wildwahinepaddler

Relentless wind!

This wind has been something else.  I guess if you are a wind surfer, you would be loving it!  I could barely get this photo since I almost fell in thanks to the wind.  I guess you could say I was “desperate” to go out paddling…….so out in the wind I went!  It was blowing from the North so I paddled into it.  I paddled down almost to Cove  Park and the wind was not backing down.  It was bumpy!  I saw two turtles but couldn’t really enjoy them since I had to paddle every second to stay going in the direction I wanted to.  I vowed to stay out at least for an hour and then I paddled back to Kam I!  All the way back….to my back……I was hissed at by the breaking white caps that had engulfed me!  What a wild ride.  I took a walk since it was low tide and flat on the sad and then went swimming.  It was a breeze swimming down to the reef and the water is amazingly clear right now.  Swimming back was the challenge today!   Thank goodness the wind backed of for a few minutes so I could hoist my board successfully up on my racks!  I am all for the wind……just want it to go back to more normal conditions and blowing later on in the day and not constantly!  Despite the wind, it was a beautiful day!

Windy!

It was a beautiful day and I really wanted to go paddling.  It seemed a bit windy but I wanted to go out anyway until I started to take my board off of my car and it was blowing around!  I could honestly see major white caps out not too far and the ocean surface wasn’t calm……so I strapped my board back on my car.  It ended up being a walk and swim kind of day!  The tide was low so it was definitely good conditions for walking the beach.  The wind blew in and out most of the morning.  My swim was bumpy but I did make it down to the reef and saw quite a few fish busily swimming about.  The swim back was more challenging!  The water visibility was not too bad either considering the recent swell.  The wind got stronger and I didn’t end up staying too long at the beach because it was actually chilly!  I am not kidding, it was chilly and it’s almost mid March!  I was glad to climb into my warm car (which is highly unusual….)  and as soon as I got home…….I fixed a nice hot cup of cocoa to warm me up!  It doesn’t feel like Spring on Maui today!

Surrounded!

When I woke up today, I  immediately looked out the window and could see no wind blowing!  Then it was a mad rush to get my act together to go paddling because I just knew it was going to be good.  Without the winds, the vog is creeping in again but I wasn’t going to let that ruin my day!  I headed straight for the boat ramp.  Just as I was passing Kam III, my first turtle popped up!  Down at the boat ramp the turtles didn’t disappoint either!  I was immediately surrounded by six turtles……and then two……and then four more!  I was snapping photos  like crazy and the turtles were happy to pose!  One of the turtles came right up to my board and gently bumped me…….it was definitely trying to get my attention.  It was quite a turtle day and I was the only paddler at the boat ramp!  By the time I had easily counted thirteen turtles……another turtle surfaced by me, so that made fourteen turtles for the day!  I paddled back is nice conditions, but the vog continued to creep in until it looked overcast.  Luckily the water visibility is pretty good so my swim was very enjoyable too!  I like the calmness of no wind blowing……but then the vog creeps in from the Big Island.  I guess you can’t have everything, but at least it comes close most of the time!  I hope the weekend is nice too!

Swimming with me!

After a few days of a swell and then windy conditions…..I made it back out on the water today.  The wind was threatening but I went out anyway.  A paddling friend had baited me with a text message yesterday that read, “Dolphins, ray and turtles….”…..how could I not go out paddling knowing she saw dolphins, a ray and turtles yesterday?  Since the wind was coming in and out, I decided to stay closer to home and paddle north.  I paddled down to Cove Park and played with several turtles!  The turtle (photo above…) was hanging around and swimming next to me  for quite a while. Twice it seemed as if the wind was going to come in hard…..and then it would back off.  I paddled south towards Kam II, but just as I was passing Kam I, a small brownish ray darted past me!  I tried to follow it but it was too fast!  I got down to Kam II and then the wind DID roar in so I turned around and paddled against it all the way back to Kam I.  I was engulfed in choppy water and white caps!  I sure was glad that I wasn’t farther away.  It must have looked comical with me trying to carry my board in with the wind pushing me!  A friend helped me load my board up onto my car and that was really helpful.  I took a short walk and then went for my swim.  The water clarity has improved so I saw quite a lot of fish.  I even happened upon a group of Goat fish, huddled near the bottom and I’m pretty sure I counted over a hundred of them!  Swimming back against the wind was a chore, but at least I had fins on to help me cut through the choppy water.  It was a windy day, but it sure was beautiful!

My one and only!

It was a beautiful day on Maui today even though the swell that popped up yesterday was still lingering.  I got out late because I had to wait for a parking spot so I paddled north.  I could still see all the white water and waves at Kalama Park, so I turned around and paddled south.  I got down to Kam II and noticed that they had their red flags out and the shore break was definitely more prevalent there.  I could also see swells down by the boat ramp and it was clear the waves were crashing onto the rocks.  I decided to stay close to home so I paddled back and forth between Kam II and Cove Park.  Just as I was paddling out, a turtle popped up!  It was my one and only turtle of the day (pictured above….) but I was glad to see it.  Everyone who had been swimming was complaining that the water wasn’t clear, so I went for a walk and then just a dip in the ocean.  I hope the swell disappears by tomorrow and the visibility improves!  I’d really like to paddle on my birthday!

Good morning!

Well, it was another beautiful day out on the water, but there was a north/east wind blowing which had the water a bit kicked up.  There was also a bit of a swell going on but I got out okay.  I ran into a paddling friend and we decided to paddle north because of the wind.  The closer we got to Cove Park, the less I wanted to paddle over there.  From where we were, I could see lots of white water from the swell, so we turned around!  Paddling with the wind at our backs made it hot, but at least it was calmer going south.  We paddled down to the boat ramp and two turtles surfaced.  I paddled up between the turtles and tried to get some photos.  The turtle  (above in the photo) popped up and I managed to get a shot of its head!  I counted about ten turtles for today, including two small turtles with one of them being one of the smallest I have seen at the boat ramp.  The small ones are really hard to get a picture of because they spook easy and dive down.  We paddled back in nice conditions, even better than the way down, but it was clear that the swell was creating some shore break waves and the lifeguard at Kam II was making announcements about it.  My friend decided to paddle in and I headed back to Kam I.  As I passed the point between the two beaches, I could see swells rolling in and crashing on the rocks!  I got back okay and loaned my board to a paddling friend I hadn’t seen for a while so she could go paddling with her relative.  It was a nice swim, too, but the visibility is kicked up due to the swell, especially down by the reef.  I hope the swell dies down by tomorrow!  It was still a very beautiful day!