Maui 2001 Windsurfing Expedition

Saturday  April 7, 2001

 Arrived on Maui late last night. Yesterday I decided to leave earlier than scheduled. Good thing because it took along time for the luggage guys to get my Board and Sails up to the U.S. departures baggage claim. It probably wouldn't have made it on time if I'd left on my original schedule. Flights from Victoria where also running behind schedule.
 When I got to my new digs at Puu Koa Place in Haiku I sat on the balcony and had a beer under a full moon glowing over Haleakala.
 I woke up early this morning and headed up to the Pauwela Cafe where I had one of their great Breakfast Burrito's and coffee.  After breakfast it was back to Puu Koa where I unpacked and reassembled all my windsurfing and diving stuff. I then headed out. First stop was to check conditions at Hookipa. I arrived too early to see any windsurfing action. A few surfers were out. Waves were pretty small. 3 to 5 ft maybe. The wind was looking pretty good at what I figured was 15 to 25 knots. I considered staying to sail at Hookipa, but decided I better test my gear and warm up at Kanaha first. There is nothing worse than breaking a mast or boom then getting washed up on the rocks at Hookipa. Onward I then went to the Kmart in Kahului to pick up a Beer Cooler, bottle of water, snacks, film etc. Next was a tour of windsurfing shops. Hawaiian Island, Second Wind, Extreme Sports and Hitech. After this it was time to get to the beach.
 I got to Kanaha Beach Park about 10:30 and it was looking pretty good. I rigged my 5.0 sail. I was on the water by 11:00. Conditions were perfect for a first sail in Maui. On top of that there was a photo shoot going on by Starboard. They had a helicopter buzzing off the beach following their sailors. I think the chopper must have mistaken me for one of their sailors (I have a Starboard Carve 99) because it followed me once. Look for me in a future video. The wind was a pretty solid 20 to 25 knots and waves were only 2 to 3 feet. At noon a big cloud formed over Kahului and winds began to get gusty as the wind shifted to more offshore. It was challenging getting off and back to the beach because it was in a wind shadow. You had to time the gusts and slog out to the wind line. I spent most of the afternoon out on the reef with only a couple of beer breaks. At three o'clock I finished and was satisfied with my first day of sailing on Maui. The best part was falling in warm water and not having frozen hands at the end of the day.

Sunday  April 8, 2001

 I woke up to mauka showers this morning which ended at about 10 o'clock. It looked like it was going to be a windy day when I stopped at Hookipa. The wave tops were getting blown off. Waves looked about the same as yesterday. Only 3 to 6 ft although the weather buoys were showing 12 ft.
 When I got to Kanaha Beach Park this morning Mike Teachman and Dave Billeness had just arrived at 7 AM this morning and they were already rigging up. It looked a lot windier than yesterday so I decided to rig a 4.1 sail. My first session out confirmed that it was windy. It was NUKIN! About 30 knots gusting to 40 which made it pretty wild for manuevering out on the reef. Fortunately waves were pretty small at about 2 to 3 feet.
 When I came in for a break I ran into Sam Ireland in the parking lot. He had come down to sell off some of his extra boards and sails. On my next couple of sessions I blasted around off of lower Kanaha and did one long reach way out and upwind before jibing and blasting back into the beach. On my next session it got even more nuclear. It was probably gusting to over 45 knots and my 4.1 sail was way to big. Instead of rigging down I just held on for a couple more runs then decided to call it a day.
 On my way back to Haiku there was a brilliant rainbow over Paia. I ended the day by having dinner with Mike and company at their digs at  Hale Kulani.  The forecast is for continuing strong and gusty trade winds with a high surf advisory.

Mike and Dave only a few hours off the plane and rigging already.
 

