor point a catamaran snorkel cruise as blasting along and passed us as we were stuck in a traffic slow down before the tunnel. We drove right up to Launiopoko. As we drove in the parking lot looked pretty full, but we lucked out with a nice parking spot in the shade. The afternoon was spent standup paddle surfing in about 2 foot waves with the occasional 3 footer. Offshore some humback whales were splashing their fins on the water. Cathy made some friends at the beach. I caught a nice backside ride and there was a big Monk Seal just off a about 50 feet away swimming towards the shore. We surfed until sunset. On the way back home we did some grocery shopping. For dinner we made a large pot of Fetuccini and a nice red sauce and served it with a Merlot wine. That was near 10 o'clock. I fell asleep as we watched the last of the Merrie Monarch Hula festival on TV...





Launiopoko Stand up sesson



Another Launiupoko Sunset




April 12, 2015
I woke up after 8 o'clock again this morning. The sky was clear without any sign of clouds and a light wind was blowing. Made a cup of tea, and then strummed on my ukulele for awhile. Made some traditional Pu'u Koa breakfast. It was Joe's birthday today. Hau'oli la hanau! Our first event was travelling up to Pukalani to find another chameleon to replace Jackson. Now that we knew where to find them, Joe and Cathy got a female, male and 2 juveniles which we brought back to Pu'u Koa. After this we decided to head over to Kihei and windsurf at Maipoina Park. We first stopped at Sugar Cove and then Sprecks beach to check things out. Just marginal wind so we head over to Kihei. I rigged my 5.0 and Joe his 4.5 and we went cruising back and forth across Ma'alaea Bay. This was from about 4 pm to 5:30. When we finished we had a beach conference and watched the sunset over MacGregor Point and Lanai. Heading back we stopped in Paia and had Joe's birthday dinner at Cafe Mambo's.



A visit to Sugar Cove



then Sprecks Beach







Followed by a sailing and sunset session at Kihei's Maipoina Park



then dinner at Cafe Mambo




April 13, 2015
Mostly overcast this morning with a little more trade wind. We had a granola and yogurt breakfast before deciding it was going to be a rest day from windsurfing. Instead we headed east on the Hana Highway. A winding road through a tropical forest. Most impressive were the occasional expansive stands of bamboo along the road. We stopped at one of the wayside parks and did a walk through the forest. We drove on through to the Keanae peninsula and spent a couple of hours exploring the tide pools. The shoreline at Keanae expounds the fact that Maui is a volcanic island and Keanae is one of the places that shows the meeting of lava and the ocean. Kulana Pele ku'ia ke Kai. After this we drove back a little bit and drove down into Honomanu bay. The windswell was making its way into the beach there and surfing looked like it would be pretty choppy. We got back to Pu'u Koa a little after 4 o'clock, and rested after the days drive. For dinner we had Maui ribs, with rice and salad and a glass of Merlot wine...





A walk through a Maui tropical forest





Keanae: Kulana Pele ku'ia ke Kai



Tide Pooling at Keanae



The old Church of Keanae



Taro Leaf at Keanae



Honomanu Bay


April 14, 2015
Very overcast this morning. Regular breakfast, then into Kahului to search for Chameleon food. I need to repair a tire because there was a big screw in one that we must have picked up in our journey yesterday. I took Joe and Cathy to the Cove Park in Kihei and left them there with their boards. I drove back to Kahului and dropped the car off for the tire repair. I walked over to the Maui Mall and then over to Second Wind surfing shop and then the Music shop. I drove back over to Kihei and found Joe and Cathy sitting on the beach because there was a strong Kihei wind blowing which had made paddle surfing impossible. Back at Puu Koa Joe made us a stirfry for dinner. We watched some TV before heading to sleep.



