Twelve turtles!

Today the wind was definitely blowing from the south.  I watched for a little while and it didn’t seem like it was going to let up anytime soon either, so I accepted the workout ahead of me and paddled out!  I paddled into the wind and hoped it might back off while I was paddling, but that didn’t happen today.  It was work paddling south and it took me so much longer to get to the boat ramp too!  I ran into my first turtle of the day just as I paddled out at Kam I and the second one just as I paddled past Kam III.  Then as I was heading into the boat ramp area, I saw the red pontoon snorkel boat zipping in too, so I just accepted that I would have company today!  The boat had quite a few snorkelers too, but I worked around them and ended up with ten turtles anyway.  That was twelve turtles for today!  The wind was kind enough to back off as well so the conditions got very nice.  I think I stayed out over an hour and a half!  It was so nice paddling back too.  The conditions held out during my swim, but the visibility was not as good as yesterday.  Despite the lack of good visibility I did see the Unicorn fish that has been hanging around at the reef!  The wind had just started to change direction and turn into trade winds when I was going to leave.  I wouldn’t be unhappy if the ocean was calm and glassy tomorrow!!  Let’s hope…..

Ahhhhhh!

What a perfect Summer day on Maui!  A wind blowing from the south was threatening but it backed off and it got perfect.  There were hardly any clouds in the sky, except a crown of wispy and fluffy white clouds hovering over the top of Haleakala.  Initially I paddled north in the direction of Cove Park and Kalama Park, but I had to stay out a ways because there was actually some surf down that way.  The surfers were loving it!  Five turtles came to visit me too, and one of them was “Lizard”!  I guess that turtle is hanging out there now instead of the boat ramp.  The conditions got so perfect so I decided to paddle down to the boat ramp too.  I ran across a big turtle as I passed Kam II and then another one half-way past Kam III!  Then I saw the red pontoon snorkel boat cruising in so I turned around.  That was seven turtles for the day in three different spots!  It was so perfect and calm out on the water and that made it really hard to come in, but I wanted to swim while it was perfect too.  I am really enjoying swimming down to the point lately and seeing so many more fish!  The wind stayed out until the time I was starting to pack up to go home and then it finally came in!  At least it cooperated  for me!!  I hope it’s this perfect tomorrow…..we’ll see!

Beautiful Day!

It was a beautiful day on Maui today.  No VOG and just some scattered clouds and very little wind blowing.  Haleakala was clear so the tourists who chose today to drive up the mountain got lucky!  I paddled out and noticed some rolling swells coming in.  There was definitely something going on!  I paddled down to the boat ramp and there wasn’t anyone else there……not even turtles!  I stuck around for a few minutes and then headed back.  There were more rolling swells to paddle over on the way back!  I went for my swim and as soon as I put my head under the water, a big fish swam right by my face!  I wasn’t expecting that.  I swam towards the reef but the closer I got to it, the worse the visibility became.  I decided to head back.  There was definitely a swell building out there.  I hope it’s not worse tomorrow!  We’ll see….

some days I have to share my turtles!

Today “seemed” calmer than yesterday…….but no sooner did I get out paddling when a Kona wind began to blow just like yesterday.  I was out later than I had planned so I decided to paddle north towards Cove Park and Kalama Park.  It was easy paddling north with the wind at my back!  Just as I paddled outside of Cove Park, a big turtle surfaced.  Between Cove Park and Kalama Park, I counted sixteen turtles!  The turtles were popping up like little “Jack in the Boxes”!  Then one turtle surprised me by popping up right next to my board, blowing water at me and then diving down!  The water was very clear so I could see the turtles swimming underneath me too.  I was happy to have sixteen turtles there today….and so were a few snorkelers!  I paddled back against the wind and the wind never did back off.  It was a chore paddling against the wind, but I made it down to Kam II and then turned around.  I also saw a turtle while I was swimming and I tried to keep up with it however that turtle was moving really fast!  It left me in the dust in no time.  The day stayed windy but I could see the trade winds stirring up the white water out farther so I knew they would overtake the Kona wind a some point.  I decided to leave before that happened!  I wouldn’t be unhappy if it wasn’t windy tomorrow morning….so we’ll see!

Akumal Bay

I just found this photo of a turtle swimming in Akumal Bay with the cleaning fish attached to its shell!  The fish somehow attach themselves to the turtle shell and when the turtle stops to eat seaweed, it whips itself around and cleans the turtles shell!  It’s so funny to watch.  Nature is so amazing!  Today on Maui,  the day started out windy……Kona wind was blowing and it was choppy paddling down to the boat ramp.  Just as I started to paddle out, I noticed a turtle swimming right under me, so I paddled with it almost down to Kam II, then I continued on to the boat ramp.  When I paddled past Kam III, another big turtle surfaced so I stopped to visit, but the ocean was bumpy.  I started begging for the wind to back off when I got to the boat ramp and amazingly, it DID back off!  I visited with five turtles at the boat ramp and then when I headed back, I ran into another turtle at Kam III!  That was eight turtles for the day.  The conditions got very perfect and I enjoyed a great swim too!  The water is so warm right now…..it must be Summer!!

Honu!

