wildwahinepaddler

Pissed off turtles!

The day was beautiful and the conditions perfect!  I ran into a paddling friend on the way out and we paddled down to the boat ramp together.  There were a lot of people down there already, but it is Sunday after all!  There was an immediate turtle line of three turtles…..turtle triangles and groups of four to six, all surfacing at the same time!  We were surrounded so many times that I lost count!  Bumpy and Lizard were there too, along with other turtles of all sizes.  In all there must have been over twenty turtles today!  We saw something odd……I paddled over….and it was two turtles mating!  Yep, one was clearly on the back of the other and I wanted to get a picture…..but suddenly the turtles spooked and soaked me with splashing water (that’s the picture up top!   Apparently they didn’t want their private moment photographed!  Every one who saw what happened, was laughing!  I did get a photo of one of the smaller turtles though and they are difficult to catch in a photo.  The pontoon snorkel boat came in and dropped off their snorkelers and then it was very crowded.  I decided to head back and two more turtles popped up as I passed Kam II!  The conditions stayed perfect and on my way in at Kam I, another turtle popped up too!  My swim was short because the visibility is not very good right now but it sure was a beautiful day!!

Perfect Paddling!

As you can see…..the water was pure glass this morning!  I headed straight to the boat ramp in search of turtles and ran into a paddling friend briefly, and up popped my first turtle!  Down at the boat ramp the water was like glass and no wind was blowing.  I got a late start so I didn’t plan to stay very long, but the turtles must have figured it out because they started popping up!  Fifteen at the boat ramp and one at Kam II!  The turtles were like little “jack in the boxes”…..popping up and down.  The very top of Haleakala was in view and perfectly clear too!  At one point, I was surrounded by six turtles all at once!  I paddled back in perfect conditions and it only got somewhat windy when I went for my swim.  I decided not to hang out down at the reef since the visibility wasn’t very good.  It was a beautiful day all around!!

Two turtles today!

Oh boy…..it was already windy when I got down to the beach!  I went out anyway hoping the wind might back off like yesterday….but NO luck today with that! I was immediately greeted by a large turtle just as I paddled out!  The wind was blowing strong from the south so I paddled into the wind.  By the time I got down into the Kam III area, the white caps had started to appear and the wind gained strength, so I turned around….or I should say the wind turned me around!  I paddled north and ran into a paddling friend.  She had paddled north and said it took her forever to get back to Kam II.  We chatted for a while as the wind tried to push us closer to the rocks, so we had to keep paddling to stay out.  Suddenly, I saw a turtle lurch out of the water far enough that I could see its shell!  At first I wasn’t sure it was a turtle….but it shot it’s head out of the water again and I think it was the turtle “Torpedo Head”!  Then it disappeared.  The wind backed off momentarily so I paddled back to Kam I.  Then I took a beach walk and then went swimming, but by then the wind had changed direction and was blowing crazy from the north! I swam north against the wind and then let it push me back.  It was a wild swim!  The wind was relentless today and by the time I came in from swimming, the sand was blowing too and my beach stuff was all covered in sand.  When the sand blows……I am done at the beach!  Hopefully the wind will simmer down tomorrow, but at least it blew out a lot of the Vog that hand been creeping in the last few days.  Well, I am grateful for that!!

Peek a Boo!

Well, this morning I got down to the beach and it was windy!  I really wanted to go paddling so I went out anyway.  The wind was blowing from the south, so I headed south into the wind.  I paddled against the wind all the way down to the boat ramp and then the wind totally backed off and it got perfect!  I’m so glad I didn’t decide not to go out!  I practically had the place to myself and the turtles did not disappoint.  There were so many turtles!!!!  I took so many photos and in my hurry, some of them ended up blurry, but I got a few really good ones too!  The turtle up above had just dove under my board on the other side and then it came up and I got the photo!  Twice, five turtles came up at once and I was so excited!  I was surrounded by turtles most of the time I was there and I think I counted over twenty turtles, even one really small baby turtle!  The wind stayed out thankfully so I paddled back in nice conditions.  When I was paddling in I saw my husband swimming out there too!  I was lucky enough to have a calm swim and although the reef is still not very clear, I still swam with a Spotted Eagle Ray and I swam back to Kam I with a turtle!  What a great day and it sure was beautiful!!!

Hello there!

It was a beautiful day today!  I didn’t get out paddling until about 10:00 a.m. but it was so nice!  I headed straight for the boat ramp.  As I was passing Kam III, a turtle swam right by me so I turned around and followed it for a few minutes, but it wasn’t in a friendly mood!  Then just as I was leaving the Kam III area, another turtle popped up in front of me and although I paddled right to it, it wasn’t in a friendly mood either!  At the boat ramp I had the place to myself, but I kept waiting for the turtles to appear.  Finally they came up one by one until I had seen five more turtles.  They apparently were not in the mood for photos today though.  Just as I was about to leave to paddle back, I found myself surrounded by five turtles!  I was getting my iPhone camera ready and then I heard the snorkel boat roaring in…..so I hurried so much that all the great photos I thought I was getting were blurry!  Only the above photo turned out.  That snorkel boat can really annoy me!  Then as they pulled up, the crew person started directing the snorkelers to where I was with the turtles….then the turtles disappeared and I just left!  Oh well.  It was beautiful paddling back and I knew my swim would be nice too.  Unfortunately, the visibility at our beach is still not back to normal from the swell from last week.  I swam down to the reef, but decided not to hang around because it just wasn’t very clear.  With all the shark incidents lately, I don’t think it is a wise idea to be hanging around any murky reefs!  It sure was a beautiful day though…….

Turtles!

Yesterday got away from me before I could post about paddling.  It was finally a nice day and the clouds cleared after days of gloomy clouds and choppy conditions.  There was a slight swell, and I did get hit with one wave on the way out, but once I got out on the ocean, it was really nice conditions!  I paddled down to the boat ramp and I got some great turtle photos…..but with about sixteen turtles…..most of them were not hanging around.  After the kayak fisherman died after having his foot bitten off by a shark in Makena on Monday…….maybe the turtles were on alert too!  I make it a point to never hang my feet over the side of my board for good reason!  The conditions stayed nice all the way back to Kam I and a turtle surfaced as I was paddling into the area.  I got a photo of that turtle too!  I heard reports that the water visibility was poor but I went swimming anyway and it was poor alright….almost zero visibility!  I stopped short of the reef and turned around because I couldn’t see anything.  It sure was a beautiful day though!!  Hopefully the water will clear up soon…..

shark attack!

Okay….so I admit that when this happens it takes me back a bit…..but I’ll get over it.  This, along with some weather, has had me focusing on home projects and Christmas preparations and not paddling.  The sunset did not materialize tonight either, but then it seemed as if the clouds were starting to part and maybe it might be a nice day tomorrow. I sure hope so because I am ready to get back out there and visit my turtles, and maybe a whale one day soon!  We’ll see what tomorrow brings……