I left Joe and Cathy at the Cove Park in Kihei



Sunset at the Cove Park




April 15, 2015
Gusty trade winds blowing this morning and Mauka clouds in the sky. I made Eggs and Bacon with Tomatoe and Potatoe for breakfast. Joe and Cathy were finding bugs to feed to the chameleons. The male and female chameleons were getting amorous this morning. About noon we headed directly to Kanaha Beach. The wind was solid, side onshore. I rigged my 5.0 for high wind and put on a 24 cm Wave Fin. Joe rigged is 4.5. We both sailed right off the beach and way out and up towards uppers. We did a few reaches there before deciding to head down to lowers. We sailed there for the rest of the session. There was the occassional ridable wave and lots of ramps for jumping. We came in after a bit and had some lunch before heading back out for another session at lowers. Joe was getting into the groove with the waves. I was getting into the groove with jumping, although I had a couple of good crashes doing so. We sailed until about 4:30. Joe came in and noticed he had a hole in is boom level panel, not knowing how that had happened. We slowly packed up while Joe dried out his sail. We then headed to Kanaha Kai shop where Joe dropped his sail off to get repaired. We then head directly back to Pu'u Koa. For Pupu's we had some Ahi Shoyu Poke and then had some left over Spaghetti for dinner. Watched some of the video Cathy had taken of us sailing today and a little bit of TV...



Amorous Chameleons





Joe and Randy blasting off Kanaha Lowers




April 16, 2015
The Trade winds seemed to have backed off a bit this morning. It was fairly dry also, with only the smallest hint of Mauka rain. For breakfast I made some bacon and served it with a red pepper, onion and tomato omelette. Cathy made the bagels and coffee. On our way to Kanaha we stopped at Ho'okipa to watch the Pro's at work windsurfing on some nice 6 to 8 foot swell. At Kanaha it seemed to be windy so I rigged my 5.0 and Joe rigged a 4.2 Ezzy since his 4.5 was in for repairs. The wind was pretty strong when I sailed off the beach but seemed to back off more and more as the afternoon progressed. We both sailed Lowers, trying to catch a good wave. Joe had more luck than I did. The wind got pretty light for me sometimes and I had to tow the gear up the beach. I retuned my sail with a little less downhaul in order to get the most out of the lighter wind. We came for a lunch break about 3:30 and then headed back out for another hour or so of sailing. After sailing we did some grocery shopping and back at PuuKoa we had Panko battered and Panfried Mahi Mahi with rice and green beens served with a Merlot. After dinner we downloaded the days photos and video for review...



Da Pro's at work at Ho'okipa




April 17, 2015
A nearly cloudless and blue sky this morning with strong trade winds blowing over Haiku. Breakfast was hawaiian style fried rice with onion and red pepper, served with eggs and bacon and some Starbucks Coffee. We headed to Kanaha and it was looking pretty windy. Joe rigged his 4.2 Ezzy and I rigged my 4.2 Goya with a bit of hesitation because I hadn't rigged such a small sail in a long time. The wind wasn't reaching the beach when it came time for me to launch and I had to swim out to the wind line. Once waterstarted, I blasted out and abouve weird wave with no problem other than my harness lines weren't quite adjusted for the best balance. I did a couple or reaches out and then back to the beach so I could readjust the harness lines. We blasted back out and did a few reaches back an forth through the waves. I found it pretty choppy and my body was showing signs of wear and tear from the last couple of days of windsurfing. The seas themselve were quite gnarly which with the wind made for some challenging windsurfing. I was completely powered up and Joe must have been overpowered at times. We came in after awhile and decided to go over to the other side of the island to get some quiet water and do partake in a bit of late afternoon Ku hoe he'e nalu. When we got to Launiupoko it was about 4:30. We got the boards out and because it was high tide I could start in the breakwall pool and paddle straight out without dealing with the shoreline rocks. We all had a pretty good time surfing the right break. Cathy was having fun. Joe and I were catching the occassional good wave. When we got on a good one at the same time one of us went right and the other went left on a backside ride. We finished and watched a particularly beautiful sunset.







