MAUI 1999

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    1999 MAUI WINDSURFING ADVENTURE
 

MAUI APRIL 6, 1999

Almost didn't make it to Maui yesterday.  The jet took off from Vancouver and got as far as the Gulf Islands then turned around and then landed back at the Airport. The pilot had some disfunctional indicator light. So we were told. The put us back on another jet and finally left about 10 pm last night. That put us into Maui at 2 AM.  I'm glad I booked my car rental with Word of Mouth, because a car was sitting in the Kahului airport parking lot with a key discretely hidden for me.   When I woke up this morning the trade winds were already blowing pretty good.  I turned on the TV and our local weatherman Glenn James (he hasn't changed) used key words that I like to here. "The trade winds are really going to kick in this week. There are 2 High pressures to the North of the Islands that are going to merge into one big 1041 milibar High by tommorow". And "Windsurfers can expect 25 to 30 knot trade winds." I drove down to Ho'okipa beach first thing this morning. It's only 5 minutes from where I'm staying. It was already blowing about 20 knots (5.0).  The waves were small too and I was almost ready to rig and go out
there.  However, I had business to settle at the car rental place and at Hawaiian Island Windsurfing.  After that was settled at about 10:30 I drove down to Kanaha Beach Park and rigged my 5.0 and my first session out was perfect and I didn't come in for 2 hours ! With Air and Water temperatures around 25 degrees it's easy to stay out for a long time. Waves were really
small (1 to 2 ft), and I blasted down to lowers for some minor waveriding. After that I went up to Uppers and sailed that for the rest of the day. I saw two turtles just outside of uppers. By 3:30 I was tired and more than satisfied with my 1st day of sailing in Maui.

*Link to Hale Kulani where I am staying until April 15*

This morning I drove down to Ho'okipa and again it was already windy and waves were a little bigger (1-3 ft). After that it I drove into Kahului for a windsurfing shop tour. I haven't bought anything, yet.
By 11:30 I was ready to go windsurfing.  I drove down to Kanaha Beach and it was really flat.  Winds were really east.  I decided I was looking for something with waves so I drove to Sprecklesville. Sprecks looked a little windier and some small waves were happening.  By noon I had rigged my 5.0 and once I got out it was again blasting like yesterday. I hung on for the first hour and then came in and put a smaller fin on.  I was too lazy to re-rig and winds were pretty gusty ranging from 15 to 30 knots.  My second session was excellent as a larger swell came in and I caught one good long  3-4 ft wave and made about 5 bottom turns.  By 4:30 I was exhausted and despite wearing hand protection I had a blister hole in my hand. This wave sailing is a lot of work!

MAUI APRIL 8, 1999

Wind and more wind ! I sailed Sprecks again today, but I sensibly rigged my 4.1.  It was perfect and the waves are still a manageable 1 to 4 ft. The only problem I had today was when I broke my fin on a small coral bombie just of the point. The tides are low during the day right now and I my reactions weren't fast enough to stop in time. Local weatherman Glenn James says "batten down the hatches for the weekend. Trade winds of 30 to 40 knots are expected "!!  I guess I'll get to use my 3.5 this weekend.

MAUI APRIL 9, 1999

 Gusty trade winds made for a challenging day of sailing at Kanaha. I rigged my 4.1 and I could have used my 5.0 at times.  However, because I'm wave sailing it really doesn't matter that much. I just catch a wave and surf upwind. When it really gusts up I can sail back up to the beach for a break. I'm starting to get tired after 4 days of solid windsurfing and (Oh No!) there calling for it to get even windier this weekend.  Wind warnings have been replaced by a Small Craft Advisory and Trade wind swell should start showing up in the next couple of days.  Waves should get up to 4 to 5 ft. (Hawaiian Translation: 8 to 10 foot wave faces).  I didn't damage any equipment today, but the holes in my hands are getting bigger.   I ended the day by driving up to Ho'okipa and there was a Humpback whale frolicking not too far offshore.  The Merry Monarch Hula festival in Hilo on the Big Island is in full swing and featured on the Public TV channel and makes for some interesting watching, until I fall asleep exhausted on the couch.