Monday, April 9, 2001

 Woke up to mauka showers and gusty winds this morning. My patio furniture had been blown down to the other end of my balcony.  After breakfast I headed down to Hookipa to check things out. Yep, it was going to be windy again.
 At Kanaha I rigged my 3.5 sail. The smallest one I have. On my first run out I was overpowered! I came in and flattened the sail and it was totally manageable sailing after that. Waves were really small, maybe 1 to 2 feet and there was no sign of Weird wave breaking in the channel. On the outside of the reef I nearly ran into a sea turtle. I saw it a couple of times on different runs through the same area. On one of my jumps I nearly did an accidental back loop, because my board was blown around by a gust. I got about 3/4's of the way around. There weren't that many sailors out today because of the nuclear winds. When I quit at 4 o'clock there was nobody out that I could see up at Sprecks. Everybody was hoping the wind would be a little less stronger tomorrow.

Tuesday, April 10, 2001

 Steve Hutchison arrived last night and on my way to pick him up at the airport there was a rainbow off Hookipa created by the Full Moon. Maybe it should be called a Moonbow?
 This morning we headed up to Pauwela for a breakfast burrito. After breakfast we headed into the shops in Kahului. Steve was looking for a new sail. He ended up buying an almost unused Sailworks Retro 4.4 for $179 at Second Wind. I bought a used mast there for $50 and a new boom at Extreme Sports for $125. Then it was time for lunch burrito at Las Pinata's.
 We then headed down to Sprecklesville beach and even got a reasonable parking spot. Mike Teachman and Dave Billeness were already there. Steve rigged his new 4.4 and I rigged my 4.1 sail. These were perfect choices and the sailing was not as intense as the last couple of days. Waves were still small, perfect for getting tuned into them on the Spreck's upper reef.  We ended up doing 3 or 4 long sessions with only a small beer break in between. Near then end of the day Francisco Goya sailed up to Spreck's, humbling us with some foreward loops and spock maneuvers just off the beach. We finished at 5 o'clock when the winds started getting light and then faced the task of derigging at Sprecks. Its always a challenge to see how little sand we can keep off the wet gear while taking it apart. I use the "put the sail on the roof of the car" technique.
 Steve and I then headed to Costco's for a major food and beer shopping expedition. A case of 24 Corona's, a case of 24 Red Hook ESB, Four 1.5 litre bottles of red wine and some food. Back at our digs at Puu Koa we pan fried some fresh Ahi Tuna for dinner.  The forecast is for more strong and gusty trade winds continuing through the weekend.

Dave on a Reach

                    Mike starts a bottom turn

Wednesday, April 11, 2001

 Heavy mauka showers this morning and blustering wind. No shopping this morning. We went straight to Sprecks beach. I rigged my 4.1 and Steve rigged his 4.2 and went sailing for an hour on our first session. Waves were a bit bigger today, probably 3 to 4 ft, which made for some good jumping. I did a good 7ft jump next to Steve on one reach out. On my second session I got a good ride with about 4 bottom turns on one wave. Late in the afternoon we pulled out my camera with a 300mm lens and did a photo session of each other jibing and tacking off the beach. After this winds started getting pretty gusty ranging from 15 knots to Nuking, which made for some pretty challenging sailing. We quit about 5 o'clock after we ran out of beer.

Thursday, April 12, 2001
    Steve and I were pretty laid back this morning. It was nukin wind outside and Dave Fishwick and company were arriving at 11 o'clock. At eleven we drove to the airport and met Dave, Steve G. and Mike. Perte and Dianne showed up as well. We took them back to the digs so they could unloaded a reorganize for sailing, then it was up to Pauwela Cafe for Lunch. By that time it was 2 o'clock, then we drove down to Paia and paid the rent. We finally got to Sprecks beach about 3:30 and  rigged our 4.0's and headed out for a late afternoon sail.  It was pretty gusty with some big lulls and big gusts.  Waves were a about the same as yesterday, 3 to 4 feet, but in more organized sets. Pascal Hardy did a big jump over Steve G. who was totally oblivious to it because he was in the water trying to organize himself after wiping out in the waves. We sailed until 5:30 when the winds started getting pretty light.  For dinner we had grilled Swordfish.