Strong winds at Kanaha





Late afternoon surf at Launiupoko Beach



April 18, 2015
The trades winds were still blowing strong this morning when I woke up. My body was also feeling particularly sore as a result of yesterdays activities. I made our traditional breakfast then made my version of Spam Misubi with the left over rice. The left over rice sprinkle with about a tablespoon of rice vinegar or normal vinegar with a little sugar disolved in it, then heat it up in the microwave for about one minute. The rice should be nice and sticky before you start. Take a can of Spam and slice into about 8 slices. Fry it in a hot pan until is just on the verge of brown. Then disperse a splash of Kikomans soyu sauce over the spam and brown it for about one minute. Let the spam cool. Then using the Spam can, put one of the piece of spam back in the can then make a layer of rice about 1/2 a finger knuckle thicknes. Evenly press down on the layer of rice. Put another piece of spam over the last layer of rice and repeat the process. You should be able to get at least 3 layers. Then take the spam can and turn it over and tap it on your cutting board until all the layers come out. Separate the layers of spam and rice. Now take a sheet of sushi nori, roast seaweed and cut into lengths that are the width of the length of spam. Wrap the seaweed around the spam. Wet the seaweed as you do this by sprinkling with drips of water from your fingers dipped in a bowl of water. Finally induvidually wrap your Spam Misubi, firmly, in some plastic wrap. If you want to spice things up use a smear of Wasabi or Hot mustard between the spam and rice. After the breakfasting we slowly got ready to head to the beach. We were still undecided, when we drove away from Puu Koa, but when we drove past Ho'okipa and then checked out the seas off Secrets, we could see the trade winds were blasting. Not having our Gorge windsurfing gear with us, we decided to head over to Lahaina way to get out the blasting wind. We ended up just north of Kahana at Ka Opala Bay. Had a beer and some Spam Misubi for lunch then unloaded the Stand Up Paddle Boards and went for a paddle around the bay. Lots of Turtles around the shoreline. After awhile Joe went tidepooling. I followed a turtle as it swam around the bay. Cathy was happy to stand on her board and explore the shoreline. After our explorations we packed up and then went to Lahaina where Cathy bought a nice tiger cowrie shell. We got back home around 8 o'clock and Joe barbequed a steak for us and we had it with a salad and rice served with a Malbec wine...



SPAM Misubi



Strong winds off Secrets



Ka Opala Bay



Cathy Paddling at Ka Opala



Joe and Cathy tidepooling



I paddled around Ka Opala following a turtle




April 19, 2015
Overcast and windy again this morning when I woke up. Made a breakfast of Scrambled eggs with potatoe and regular and turkey bacon and a sliced Pomelo as our fruit. Joe and Cathy were tending to the chameleons. I spent some time updating this blog and then we were off to find a beach. Super windy again, so we decided to head over to Makena Landing. When we got there it was weekend Sunday crowded, but managed to get a parking spot. First thing was to rig a beach chair and have a beer and some lunch. The water of Makena Landing was calm, but out toward Pu'u Ula, the red hill, we could see the white caps indicating the strong trade winds out on the ocean. We then got out the snorkel gear. Cathy got her paddle boad out. The water was a bit silty in the bay, but soon cleared up as we swam out towards the point. Lots of turtles were encountered feeding on the seaweed on the rocks. The coral got more prolific as well. Most notable of fish were the school of yellow striped goatfish, pairs of Moorish Idols, and a trumpetfish hiding under a cliff. In the shallows the red pencil urchin was prominent. Making a dive there was a distinct thermocline at about 10 feet and if I sat quiet for a bit I could here the singing of Humpback whales. This was a very relaxing swim and I came out of the water feeling even more so, than when I went in. After an apres snorkel swim, we sat and relaxed in the sun for a bit to dry off. As the sun got lower on the horizon we packed up and headed back to Haiku. The Mauka showers were heavier as we drove through Paia, and instead of heading to Pu'u Koa we made the turn off towards Haiku centre and went to the Tuk Tuk Thai restaurant. We all had a good serving of Pad Thai and Joe and I had a Sierra Nevada beer that we had brought with us. Back at Pu'u Koa we had to do a search for the male chameleon which had left the branches of the pot of the chameleon tree in Joe and Cathy's bedroom. Found him under the bamboo desk. We watched a new broadcast of "River Monsters" on TV. Featured was fishing for Sturgeon in the Fraser River, back home in B.C. I soon sucumbed to fatigue from the days activities ...