MAUI APRIL 10, 1999

 I started my day off by using the mountain bike provided with my accomodations. A "Specialized Rock Hopper", not bad!  I rode down to "Lanes" which is just a little past Moma's Fish House and just downwind of Ho'okipa.  After that I tried the bike out on some sugar canefield roads.  It rains at night and the soil was still wet and its also dark and sticky. It doesn't take long for the treads to get completely clogged with mud, and its flying everywhere once you get back on the asphalt.
 After biking I headed down to Sprecks early, so I could get a primo parking spot before the local weekend crowd arrived. It looked like it was going to be a reasonable day so I rigged my 5.0. When I went out at Noon it was perfect, and the waves were great (1 to 3 ft).  I'm getting pretty tired so my sessions only last about an hour, then it's time for a beer break under the coconut trees.  By my last session the winds were starting to blast to 4.0 conditions, so exhausted, instead of rigging my 4.0 I called it quits. I had sailed over 4 hours and I am on vacation, so it was time to relax.

MAUI APRIL 11, 1999

 I was pretty lazy today, after the last few days of hardcore windsurfing. After hanging around at Ho'okipa for a half hour, I drove over to Kihei to visit Pete and Teddi at Hale Kai O'Kihei. After a couple of beers the wind was starting to fill in at Kihei and I nearly rigged until I decided it was a sucker wind.  The trade winds are just too easterly for it to be good at Kihei right now.  By 3:30 I decided it was time to go windsurfing, so I drove over to Sprecks, rigged my 4.1.  The 4.1 was perfect for about an hour until a big cloud came over and killed the wind.  I was able to make it planing to shore by surfing in on a swell. There was a lot of hula going on out there, so I decided it wasn't worth rigging the 5.0 and besides that my body needed a rest. So I rigged a beer instead.
 

MAUI APRIL 12, 1999

 What to rig? When I arrived at Sprecklesville Beach, there were lots of clouds and a spittle of rain.  This makes for nice rainbows, but terrible windsurfing.  I first rigged my 5.0, but before I could get out it started blasting, so I rigged my 4.1.  It was great 4.1 sailing for about 2 hours, then a big cloud came over and it died down to 5.0 sailing.  If I only had 2 rigs like at home, then I would be ready.  When it gusted up again I went out for some marginal 4.1 sailing. It was a bit of a slog out, but a scream coming in.  The secret is to get one of the big swells and keep on its face on the way in, as a result you get a increased apparent wind. You get an extra thrill when it starts breaking on your left and you can get extra speed on a steeper face.
 Eventually a really big cloud killed the wind completely. Fortunately I wasn't out there when it happened. There were a lot of sailors walking up the beach at the end of the day.  Sprecks is interesting because you can hear people cursing the wind in about 5 different languages.
 

MAUI APRIL 13, 1999

 The trade winds are supposed to "soften" for the next couple of days. I went into the "Second Wind" shop and found an "Electric Rock". The price was $50 including a wave fin!  Well, I couldn't lose so I bought it and an extra pointer fin I found in their used fin basket for $19.
 After my purchases' I headed down to Sprecks and sure enough it looked like the trades were lighter today.  I rigged my 5.0 and went out on my 8'6" for a couple of hours.  The winds were as steady as I'd seen them since I got here.  It was excellent.
 The big boys are starting to show up for the DA KINE Pro/Am this weekend.  Robby Naish and Francisco Goya showed up at Sprecks today. After my first session the wind started to die down a bit, but fortunately I now had the E-Rock. No need to rig a bigger sail. My second session was just as excellent as my first session.  On one of my reaches out I had a race with one of the kite surfers. The kite technology seems to have improved quite a bit and is getting more popular here.  Robby Naish later went out on one of his "Naish" kites. Anyway, I ended up sailing until 5:30 when the sun went down behing the clouds over the west Maui mountains and the wind died.
 

MAUI APRIL 14, 1999

 I thought it was going to be a no wind day, but when I drove to down to Ho'okipa at noon it was blowing enough to rig my 5.0. The waves at Ho'okipa didn't look like they were going to wreck any of my equipment (1-2 ft), so I rigged and went out with the E-Rock.  It wasn't crowded either. There were only about ten other sailors out. It was a good thing I went out on the E-Rock because it was relatively light and just planeable. Offshore I saw a couple of turtles and scared a few flying fish out of the water.  After a couple of hours it got really light and I didn't want to end up on the rocks, so I caught a gust, then a small wave and got back to that little section of sand they call a beach.
 For the rest of the afternoon I drove over to Kihei and hung out with Pete and Teddi at Hale Kai.  The wind filled in at Kihei and Pete went out on a 4.8 sail with a 9 ft Fanatic slalom board.  I just relaxed on the beach.
 The sunset over the island of Lanai was great, and we later had a barbeque and consumed burgers with rum and beer.
 