Starboard Steve on a Port Reach

Nuclear Friday, April 13, 2001
 It was pretty windy this morning in Haiku, which meant it was going to be really windy on the water. Dave F., Steve G. and Mike spent the morning unpacking and reassembling their gear. After this a trip to the Windsurfing shops was on the itinerary. On the way a mandatory stop at Hookipa beach park to check out the conditions.  We got there about 10:30 so nobody was out because of the "no windsurfing before 11AM Maui Bylaw". Waves were about 2 to 4 feet and there were lots of whitecaps out on the water. We stormed the windsurf shops with a vengence. "Port" Steve G. and "Starboard" Steve H. bought a 5.5 Ezzy Wave sail and a 3.7 Naish Hokua sail on the "buy one, get the other for half price" deal at Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport. I bought an unused, still in the wrapper, 1999 5.0 North Rave sail for a killer deal at Hitech. I also bought a used 9" wave fin for $20. The two Steves also bought some Teva booties. Mike and Dave F. abstained from buying anything for the time being.
 When we got to Kanaha Beach Park the wind was nuking big time. Diane had gotten blown off the water and Perti was rigging to something smaller. Mike Teachman and Dave Billeness had also been blown off the water and were heading to the shop to rent some smaller sails. Dave F. gave them some money to rent a smaller sail for him.  I rigged my 3.5 and put that 9" wave fin on the board. Steve H. rigged his 3.7, Steve G. and Mike also rigged a 3.7.  On the beach it was sandblasting windy. My first session was spent screaming out to the reef and back to the beach. After a few rig adjustments I was perfectly tuned for these nuclear conditions. The next session Dave, Steve and I traded off doing a photo session that resulted in many crash and burn jibes.   After another beer, I spent a long session out on the reef. Waves were still small and it was too windy to make any reasonable bottom turns. Outside of the reef the wind was pretty steady which made for some nice sailing. Just on the inside of the reef break the chaotic chop made it hard to keep the board on the water. By 5 o'clock everyone had had enough for the day. Then it back to our digs at Puu Koa where we consumed two large pizzas and some beers. After resting for a bit we headed to "Jacques Bistro" in Paia  where most of the visiting and local windsurfing community had gathered. All us guys especially appreciated the female contingent, except for Dave F. and Steve G. who didn't notice at all. Yea, right?! At midnight we headed back home and instantaneously crashed.

Saturday, April 14, 2001
 After breakfast, we drove over to Kihei then down to Ahihi Bay to do some snorkeling. Visibility was pretty poor because there was some south swell rolling onto the south shore. Once we got out of the bay the water cleared up and we saw our first turtle. Further out Steve G. and I found a small turtle and followed it almost to La Perouse bay. I took half a roll of pictures of this turtle. On the way back close to shore there were lots of fish. A yellow trumpetfish, schools of blue striped snapper, pairs of clown butterfly fish and lots of pencil urchins amongst the coral. We saw a couple more turtles before swimming back in at Noon. For lunch Steve H. and I stopped at Kai Ku Ono's in Kihei. Then it was back to Haiku to pick up our windsurfing gear. When we arrived at Sprecks beach it was about 3 o'clock and the wind was looking much lighter than the last few days. Mike Teachman and Dave Billeness had been out on their 4. 7 and 4.0's. Chris Curren had been out on his 4.4. It looked a lot lighter so I rigged my 5.0. Dave rigged his 4.7 and went out and put a hole through when he got caught in a wave. Some big swell was breaking on the north shore today. It was 4 to 6 feet inshore where we were sailing and it looked like it was 10 to 12 feet out on the outer reef.  When I got out it was just barely gusting enough to get my 5.0 going. I mostly slogged around and got going when I could. After awhile Dave and Steve rigged their 5.3 and 5.5's then went out and ripped around. Tara got caught in a few sets while Dave sailed around her. I was able to get a couple of on the wave face jibes and a couple of jumps when the wind gusted up enough for me to sail. We finished at about 5:30 when the wind really died. Back at our digs we feasted on Pasta and wine.
 