Scrambled eggs and bacon



Makena Landing



Swimming with Turtles







Exploring the coral



Relaxing at Makena Landing


AquaMakena from Randy Kashino on Vimeo.





April 20, 2015
Very overcast and raining this morning when I woke up. During the night I had been woken intermittently by the rain falling on the plants outside my window. Made a good bacon and eggs breakfast and then decided to go to Launiopoko. The swell was looking a bit bigger than we have seen. Disaster struck when I fell on my paddle out and landed and I got a nice deep laceration on my hand falling on the coral. Had to do some first aid to control the bleeding, then we drove to a medical clinic in Lahaina and after looking at the cut they said I should go to the Maui Memorial Hospital where there were actual doctors. This clinic seemed to be for minor stuff. We drove to Maui Memorial Hospital in Wailuku and checked into the ER room. The ER was pretty busy and it took quite awhile to get my cut attended to. They cleaned it up pretty good and irrigated it, then X-rayed the hand to make sure I didn't have and bits of coral left in the wound. Eventually, the doctor stitched it together. We were back home by 11 pm. Joe and Cathy made us a nice Pasta dinner from our left overs.



Assessing the surf before going out at Launiupoko





Disaster struck when I fell and lacerate the palm of my hand
Click on photo to see the ugly details. Warning!, not for the squeemish, lots of blood!






April 21, 2015
Joe made a breakfast of bacon and eggs with bagels. After breadfast we drove into Kahului to the Maui Mall. I went to do my annual registration for my car at the Maui County service office in the Mall. Joe and Cathy went to the pet store to by some meal worms to feed the chameleons. We then headed over to Launiopoko where there was some nice 3 to 4 foot swell coming in. Lots of really good local, SUP and Longboarders. Joe had a great time, while Cathy and I watched on, and taking lots of photos. After Launiopoko we decided to eat out and on the way home, went to Pinata's for dinner. I had the chicken Tamale Plate.



Joe catching some surf at Launiupoko



Sean Pennington working surf at Launiupoko




A Red Crested Cardinal eyeing my lunch, at Launiupoko






April 22, 2015
I woke late at about 9 am, after a good sleep. Breakfast was made by Joe and Cathy. I gave some directions on making breakfast fried rice. Bacon and eggs with onion, red and green pepper rice served with some Starbucks coffee. We left about noon and stopped for gas and a visit to Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport shop. Arriving at Launiupoko, the parking lot was full and there was a good sized surf coming in. Since I was still unable to get my wound wet and Cathy felt it was too big for her, we unloaded Joe's Joe's surfing stuff. We left Joe to have fun in the water, while Cathy and I headed into Lahaina to do a bit touristing. We checked some of the many Art Gallery shops which had some pretty cool paintings, sculptures, and photographs. Cathy bought a hat and I got a nice marbled cone shell as a souvenir. A walk under the giant banyan tree by the old court house was a must do for Lahaina. We finished our walk through Lahaina with a nice cold cone of ice cream then headed back to Launiupoko to see how Joe was doing. The surf was looking pretty rough and there were some pretty good local longboard surfers doing there stuff out there. Joe came in not soon after we had arrived and had a couple of beers before deciding to call it quits for the day. We headed back to Pu'u Koa. Cathy and I went up to Haiku and picked up some groceries and back home, I barbequed the steak while Cathy made a nice pepper, onion and brocolli stir fry which we served with some rice and merlot wine. We then relaxed and watched the all evening continous episodes of "River Monsters" on TV.



