All Contents of this Page Copyright(2019) of Randolph Kashino

Maui 2019
"Maui 30"





Back home in Victoria, B.C., Canada we had more snow than I have seen in many years.


This an historic trip for me for two reasons, which in retrospect, seem quit coincidental. First it was 30 years ago that I came to Maui and started Windsurfing (1989-2019), and second it is my 65th birthday this month.
April 15, 2019
I had been delayed in getting to Maui this year because of work in other countries. But you shouldn't feel too sorry for me, because the work was in the Carribean. It was very early (3 am) when Cathy picked me to take me to the Airport. My flight was scheduled to be a round about flight Victoria-Vancouver-Calgary then arriving late afternoon in Kahului, Maui. When I got to Vancouver the flight to Calgary was full and they needed volunteers to go on a later flight. I went up to the agent, and he said there was an earlier flight direct to Maui that I could get, leaving in about an hour. The flight changed and I landed in Maui about noon. I got my car, which Peter had kindly dropped off at the airport and I drove to do a bit of shopping and then to Kanaha Beach. The regular Kanaha crew was there. They were all rigging up to go sailing. Unfortunately my board was still in stores and Puu Koa, so I rigged a beer and had some Tako (octopus) Poke that I gotten at the store before going to the beach.Late afternoon, I drove out to my new digs in Haiku where I met my host Alejandro Goya. Mana Aina is a large estate owned by the Goya family and was quit Spectacular. I had a light dinner of Tako Poke with some rice, before heading to bed.

Arriving Mid Day, I had a nice few over Maalaea Bay as we approached for landing




The drive into Mana Aina





April 16, 2019
Light Mauka showers this morning when I woke up. Made my regular bacon and eggs for breakfast and then made a walk about around the Mana Aina property. After this I headed over to Puu Koa to meet with Michael and get mine and Joes boards and gear that was stored there. I then went back to Mana Aina and got my windsurf board out and ready. I then went to the Quatro shop where Pascal gave me a Quatro Glide 8'8" board to to test. Decided to head to Ukumehame. John, R.O. were there still hold the fort for da crew. small waves. I tested the Quatro 8'8" x 33" 145 Litre SUP board and found it super stable! Waves were small but I found the board not as manueverable as my custom board, which is 9' by 31". I surfed for the rest of the day here, then headed back. On the way I picked up some steaks at the Safeway in Wailuku. Back at Mana Aina I marinated the steaks in a mixture of Balsamic Vinegar, Shoyu, Garlic, Pepper and Ginger. Cooked them up with some rice and served with some Kim Chee and a Malbec wine.



The Quatro Glide 8'8" Stand Up Paddle Board


April 17, 2019
Windsurfing at Kanaha. Rigged 5.0 and was perfect first reach and second reach, then it died. For dinner I made a pasta with some panfried garlic shrimp with green onion and parmesan cheese and cream. Kind of a Carbanora without meat. Watched some TV which had a special of "River Monsters".



Windsurfing at Kanaha Beach Park


Garlic Shrimp Pasta




April 18, 2019
Went to Ukumehame and tested a Quatro 8'8" x 29" 140 Litre Carve, too small for me, but surfed well. Then went to Kanaha and rigged a 5.0 sail. Got sailing for a few reaches before the wind died. I was a bit lazy, but did finally rig my 5.5 Sailworks, but by that time the wind had really died. For dinner I stopped at the Maui Food Mart and got a Chicken Kaarage Plate dinner to take home.



Tested the Quatro Carve 8'8" at Ukumehame


Chicken Kaarage plate dinner




Aloha Friday, Easter Friday, April 19, 2019
Mauka showers, and trade winds. Went to Quatro and traded the Carve for an 8'6" x 32 130 litre Glide. As I drove past Ho'okipa this morning winds and swell had picked up and it looked like a photoshoot for the new Neil Pryde Windsurfing gear was underway, with a Helicopter overhead with Photographer. After taking my own pictures, I Headed over to Ukumehame, but looked too windy for paddling so I drove up to Launiupoko. The highway bypass was finished so new way of getting there. Nice and quite and not really busy. On the 8'6" Quattro,it felt stable and more like my custom KT board. Ended up hanging around for most of the day. Drove back to Mana Aina and arrived near sunset. For dinner I had left overs of the Chicken Kaarage dinner and added some Kim Chee. Relaxed and watched (again) "Raiders of the Lost Ark". It still hasn't lost its' charm.



Driving past Ho'okipa there was a helicopter photoshoot at Lanes


Traded the Carve for the Quatro Glide 8'6" and tested at Launiupoko

April 20, 2019
Mauka showers and looking windy. Went to Quatro and returned board and talked with Pascal quite a while talking boards and life on Maui. Headed to the beach and definitely looking windy, so I rigged 5.0. Solid 5.0 what it was and maybe windier at times. Sailing on the outside I scared some Flying Fish out of the water. A real sign I'm sailing in the tropics. Later Joe arrived on a late flight and I left for the airport about 9 o'clock to pick him up. Back at Mana Aina, had some beers and rum.