 

 Sunday, April 15,2001
 There was major power shopping this morning. Dave bought 5.4 North Sail at the Maui Windsurfing Co. then a 4.7 and 3.7 at Hitech. At Second Wind Steve H. bought a 4.4 and 5.0 Sailworks Revolution while Mike and Tara bought a 5.4, 4.8 and 4.2 Sailworks Revolution.
 We managed to get to Sprecks Beach by 2 o'clock today. It was blowing pretty light and fairly onshore. Everyone rigged 5.0 to 5.5. I sailed my 5.5 sail and went out cruising until 5 o'clock. Waves were pretty small, but the wind was steady. I tacked all the way up to Baldwin Beach before sailing back downwind. After a beer I went out for another half hour and played a bit just off of Sprecks Beach. It was pleasant and easy going sailing today. Which was nice after last weeks intense sailing sessions. It's supposed to be light again tommorow, then picking up to 20 to 25 knots after that.

Hike up Puu OneloaLight Wind Day off Sugar Cove

Monday, April 16, 2001
 Winds were really light today. Steve, Dave, Steve, Mike and Tara drove over to Makena and hiked up Puu Oneloa. I went down to Sugar Cove Resort at Sprecklesville and visited Pete Lyall, Dan Hunt and Chris Moore. Steve and Dave showed up at Sugar Cove about 1 o'clock and decided they would try sailing on there 5.5's. I saw them slog out and got totally uninspired to go windsurfing. Time for another beer. Steve and Dave got planing a couple of times, so I pulled out the 300mm lens and took some pictures of them sailing Sprecks reef from Sugar Cove. Steve even managed to get planing back up to Sugar Cove once. After that the wind really died and they finally slogged back to the beach. Dave buried himself in a huge mass of seaweed trying to get back into Sugar Cove. I think he carried about 5 Kg of seaweed up onto the lawn on his rig. Back down at Kanaha I heard that Diane had some good sailing while Perti sat on the beach. For me I was glad to have a day off to rest my body after the last 9 days of sailing every day.  For dinner we went to Charly's in Paia.  Steve H. and I had the Ahi seared in a Sesame crust, lightly topped with a creamed wasabi sauce served with a rice pilaf and vegetables. Delicious! Steve G. and Mike had Charly's generous plate of Ribs, Dave an Ahi Burger and Tara had 2 huge slices of Hawaiian Pizza. Steve H. had to finish for her. For desert I had a slice of Rasberry cheese cake topped with white chocolate. Totally decadent!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheescake at Charly's

Tuesday April 17, 2001
 No power shopping this morning, just a run to Costco to stock up on food supplies. At noon we headed straight to Sprecks Beach. The trade winds had kicked back in today. Everyone rigged their 5.0 sails and then went out had some real fun. I blasted around for an hour and a half before coming in to have a break and a beer. My second session was spent wave riding on the upper part of the Sprecks reef. The middle reef was really crowded with other sailors, so I decided to avoid this area for the time being. Waves were still pretty small, maybe 1 to 3 feet with the occasional 4 footer, but they were still good for jumping and riding. I dropped into one good 4 foot wave and got a couple of good bottom turns on it. Steve and Dave were getting some good jumps off. Dave invented the "Lords Prayer Jump". You have jump high enough to recite the prayer before landing. On my last session I had some fun by attempting a couple of back loops.  By 5 o'clock we were all totally spent after a good day of windsurfing.  We invited Chris, Stephanie, Richard and Robin back to our digs for a little dinner party. We feasted on pan fried Mahi Mahi and broiled Ahi served with rice and garlic bread followed by fruit pie for desert.