MAUI APRIL 15, 1999

 Where to sail? I was pretty indecisive this morning. I started off driving to Ho'okipa, but it looked light and there were about 20 people starting to rig. Sprecks looked much the same and Kanaha was completely flat. Nothing to do but wait for the wind to come up. I did some browsing at the windsurf shops, but there were no more $50 E-Rocks.  I did buy a used mast for $50 though. Just in case I broke the one I have, like I did last year.  By one o'clock I had ended up at Sprecklesville and the wind was as steady as I had seen it.  I rigged my 5.0 and put it on the 8'8" board went out and didn't come back in for 2 hours. The trade winds were perfectly steady and I just cruised around everywhere.  Waves were pretty small, only about 1 to 2 feet. After a rest and a beer, my second session was a good as the first.  I concentrated on duck jibes and tacks as I cruised around. After another couple of hours of continuous sailing I was completely exhausted and called it a day.  When I came in Robby Naish was there getting ready to go out kite surfing again.  Being as tired as I was it took me a long time to de-rig and I got sand on every piece of gear. One of the joys of sailing at Sprecks is that there is no grassy areas for rigging and derigging your gear. Room for rigging and derigging is at a premium also because the parking area is usually packed on both sides and down the middle with just a car width lane (maybe) left.  It's often best just to wait until some more determined people leave before trying to get out. I usually wait for the crowd to leave and just hang out on the beach and relax.
 
 

*Link to Ha'iku Lani where I'm staying from April 16 to 24*

MAUI APRIL 16, 1999

 This morning I had to pack stuff for my move to my new digs up in Haiku. After that I went down to Ho'okipa to watch the start of the DaKine Wave ProAm. Conditions were pretty challenging for the competitors because the waves were so small and unreliable.  I heard it picked up earlier in the day though.  After an hour of hanging around I went into Kahului and got some take out lunch and headed for Sprecks.  Winds were just starting to pick up when I arrived so I rigged my 5.0. By the time I had rigged it was really starting to crank so I went out on my smaller 8'6" board. I was definitely overpowered but I just sheeted the sail out and hung on.  My jibes were as long as I could make them to depower the sail. Waves were starting to get bigger. When I cruised way out offshore I estimated the waves were about 6 to 7 feet. I judged this by looking at a wave crest and seeing that the horizon disappeared behind it when I was in the trough of a wave.  These larger waves made for some exciting jibing closer and on the part of the reef as they steepened and became critical and began to break.  When I came in after my first session Josh Stone was there doing a photo shoot just off the beach. He was doing lots of tricks for the cameraman who was sitting on a raft about 50 metres of the beach.  A gallery soon assembled on the beach as the shoot and tricks continued.  He blew his duck tacks though, so I'm not the only one who has difficulty with them. For my last session the winds came down to a reasonable strength, but the waves stayed up and it made for some great wave riding.
The kite surfers also showed up and it made for some interesting windsurfing. If I could I tried to pass them upwind because I was a bit concerned about snagging their strings with my mast. If I passed them down wind, I adjusted my course to make sure I wasn't going to snag a kite.  After another great day of windsurfing I derigged and drove to my new place. After supper, exhausted, I fell asleep watching the new windsurfing video I had bought the other day.

MAUI APRIL 17, 1999

 This morning I had breakfast at the Pauwela Cafe located in the old cannery where the DaKine factory is located in Haiku. It seems to be a local windsurfers morning hangout.   After that it was down to Ho'okipa for an hour to see how the competition was going. There were light winds and as a result no points were being made on jumps. I phoned Pete in Kihei and he said the wind was filled into the beach there. When I got to Hale Kai O'Kihei there were clouds over top and the winds looked pretty light. I took my time rigging up.  Peter and I spent about an hour of sailing on pretty flat water conditions. It was relaxing sailing conditions, not as intense as sailing at Sprecks or Ho'okipa on the north shore.