Another 5.0 Day at Kanaha


April 21, 2019
Sky was clear this morning with only a sprinkle of Mauka. Bacon and eggs for breakfast. Joe got aquainted with the pet chickens. we headed to Kanaha via Makawao, thinking traffic might be heavy through Paia. We stopped at Hi-Tech Surf and Sport shop where Joe got a 86 litre Quatro Mono to test out. At the beach it was looking lighter than yesterday, but sailable. Robby Naish was there demonstrating his new Wind-Wing. I rigged my 5.5 Sailworks Retro and Joe rigged his 5.0 Ezzy. Joe headed out for his first sail on his regular JP board. I joined a few minutes later. Solid sailing, but a bit light on the inside. Outside was very nice sailing conditions, however no real waves for surfing. After over an hour of cruising we came in for a break. Second session, wind was a lot stronger and I could have been on a 5.0 or less. We came in when the wind started getting really strong and gusty. Then relaxed with a beer. De-rigged and the decision for dinner was to go to Pinata's for a Kitchen sink Burrito. Back at Mana Aina, we started watching the "Han Solo" movie before eyes could stay open.




Joe picked up a board at Hi-Tech Surf Sports shop




Joe getting aquainted with the pet chickens


April 22, 2019
Mauka showers early and the sky cleared later in the morning. Made Bacon and Eggs with Tomatoe and Pan Fried Potatoes. We decided today was a Stand Up Paddle surfing day and stopped in at Hi-Teck where I picked up a Quatro 8'6" like I had been previously tried. We headed over to Launiupoko and did a good couple of sessions before it got too windy. Joe had a great first session and was quite happy about it. Second session was a bit more challenging with the wind chop on top of the swell. Back at Mana Aina Joe grilled up a couple of steaks.



Joe had a great first session at Launiupoko




But he wasn't too happy about his second session


April 23, 2019
Mostly blue sky this morning with tracers of overcast clouds. Made scrambled eggs with bacon and pan fried potatoes with croissants for breakfast. We decided to head up Pukulani way, and phoned Peter, my auto storage guy and we went over to his place to look at storage area. Then we headed down to Kahului and to the Hi-Tech shop and dropped off my rental SUP. Then we headed to Patao's do my annual vehicle inspection. Then it was off to Kanaha. We were rigged and sailing by 4 o'clock. Oh No! Joe broke his universal, but managed to sail back to the beach. I made a few more runs before coming in. On my second run I saw a big Monk Seal surface just in front of me near what is normally wierd wave. Although short, it was a nice little session on my 5.5 Sailworks. Also, at the beach was Robby Naish giving some instruction on how to use his new Wing-Surfer. This was very similar to Tom Magruder's Wind Weapon which sailed the Gorge in the late 1980's. See: Tom Magruder's Wind Weapon on youtube . I couldn't help thinking this is where the Naish crew got its' inspiration. The Wing-Surfer (tm) seems to be a simple tool to get those foil SUP boards working on swell-less days. After our short sail we did some after sail shopping at the food store and Walmart. For dinner we cooked up a couple of Ahi Tuna steaks.



Joe broke his universal






Robby Naish at Kanaha teaching how to use his new Wing-Surfer (tm)


April 24, 2019
Last full day on Maui. First thing was to do my vehicle registration, which meant an early start. At 8 o'clock I drove to the Motor Vehicle Branch in Pukulani only to find it wouldn't open until 10:30 today, so I headed down to the office in Kahului. It wasn't too busy so I was finished by 9 and drove back to Mana Aina in Haiku. Made a breakfast of Cheese Omelette with pan fried rice served with a croissant. After breakfast we loaded up and headed over to the Quatro shop where Pascal lent me a 8'2" x 32", 120 litre Quatro Glide to test out. We headed into Kahului and Joe picked up a Van at Aloha Car rentals. We left the van at Home Depot parking lot and then headed to Launiupoko. It was looking good with some 3 foot south swell coming in. Also, met Hanoi, one of the Ukumehame crew. She came up because it was too windy at Ukumehame, which what we saw on the way by. I was a bit tentative with the 120 litre Quatro at first, but quickly got used to it. It was actually surprisingly easy giving the 32" width and 20" at the the tail and it felt about the same as the 8'6", and was a bit more manueverable on the waves. We surfed until past 5 and then headed back. I dropped Joe off at his car and then went to get some gas at Costco. We stopped in Paia for dinner at Cafe Mambo. Back at Mana Aina I spent the rest of the night packing stuff up.



Last Surfing day on Maui was trying out the 120 litre Glide 8'2" Quatro



Dinner at Cafe Mambo



Back at Mana Aina, it was time to pack up


April 25, 2019 Aloha Thursday
Very light Mauka Showers and a mostly clear sky as I finished packing. I leaft Joe at Mana Aina and drove to the Quatro shop to drop of the board and a final Good-Bye, for this trip, and Thanked Pascal for letting test out the Quatro Boards. Then it was off to the Airport. An early afternoon takeoff provided a spectacular final view as we flew over Kanaha. Aloha to Joe who was staying for another 2 weeks.



Taking off from the Airport provided a spectacular view of the Kanaha Reef


April 26, 2019


Back home, thoughts of the moon over a tropical sky came into my mind


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





Aloha 'Oe

A
L
0
H
A


**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
Mai Huli`oe I Kokua o Ke Kai !: Don't turn your back to the ocean !



This page has been accessed
1313
times
since 2019/03/26