It was another beautiful day at the beach with calm conditions and no wind blowing.  In fact, it was rather hot out on the water without any wind and I was sweating up a storm!  I decided to paddle north today since the ocean was so glassy.  I paddled down to Kalama Park and sat.  It wasn’t long before the turtles started to surface!  There were so many turtles that it was hard to keep an accurate count…..but I’m pretty sure there were at least twenty turtles today!  Twice it happened that three or four turtles surfaced around me all at once and I even hung out with “Lizard”, a turtle I haven’t seen for a while!  It was so nice out there and the water was so clear.  I enjoyed being able to see all the reef and coral under me.  At one point, an outrigger canoe pulled up by me with a guy giving some commentary about turtles and Kihei to some tourists he had on board.  One of the women was busy trying to catch some photos of the turtles.  Then the guy instructed the paddlers to start paddling so they could get down to another reef, but the woman taking photos said, “Can’t we just stay here…..that lady is bringing all the turtles!”  So funny!  After a while I decided to paddle back, so I paddled down to Kam II and back in order to get my workout in.  The conditions stayed nice all the way through my swim and I saw many fish down at the reef.  It was a great day!

It sure was!

Yes, it was another spectacular day on Maui today!  A mix of clouds and sun and no wind blowing and calm conditions….just what I ordered.  I paddled down to the boat ramp in nice conditions and when I arrived at the boat ramp, two other stand up paddlers were there and also a kayak.  The water was so nice and calm but the turtles took their time coming up.  First I spotted one turtle popping its head up out farther so I paddled out.  It hung around for a few minutes and then dove down and I could see it swimming under me.  The other stand up paddlers and the kayak moved on and more turtles started to appear.  I counted eleven turtles for the day!  I’m so glad I am seeing the turtles again!  I paddled back in nice conditions except the clouds started to move in,  but during my swim, the sun came out again.  I decided to swim down where the turtle had taken me the other day and I saw more interesting coral and fish!  The water is so warm!  When I got ready to leave the beach, a friend told me that two stand up paddlers had seen a 12 ft shark and a baby shark so he came in from swimming!  I rather doubt that story since sharks do not travel with their young……maybe it was dolphins?  I’ll probably find out tomorrow!!

Buddy!

It was a perfectly gorgeous June day today with just a hint of VOG and just a comfortable breeze blowing.  I encountered some loopy-type swells as I paddled out, but the ocean calmed down by the time I was passing Kam II.  Even Lanai has been visible the last couple of days!  I didn’t see a single turtle on my way down to the boat ramp,  but once I got there, the turtles didn’t disappoint me!  My turtle count for the day was nine turtles and a couple of them were just babies.  One of them dove down in front of the nose of my board and then popped up, banging into my board!  Then it panicked and zipped away.  I was so glad to see some turtles today since the last two days I had only seen two turtles!  Four of them surfaced as I was starting to leave the area, with me getting to sit in-between two sets of turtles!  I paddled back in nice conditions and even ran into my husband swimming!  The real excitement for the day was while I was out for my swim.  I had just been watching an assortment of fish darting around the reef when a big turtle showed up beneath me!  I kept swimming and it stayed right under me and then three or four times, the turtle surfaced right under me so I got to rub its shell! (of course I would deny that…..hmmmm..).  The turtle led me right to Kam II and then a smaller turtle swam up to me and the big turtle!  It was swimming in the direction I needed to turn, so I turned to swim with that turtle for a while.  It was smaller and faster and I had to work hard to keep up with it!  I could see that it was definitely not going to flirt with me and then it took off and left me in the dust.  Too funny!  I swam back with the “double turtle encounter” making my day and the conditions stayed nice. What a great Sunday for paddling and swimming!!

Nice sunset sky

Well, this morning was much calmer.  I cracked up at myself because I was in such a hurry to get out on the water that I jumped on my board and realized I didn’t have my paddle!  I hate when that happens.  Anyway, I paddled down to the boat ramp and as I was heading into Kam III, the wind started to blow and the conditions got choppy!  I was annoyed but kept paddling.  Then as I paddled into the boat ramp area, the wind backed off and it was nice again.  I waited for a while and only saw one turtle again today.  I can’t imagine where the turtles are hiding out right now but they have not been around.  The conditions stayed nice all the way back and all the way through my swim.  The visibility of the water has really improved and I even saw a couple of Unicorn fish at the reef today!  I wonder if the turtles will be back tomorrow….we’ll see!

Beautiful day!

The swell that was starting on Tuesday got worse on Wednesday and didn’t let up until today.  When I first got up this morning and looked outside, the wind wasn’t blowing and I was ready with my board strapped on top of my car!  When I arrived at the beach, the wind was just starting to threaten but it was still a beautiful day.  Just as I was going out in the water, the wind picked up and the ocean got choppy!  I really wanted to paddle and I really wanted to go down to the boat ramp, so I continued on knowing what I might be up against.  The wind was actually blowing from the south but it looked like it was blowing the other direction out farther which was causing the bumps and choppy conditions. I paddled against the wind all the way down to the boat ramp, just hoping it would back off, but no such luck today!  Just as I was paddling past Kam III, a turtle surfaced in front of me, so I stopped for a bit to visit with it.  The turtle went under the water and surfaced a couple of times and then it dove down and disappeared.  I continued paddling to the boat ramp area and the wind intensified.  The conditions were so choppy, so I didn’t stick around!  I hoped to catch the wind on my way back and I did.  The wind pushed me back in no time!  My swim was a choppy one too as the wind just wasn’t going to back off today, but at least the visibility was pretty good and I did see fish down at the reef.  The white caps started hissing and the wind was getting stronger, so I swam back.  I was very happy to get out on the water today even though the conditions weren’t perfect and of course, the ocean always feels so good!  Maybe tomorrow will have better paddling conditions for me…..you never know!