Cruising off Kihei

MAUI APRIL 18, 1999

 Things were shaking about 1 AM this morning. There was a minor earthquake over on the Big Island of Hawaii. It briefly woke me from my slumber. When I woke up again at the regular time I headed over to the Pauwela Cafe for some breakfast. On my way down to Ho'okipa it was pouring rain so I drove to Kahului to do some food shopping. After that the morning rains abated and when I got to Ho'okipa the winds were just starting to pick up.  I hung around for an hour taking photos of the windsurfing event with my big (300mm)lens. When I finally got to Sprecks about two o'clock the winds were just starting to fill in. I rigged my 5.0 and went out on the 8'8" E-Rock.  It was another perfect day of sailing and I even managed to make about 80 percent of my tacks. Waves were small again (1 to 2 ft). On one of my sessions I took my small waterproof camera out with me and took photos while I was sailing. It's pretty challenging sailing in on a wave while trying to take a snapshot with one hand and the other on the boom, while looking through the viewer. It will be interesting to see how the photos turn out. It was kind of fun, and there were no shortage of sailors willing to get close enough to be photographed when I was down in the water in the surf zone. On the beach Francisco Goya was there doing tricks for a photo shoot and later in the day the legendary Mike Waltz showed up to do some kite surfing. Mrs. Naish was also out there windsurfing with the rest of us. On my last session I tried some duck tacks on the opposite side that I normally do them at home. I didn't make any. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

SPRECKLESVILLE SNAPSHOTS

Erika

Andi

Peter

MAUI APRIL 19, 1999

 Another windy day in Maui. I went down to Ho'okipa to watch some of the DaKine semifinals this morning. Winds were light for the first couple of heats then it started to crank. Waves were really small so the competitors really had to make the most of any wave for riding and jumping.  After lunch I headed to Sprecks where it looked really gusty. It was a challenging day. Winds were 10 gusting to 40 knots.  I rigged a 5.0 and tried both my boards. I probably should have rigged my 4.0, however everybody else was having the same problem with the gustiness. Any sail was wrong or right depending on when you were out there. The winds were almost due east and in close to shore there was no wind because the wind direction was almost offshore. Waves were almost non existent. The offshore wind was probably knocking what swell there was down.  As you sailed offshore it got windier and windier. Way out it was smoking. On the outside I had to make my jibes screaming downwind as fast as I could go to depower the sail. On the inside I had to watch for a gust on the water to make a jibe or else be dead in the water in a lull.  It was a very challenging day.

Launching off Ho'okipa Beach During the DaKine Wave ProAm

MAUI APRIL 20, 1999

 This morning I stopped by Ho'okipa breifly and it looked pretty light. Next was a stop at Sprecks. Winds were light and offshore and the comment was it looked like Aruba. It was so flat I went for a snorkel around the reef off the point. I found a pointer fin for a tuttle fin box and it looked like whoever it belonged to hit the reef going full speed. After snorkelling the wind still hadn't picked up so I went back to Ho'okipa to watch the pro-mens final. It was Sean Ordonez vs Josh Angulo battling it out in small waves and light winds. I burned off the end of my roll of film.  I went into Kahului to drop off my film and pick up some previous photos and had some of them scanned for the maui web page. Check it out.  Back at Sprecks winds were still light so I rigged my 5.0 and took out the Electric Rock.  That was good for about 3 runs then the wind really died. It apparently is going to be light for the next couple of days. Finally, a rest for my body !
 

MAUI APRIL 21, 1999

 Yes, it was finally a no wind day. The trade winds basically shut down. That didn't stop about 30 windsurfers from going out at Ho'okipa though. I thought about it, but I wasn't into slogging out through the surf break. The thought of fighting with 30 other sailors for one wave wasn't appealling either.  At Sprecks the wind was even worse. I eventually ended up at Hale Kai O'Kihei. There was an onshore breeze when I got there, so I rigged my 5.7. However, when I got out off the beach the wind completely died. Peter was giving Teddi a hand with windsurfing technique and since I had the floaty E-Rock I lent it to them. It didn't help so Pete took the sail off the board and Teddi went Surfing with the E-Rock. After the non-session we decided to head down to the margaritaville bar, "Kai Ku Ono" across from Kamaole Beach and had some  pupu's and cocktails. Then it was back to HKOK to watch the sunset.
 

MAUI APRIL 22, 1999

 Another no wind day. I went down to Ho'okipa and hung out there for a couple of hours hoping the wind might pick up. Well it never did, so I went over to Kihei and with Peter and Teddi we went snorkelling at Ahihi Bay. As usual there was the incredible diversity of fish species there. Large blue parrot fish, Long nose butterfly fish, one spot butterfly fish, triggerfish, Moorish Idol's, snappers, wrasses, yellow trumpetfish, etc. We also saw one turtle. I took a few photos with my waterproof camera. Snorkelling was very relaxing considering all the intense windsurfing I've been doing for the last couple of weeks.  Tomorrow the trades are supposed to kick in again.
Turtle