Wednesday April 18, 2001
 It was clear enough to see the top of Haleakala this morning and trade winds were still blowing. After breakfast we jumped in the cars and headed over to Makena's black sand beach to do some snorkelling. The underwater visibility had improved considerably to about 40 to 50 feet. There were lots of dive charter boats at this spot and I ran into some divers that were hanging out at about 15 feet. They had found a fairly large turtle. It seemed pretty tame because it let them touch it. I snorkeled down and took some shots with my small waterproof camera. After awhile the turtle got disinterested with the divers and swam off. I followed it for awhile and it came up to the surface beside me to get some air. On the swim back in I saw another couple of turtles hanging out underneath some coral heads.
 After snorkelling we headed back to the north shore for some lunch and then headed down to Spreck's beach.  We got there about 2 o'clock and it looked like the winds were pretty gusty. Mike Teachman had been out on his 4.7 and confirmed that there were some big gusts and lulls. Steve rigged a 4.4, Dave rigged a 4.2 and I rigged my new North Rave 5.0 and put on a small wave fin. My rig seemed to work pretty well and I didn't seem over or under powered at any point, but there were some big gusts and lulls. Waves were bigger today, probably 2 to 4 feet with some 6 footers at times. I caught a couple of really nice waves that were good for two or three bottom turns. On one session I took my waterproof camera out and took some pictures of Steve and Dave out on the reef. We sailed to nearly 6 o'clock. Over dinner we traded stories with Steve G., Mike and Tara who had been sailing down at Kanaha today.

Randy and Dave rig their new sails at Sprecklesville

Thursday April 19, 2001,
 This morning we headed up to the Pauwela Cannery to check out the Dakine Factory outlet. I bought a new Surf Seat harness, Dave bought a hat and a couple of rigging tools, Steve bought a footstrap. No big purchases today. At lunch Steve H., Dave and I went to Pinatas for lunch burritos. We were at Sprecks beach by noon, where the wind was blowing pretty hard and gusty. Mike Teachman had been out on his 4.7, but was going to rig down to his 4.0. Steve and Dave rigged a 3.7 and I rigged my 4.1. As expected it was pretty gusty out on the reef and the waves were pretty messed up which made for some choppy conditions for sailing. Catching a wave was made nearly impossible because it usually coincided with a nuclear gust. Trying to make a bottom turn would result in having your rig ripped out of your hands. Outside of the reef I scared a flying fish into the air on one of my reaches and saw a couple of turtles on another.  At 3 o'clock I decided to pack it in for the day and picked up the camera with my 300mm lens.  By this time Steve had re-rigged up to his 4.4, but Dave stayed on his 3.7. I burned off a few frames of them shredding out on Sprecks reef. Sailing ended about 5 o'clock.
For dinner, we barbequed some Marlin which had been marinated in Teriyaki sauce.

Corona Break
Friday, April 20, 2001
 As usual we had morning mauka showers in Haiku and the winds were pretty gusty. The the winds at Hana were already 29 knots, so we were bracing ourselves for another really windy day.  However, the early morning wind blew a lot of cloud onto Maui and the winds died off a lot by noon. After lunch at Pinata's we headed to Sprecklesville where winds were looking gusty but not nuclear. Steve rigged a 4.4, Dave rigged his new 4.7 and I rigged my 5.0. My first session lasted until 4 o'clock. I sailed the first half on waves at Sprecks reef. I saw Pete Lyall and followed him up to a nice point break at Secrets cove. I spent my second session working the waves at Sprecks. With myself, Steve H., Steve G.,Dave F., Dave B., Mike Teachman, Mike and Tara out on the reef we took up most of the space.  After a Corona break we sailed until 6 o'clock.  For our evening activities we headed up to Josh Stone's place in Haiku for a BBQ and party we had been invited to by manager Thommo Thomson. By 9 o'clock things were just starting to get going party wise. I left to pick up Gerrard Meszaros at the airport and dragged him back to the party. By this time Steve H. and crew were getting in fine form and dancing was well in progress. At midnight we were all pretty tired except for Steve who had gotten a second wind, but we eventually managed to drag him away.

A Toast from Thommo
Partying with some old Friends
Partying with some new Friends

Saturday April 21,2001
 No rain this morning and Haleakala was nearly clear of clouds.  After breakfast we headed down to visit Pete and Chris at Sugar Cove.  The wind had that 5.0 look to it and it was really flat with maybe 1 foot waves .  Everyone rigged 4.0 to 5.0 depending on their preference.  On our 1st session Pete and I took out our waterproof cameras and shot a roll of film of everyone jumping and riding the waves on Sprecks reef.  I found it particularly challenging trying to take a picture while riding a wave.  After the photo session we spent most of the time windsurfing in comfortable bump and jump conditions.  The wind was pretty steady today without those radical gusts we've been getting used to.  Aloha to Pete Lyall, Mike Teachman, Dave Billeness and crew who were leaving Maui tonight.

