Beautiful Maui Morning!

The photo might look like summer, but it felt more like winter out on the ocean today.  The sky had a thin layer of overcast toward the south and the water was not calm.  In fact, it was quite choppy and there was a slight swell breaking on shore too.  I don’t usually like to go out when there is shore break, but I really wanted to paddle today so I went for it!  By the time I got down to the boat ramp, the ocean was getting pretty funky and more choppy so I didn’t know how long I would stay.  Just as I was about to turn around and paddle back, I looked to my left and a turtle was swimming along with me!  Then I noticed to my right, another big turtle was swimming along with me too!  I was right in between them!  I decided that this was an “omen” from the turtles to head back because the wind was getting stronger, so I headed back.  As I was passing Kam III, another turtle popped up in front of me!  Paddling back in the choppy conditions was a lot of work, but I did manage to make it back before the wind got crazy.  As I was paddling in to the beach at Kam I, another turtle surfaced so I hung with it for a few minutes.  It had a tumor on the side of its mouth, but it was swimming fine.  The wind died back a bit by the time I took my swim and to my surprise the water was very clear.  I think there is a high surf advisory for the north facing shores of Maui, so that is probably where the swell was coming from.  I hope it’s calm tomorrow!