Maui Coral Reef

MAUI APRIL 23, 1999

 The trade winds kicked in as predicted. I was down at Ho'okipa Beach by 10:30. By 11:00 I had rigged my 5.0. It was low tide and the surf was only 1 to 2 feet. I went out with the 8'8" and sailed for an hour. There were only 3 other guys out so it was great to have some room to windsurf. I had one great ride on a 4 footer and made about 4 bottom turns to the point. After my second hour of sailing it was starting to get busy with about 20 to 30 sailors on the water. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I just made sure to pick a wave nobody else was on or near. The worst place was jibing or tacking on the inside, just off the beach, where everybody else seemed to end up.  The wind was pretty steady and it started to pick up about two o'clock, then died back down by three. Wiping out was not serious in the surf since it was pretty small and you could stand up on the reef which was only 3 or 4 feet deep because the tide was low. The worst part was coming back to and launching from the so called "beach". There's a rock right in front of it that is fin depth. I only nicked it twice, but fortunately not very hard. By 4:30 I had had way too much fun and was beat, so I derigged, relaxed and of course had a beer.

MAUI APRIL 24, 1999

 This morning I moved from my digs in Haiku to Steve's Studio suite in Kihei. It's about 2 blocks from MaiPoeIna Oe Iau Beach Park, which is the main windsurfing beach in Kihei. It was Pete's last day to windsurf in  Maui and we decided to head to Sprecks. Winds were a little lighter than yesterday and waves were even smaller. However, we managed to sail for 3 hours anyway. Back at Hale Kai O'Kihei Pete, Teddi and I enjoyed the Sunset with Pizza.
 

MAUI APRIL 25, 1999

 Where to sail? Where is the wind? I started the morning by driving over to Ho'okipa Beach Park. There was no wind and there were dark rain clouds to the north and east. Well, there are worst places to wait for wind. I hung out there until noon then left to get some lunch. After getting some take out lunch in Paia I headed to Sprecklesville Beach to see if there was any wind there. Most of the sailors there had rigged big and some were planing. Most were not and the rain clouds seemed to be getting closer. I finished my lunch on the beach with a beer then decided to head over to the other side of the island to Makena to do some snorkeling. It was pouring rain when I got to Makena and the water looked pretty murky so I decided to cancel the snorkeling and drove up to Maipoeina Oe Iau Beach Park to see if there was any windsurfing happening there.  A couple of sailors were out on what looked like big sails, probably 6.0 square meters, and the water was flat. Another 25 minute drive to the other side the island and I was back at Sprecks. It was raining there and people were still out on big sails. It looked like it was clearing to the east, so 15 minutes later I was back at Ho'okipa and it was also still raining there. Nobody was out sailing, but there were a couple of surfers out on longboards. At this point I was tired of driving around so I dipped into a cooler for a beer and relaxed on the beach. By 3:30 the sky had cleared and the wind was starting to pick up. By 4 o'clock I had rigged my 5.0 and was out on the 8'8" catching some waves off Ho'okipa. Waves were 1 to 2 feet when I went out, later on there was the odd 3 footer. At a little after 5 o'clock the wind started to die, so I decided I was satisfied and came in, packed up and headed to Kihei to watch the sunset. At Maipoeina Oe Iau Beach, as the sun was setting over the West Maui mountains, two Humpack Whales were heading up into Maalaea Bay, breaching and tail slapping as they went. I just sat there on the warm sandy beach and took it all in.

MAUI APRIL 26, 1999

 It finally arrived. My last day on Maui. My flight was scheduled to leave at eleven PM, so I had time for a last sailing session.  First I headed to Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport to get some last souvenirs. A T-shirt, a windsurfing video and the latest issue of Windsurfer magazine to read on the flight. After that I headed up to Ho'okipa, but winds were a little light for me and judging by the number of sailors already rigged it was going to be a little busy there today. I decided on Sprecks. When I got there it looked like solid 5.0 sq.m. wind for me. I rigged my 5.0 and went out on the 8'8" E-Rock and sailed for 3 hours. It was gusty, but the sail and board combination were perfect. I blasted back and forth to the beach a few times and then up to the reef for some final wave sailing. Waves were still small, only 1 to 2 feet, but still there were some rideable surf.  Not bad for a last day of sailing on Maui. When I was finishing up, Robby Naish was there, going out on what looked like a new race or slalom sail and I took the opportunity to take some action photos with my telephoto lens. After derigging I said my farewells to the other sailors I'd met during my adventure. I then headed over to Kihei and watch a final sunset over Maalaea Bay and the West Maui Mountains. With the excellent windsurfing I had on this trip, I can't wait until next year.

Sunset Over Lanai from Kihei