Mike Teachman on one more jump
 
 

Sunday April 22, 2001
 For breakfast this morning I went up to the Pauwela and grabbed a coffee then drove to Hookipa to take in the morning ocean. Waves were small enough that locals were out spearfishing off the shore.  For the rest of the morning we hung out at our digs in Haiku while Gerard moved Richard and Robin over from Sugar Cove. Steve G., Dave, Mike and Tara had left early this morning to drive up to the top of Haleakala. After lunch Steve and I decided to go sailing at Hookipa since waves were really small. I rigged a 5.0 and Steve rigged his  4.4. Dave showed up just after our first session.  We found the most difficult part of windsurfing at Hookipa wasn't the sailing part but getting in and out of the shore break with a wicked longshore current. On Daves first try he got thrown back on the beach by a wave. At the end of my second session my sail got trapped under a beach wash and instantly got covered with 3 inches of sand. I caught one really nice wave on my third session making 4 bottom turns right to the point before jibing. The winds were light and gusty near the reef and nuking on the outside just to make things interesting. On my last session out I broke the tip of my mast as it jammed into the reef when I was flung backwards while attempting to get over a 4 foot breaker. Now I can say I broke some gear at Hookipa!  Fortunately I was able to sail back to the beach without much problem.

and a visit to the Iao Needle

Monday April 23, 2001
 It was sunny this morning and Haleakala was in full view. Richard and Robin wanted to do some windsurf equipment shopping and I needed a new mast. At Hitech they were still blowing away sails so I bought a totally unused '97 4.0 North Zeta for $100. Richard bought a new 4.0 Ezzy Ultralite and mast to go with it.  At Second Wind I picked up a used 430 mast for $50. After shopping we went to Pinata's for a lunch burrito then headed off to Sprecks Beach with the rest of the crew. It looked windy, but only because the wind was more from the north today. Everyone who had been on the water was rigging up to 4.5 or 5.0. Steve and I rigged a 5.0 and Dave rigged his 4.7. It was really flat for waves that were maybe a maximum of 2 feet. After spending a session up on Sprecks reef I moved down to just sailing off the beach and practicing tacking and duck jibes. There was a bit of carnage today. Robin broke his harness line and lost his booty. Mike broke his boom way out off the beach and had to MacGuver it to get back in.  I lost one the lens from my prescription sunglasses on one of my duck jibe attempts. Otherwise sailing was excellent. I tried a couple more backloop attempts and Dave got up the nerve to attempt a foreward loop. He got as far as jumping and sheeting in which resulting in nosing the board straight into the water. We quit at 5 o'clock after a satisfying day of windsurfing. For dinner Richard, Robin, Gerrard and I went up to Haiku Market and had dinner at a Carribean style restaurant.

Tuesday April 24, 2001
 Today was a day off of windsurfing. The heavy morning showers and almost no wind in Haiku hinted at this. So we unloaded the windsurfing gear and loaded up the snorkeling gear and headed over to Kihei. Dave, Steve, Gerrard and I met up with Marcy and Christine in Kihei and drove down to Makena. Wouldn't you know it. It was too windy there to go snorkeling! So we headed north and drove towards Lahaina and stopped at a beach just on the other side of the tunnel. The Maui Dive guide calls this diving site "Coral Gardens." It actually looked like a nice longboard surfing site too, especially when there is any south swell. The reef was intesting with lots of different species of coral. On one reef there was lots of Yellow Tangs and Saddle Wrasse were fairly common. I also saw a couple of Clown Butterfly fish and a large Moorish Idol. The Hawaiian Triger Fish or "Humu Humu Nuku Nuku Apua'a" was also quite common. After snorkeling we headed back to Kihei and had lunch at Kai Ku Ono's. We ended up lounging there at our open deck table for the rest of the afternoon, before heading back to the north shore. We found out that there had been no wind today and everybody who had tried on 5.6 and 5.8 sails had been slogging. So we didn't feel guilty about not windsurfing today.