We left Joe to surf at Launiupoko



Cathy under the Lahaina Banyan tree



Lahaina Harbor waterfront



Surfing off the Lahaina Harbor waterfront



Meanwhile back at Launiupoko, the local longboarders were styling



Some were surfing the biggest board they could find




April 23, 2015
The sky was a hazy blue when I woke up this morning and windless. I sat out in front of our unit for quite a while and soaked up the morning sun. I noted that back home in B.C. it was still pretty cool and sitting in shorts and a T-shirt in the morning would be a chilly experience. In our kithchen a small gheko was patrolling the corner wall. I was appreciating being in Maui this morning. Cathy and I made a breakfast of bacon, eggs and red potatoes. After breakfast, I got this blog udated with photographs of the last few days activities. The winds still seemed a bit light when we left to go to a beach. Off Ho'okipa and helicopter was following a lone windsurfer on a photoshoot. We started going up toward Launiupoko, but turned around at Ukumehame because there was a strong onshore wind. We decided to head for Kihei. Along the way we stopped at the Kealia Pond Bird Sanctuary to do a bit of birdwatching. We saw the Ae'o or Blacknecked Stilt and the 'Auku'u or Black-Crowned Night Heron. Plover and Sandpipers were also among the mix. After this we drove down to the Cove Park in Kihei. There was some 1 to 3 foot swell coming in and Joe headed out his board out. Cathy also took her board out to surf the smaller inside waves. I was relegated to photographer. Later a group of Keiki with an instructor were taking an Outrigger Canoe lesson. They launched there canoes and headed out through the surf for a paddle. Meanwhile Joe tried the right break towards Kalama Park for awhile then went back to the Cove. Cathy was intent on catching some of the smaller inside waves. We stayed until sunset and then packed up and headed back to Pu'u Koa where Joe and Cathy made a spaghetti pasta for dinner.



Gheko on the wall in the morning



Ae'o



'Auku'u



Joe catching a wave at the Cove



Cathy working the shore break







Keiki Outrigger Canoe Class



Wa'a A Ku Hoe He'e Nalu



Sunset from the Cove Park




April 24, 2015
Woke up this morning to a blue sky and no sign of any trade wind or rain. Made our usual breakfast, but with poached eggs. We decided to do some more exploring of the area out to the east and drove about 10 miles and stopped at the Waikamo Forest. We did a hike up through the main forest into a bamboo forest. It was interesting and very beautiful to see a full fledged thick bamboo forest. This took us a couple of hours to hike. We then headed on the drive back and stopped at the Huelo lookout and had a late lunch. Back at Puu Koa it was decided it was time to set free the chameleons. Joe and Cathy gathered them up and we took a drive up to Pukalani where we found them. Joe and Cathy set them free on the hedge they were found. After this we did the last grocery shopping and went home and cooked up dinner. Later that evening we looked up and saw our last Maui moon directly overhead.



A walk on the Waikamo Forest trail









Then into a Bamboo Forest



We passed by a Bird of Paradise



The forest itself seemed at work and I felt a presence...perhaps Menehune?








Late lunch stop at Huelo Lookout







Then it was time to set the chameleons free at Pukalani







April 25, 2015
Aloha Saturday. This was our last day on Maui. I woke up a bit late and it was another sunny sky and no sign of trade winds. Not to far away we could here some activity coming from the annual Haiku Fair at the community center. A final breakfast of Poached eggs with regular and turkey bacon and the rest of red potatoes pan fried. We then packed up some of our clothes and I decomissioned my windsurf board and sails and packed it away in storage. We then headed to find a beach and ended up at Ukumehame. Joe and Cathy got there boards off the car and went for a final paddle surf. I was still out of commission and ended up having a beer and conversation with the local crew John and R.O. The sky was full of volcanic haze (VOG) from a light southerly wind drawing up Pele dust from the Big Island of Hawaii. We finished up about 4 o'clock and headed back to Puu Koa where we rushed to pack up things and clean up our unit that had been our home. We then drove to the Airport and checked in. On my journey home I reflected on the past month of being on Maui and thought about when I might return. Soon I hope.... Aloha Nui!









Joe and Cathy take a final surf at Ukumehame





Then it was Aloha to Maui to end another adventure




Aloha,
E kamau iho i ka hoe!
Ku Hoe Pa'a!
Randy






Aloha 'Oe

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**Translations
E kamau iho i ka hoe! : Keep on Paddling
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