Friday April 27, 2001
 Clear skies this morning and windy. We basically hung around Puu Koa this morning bracing ourselves for some 4.0 sailing. At noon we went up to the Dakine shop at Pauwela to get some new harness lines. Then it was down to Hookipa where it was going off. Mast High waves and the pros were out in full force. We hung out there for about an hour taking photos, then headed to Sprecks. I think we've been here too long because we took our time rigging our 4.0's and got on the water by 3 o'clock. The wind was pretty gusty and there were some good sets coming in. I caught a perfect mast high wave on the outside and did bottom turn after bottom turn after bottom right to Sprecks Beach. Dave caught one too, right after me. There wasn't a wave after that could match that one. With the bigger waves associated carnage is expected. We all ended up in the washing machine a few times and Richard broke his boom in the shore break.  We ended up quiting at 5 o'clock when the wind started dying and getting big time holes. Back in Haiku a big serving of pasta was had. The Steve H., Dave and I headed up to Casanova's in Makawao where we met Marcy and Christine. Dr.Nat and Rio Ritmo Band was featured. That meant lots of salsa and samba dancing. We managed to last until midnight.

  More Boom Carnage

More Mast Carnage

Saturday April 28, 2001
 Clear Skies this morning and still windy. Right after breakfast we headed down the road for a pilgrimage to view "Jaws". It was just barely peaking over the reef, but there were some good breakers on the beach. We went back to Puu Koa for lunch then headed to Sprecks. On the way we stopped at Hookipa to check out the action. The waves were still going off pretty good and Bjorn was out ripping on the waves. At Sprecks Dave rigged a 4.2 but later changed to a 3.7. Steve rigged a 4.4 and I rigged a 4.0. It was windier than yesterday and the waves were a little smaller probably 3 to 5 feet. I caught some nice waves on my first session and jumping was a little easier today. We had some mast carnage today. Steve G. was trying to take some pictures with a waterproof camera in the wave zone when the tip of his mast jammed into the reef and snapped it in two. He had a nice swim into the beach. Nikola showed up later in the day and went out ripping on her 4.5.  Dave and Steve H. followed her out and did a mast high jump on the way out. After catching more and more waves I was completely exhausted by 6 o'clock.   We headed back to Haiku where Dave, Steve G., Mike and Tara went into a packing frenzy then left for the airport.  " Aloha" to Dave, Steve, Mike and Tara.   Steve, Gerrard and I then went to Jacques for Dinner. Francisco, Bjorn and friends were also there. Steve had the Mahi Mahi special, Gerrard the mussels, shrimp and scallops in a seafood sauce and I had the Chicken Curry with a local Porter Beer.  We then went back to Puu Koa and crashed.
 

Sunday April 29, 2001
Blustering winds and heavy rain this morning. It didn't let up all morning. Gerrard packed his stuff up in preparation for leaving tonight. At 11:30 we headed into Kahului so that Gerard could drop off his rented van. Then we went for lunch at Pinata's and then headed to Sprecks beach. It looked windy but completely flat. Waves were zero to 1 foot. Steve rigged his 4.4 while Gerard and I rigged a 4.0. It was cloudy all afternoon and the wind was really gusty with lots of holes. We found the sailing anti-climatic after the last few days of wave sailing. It was a bump and jump, practice tricks day. I eventualy exchanged my wave fin for a big slalom fin so I could do some blasting. Steve and I raced each other out and back off the beach while trying to see who could get the biggist jump.  We quit at a little after 5 o'clock so we could return Gerrard's windsurfing rental gear. On the way home we picked some Ahi tuna and barbequed it for dinner. After dinner I drove Gerrard to the airport. "Aloha" to Gerrard.

Monday April 30, 2001
 Still overcast this morning but it's not raining and the wind seems pretty gusty. Steve spent the morning pre-packing for his departure tonight. At 11 o'clock we headed down to Hookipa to check out the conditions. Winds looked side offshore and light gusty. Waves were still small maybe 1 to 2 feet. After some consideration we decided to head to Sprecks. The wind looked a little stronger there so we rigged our 5.0 sails. The wind forecast this morning was for Trade Winds of 10 to 25 miles per hour. Steve and I decided it was zero to 40 mph. Big gusts and big holes made things challenging. Finding a wave to ride was also challenging because they were coming in small and randomly. There were only about another 5 sailors out so it made it easy to pick and choose a wave without having to worry about giving up a wave or avoiding collisions. After a couple of hours the wind started shifting to more side offshore and things became even more gusty. I came into the beach and had a couple of beers and waited for the wind to sort things out. My last couple of sessions were spent blasting or slogging off the beach and blasting or slogging back in. It was kind of binary sailing, either "on" or "off". We quit at 5 o'clock and headed back to Puu Koa so that Steve could finish his packing. We barbequed some more Ahi for dinner. After dinner we went over to Kihei and met Marcy and Christine at Hapa's Brew Haus to listen to the primo local blues and rocker  "Willie K".  At about 10:30 I drove Steve back over the airport in Kahului. "Aloha" to Steve.

Tuesday May 1, 2001
 Beautiful clear morning with a light trade wind blowing. I was able to enjoy my morning coffee while enjoying the sun out on the deck. The top of Haleakala was in clear view and the forecast was for trade winds of 10 to 20 knots. At 11 o'clock I headed toward Kahului and made the mandatory stop at Hookipa to check things out. Nice 5 to 6 foot waves were breaking and coming in steady trains. Although the wind still looked light there were already a half dozen sailors out and Bjorn Dunkerbeck was just rigging a new Niel Pryde sail of unknown size. I headed into Kahului and checked out prices for a new quiver bag in the shops and then went to Pinatas for a lunch burrito. When I got to Sprecks Nikola was already there and just ready to go out on her 4.5. I rigged my 5.0 and went out for a 2 hour wave sailing session on the reef. the wind was perfect and the waves were 2 to 3 feet. While out there I had to share waves with primo Canadian wave sailor Pascal Hardy and noveau Canadian pro Eric Girard.  I crashed and burned a few times while trying to be a little more aggressive with my bottom turns. After a short beer break back on the beach I went back out and did some blasting out offshore and back. There were still a couple of good waves, but the wind started shutting down about 4 o'clock and I finished about a half hour later. After derigging and enjoying the beach for awhile, I headed back to Puu Koa for a quick shower. I then drove over to the Kihei and had dinner with Marcy and Christine. They were staying at the Royal Mauiian and they had a beachfront view of Lanai, Maalaea and the West Maui mountains. We feasted on barbequed steak with baked potato and a orange and avocado salad. Served with an Australian Rosemount Estates Shiraz wine it was perfect.  After dinner we sat on the veranda and enjoyed the moon, stars, wind blowing through the coconut trees and surf breaking onto Kamaole beach.

Wednesday May 2, 2001
Last day in Maui and Haleakala was in full view this morning. I spent most of it pre-packing and cleaning up the apartment. At noon I drove into Kahului to the new Niel Pryde Windsurfing center. I met Nikola there and passed on our left over food, including the 20lb bag of rice that we didn't even put a dent in. While there I also bought a new quiver bag to replace my nearly worn out old one. I then headed to Sprecks. When I got there it looked about the same as yesterday so I rigged a 5.0 sail. My first run out told me that I should have rigged my 4.0. It was pretty windy out there. I went back to the beach and rigged down to the 4.0. With the new sail rigged the windsurfing was a lot better on my next session. Waves were not as big as yesterday but they still made for some good waveriding. Nikola showed up later in the afternoon and went out ripping on her 4.0. By 5 o'clock I had sailed and surfed as much as I could so I came in and derigged my stuff for the last time this year at Sprecks Beach. On my way back to Haiku I stopped at Hookipa for a last look at the ocean of the north shore of Maui. I think I'll stay for two months next year.