wildwahinepaddler

Hello Bumpy!

I wondered about the wind this morning because it had the water kicked up…..but as soon as I took off paddling…..it backed off and was perfect!  The water turned glassy and calm just like yesterday and so I headed down to the boat ramp.  The top of Haleakala was clear and so far, Lanai was still visible (at least until the vog creeps in again!)  When I got down to the boat ramp, there was an outrigger canoe there with snorkelers and there were snorkelers from Kam III too……in fact, it was quite busy down there!  I immediately spotted three turtles surfacing  so I paddle over to them.  I forgot to get my iPhone camera ready again…..and I missed photographing those turtles.  Luckily I got my act together and took quite a few great shots after that (the photo above is of a turtle I affectionately call “Bumpy”….. this turtle is so friendly)!  I was happily visiting with the turtles and taking pictures when I noticed a turtle swimming over to my board.  The turtle had a red fishing float and fishing line wrapped around it’s back right fin!  The red float was popping up and down, but the turtle snugged right up to my board, so I bent down and snatched the float!  The turtle let me unwrap the fishing line and then it dove under my board.  Suddenly I felt two bumps under me and a tug…..and the fishing float and fishing line broke loose!  The hook might still be in the turtle’s fin, but at least it was free from the fishing line.  Poor turtle!  Then a paddling friend cruised into the area, so I told her about the rescue effort.  We stayed down at the boat ramp for a while and the day stayed perfect!  I thoroughly enjoyed paddling back to Kam I and my swim was just as perfect!  The water was so clear and calm.  My new NSP board is great!  It might have started out breezy but it turned out to be a really great day!!

Oh my!

Yes, it was an incredibly nice picture perfect day out on the water today!  Apparently, earlier in the morning it was windy……but by the time I got down to the beach, it was perfect with glassy conditions.  I took my new stand up board out (the 10 ‘2″ NSP)…. and I have NO complaints!  Being shorter it is easier to handle and the added thickness had me gliding nicely across the glassy ocean!  The added width of one more inch had me adjusting where I put my feet but it was not a problem.  My new straps for my racks are so much better than the straps I had been using too.  I ran into a paddling friend so we paddled south down to the boat ramp together.  Just as we paddled into the Kam III area, a turtle popped up ahead of us!  It was later, so the snorkel boat was already pulling up, but we decided to paddle over near it anyway.  The water was so clear and glassy!  Suddenly I spotted three turtles making a triangle so I hurried over!  Just as I pulled up between them, I fumbled to get my iPhone camera ready and missed all three turtles.  As more turtles surfaced, I was still fumbling with my iPhone and unfortunately missed all the turtles today!  My paddling friend said that Bumpy was among the turtles I was missing too…….I really have to get that thing ready before I get to the boat ramp!  We stayed there just enjoying the gorgeous day and perfect conditions, along with the snorkeling boat.  After awhile, the turtles were few and far between, so we paddled north.  My friend went in at Kam II and I headed back to Kam I.  The conditions were still perfect, so my swim down to the reef was great!  There were a lot of fish and I saw a school of Goat fish numbering close to a hundred!  I don’t know what they were congregating for but that is the most I have ever seen at one place.  Swimming back was so nice and the wind didn’t start coming up until after noon…..so it was just a gorgeous day!  My new board was a hit too!

Calm and clear!

After such a windy,  choppy day yesterday…..today was perfect for paddling!  I headed straight for the boat ramp and I had the place to myself.  I immediately spotted two turtles surfacing, so I paddled right between them to sit!  I struggled to get my iPhone ready for taking photos…..but I was not in time for the turtles…they both dove under!  I sat for a while but I didn’t care because the water was so calm and clear, I just enjoyed looking at the coral underneath me.  Two more turtles surfaced, but I was not in time for them either!  The other day the turtles were practically climbing on my board begging for their picture to be taken…..but today, they were camera shy!  I paddled back in perfect conditions and one more turtle popped up as I passed Kam III!   That made five turtles for the day.  The day was so nice, I figured that I had a good chance of a great swim too.  The water stayed calm and was very clear and I saw quite a few fish down at the reef!  It was a nice swim back too.  The wind just started to come up around 11:30 a.m. so it was perfect timing today!  I really could not have ordered a more perfect morning……..tomorrow I hope to be paddling one of the new boards!!!!!

Windy!

After yesterdays excitement at the early black friday event at Second Wind…….WINNING the grand prize at their raffle which was a stand up paddle board…..I was anxious to get out paddling but it was already getting windy!!  Back tracking…..I had already purchased a nice 10′ 2″ NSP board earlier in the day at Second Wind and upon returning to the shop for the raffle….I spotted a brand new paddle board that they had on sale for $595.00!  It was 34 inches wide so it would be a great starter board to take friends out on (it’s always nice to have an extra board so friends don’t have to rent a board for you to take them out paddling!!).  Several other people were looking at the board so I told my husband we should grab it because somebody was going to buy it!  Now we had purchased two boards in a matter of a couple of hours……and then we stayed for the raffle, and I had the winning ticket!  The grand prize was a nice 9′ 6″  Elua Makani stand up/paddle surf board……!!!  Now we had three boards for the day!  It was so funny!  I couldn’t believe I won it!!  The young man who helped us said he would also repair the rails on my old stand up board, so when that is done, we will have four boards!  What a funny day!  Anyway, back to the windy paddling day…..I ran into a paddling friend who told me it had been windy off and on all morning.  We paddled against the wind down to Cove Park and then the wind backed off and it got really nice!  I contemplated paddling south down to the boat ramp but just as we turned to paddle south, the wind came back in with a fury.  It got so choppy and the white caps came in so fast!  We paddled down to Kam II and I spotted a turtle swimming towards us but it kept on going, swimming right under me!  Then I spotted another turtle out farther, so I paddled in the choppy waves, out to it, but it didn’t hang around either.  Both turtles seemed to have some place to go!  My friend paddled in and I turned around to paddle back to Kam I.  It was bumpy and choppy all the way back!  I knew my swim would be bumpy too but at least the water was really clear today.  I swam down to the reef and watched a few fish and then swam back against the wind.  I hope the wind backs off by tomorrow so I can go into Kahului and pick up the boards!  Luckily my paddling friend has offered to help me get the boards back to Kihei…….that was nice of her!  Despite the wind, the day was a beautiful one!

Hi there!

The vog was thick this morning and the sun wasn’t shining…. So I wondered about paddling today.   I waited around and pretty soon I could see the sun starting to peek out.  I hurried to put my sunscreen on jammed down to the beach!  When I got there, the wind seemed to coming up and it was blowing from the north.  Then I figured out why the sun was starting to come out……the wind was blowing the vog!  I decided to paddle north into the wind and when I got just outside Cove Park….. I spotted a turtle ahead of me.  I paddled to it and three more turtles surfaced so I was surrounded by four turtles!  I took that as my cue to just stay put and enjoy the turtles!  One by one, the turtles disappeared and so I turned and paddled south with the wind at my back.  I paddled down past Kam II and then turned and paddled against the wind back to Kam I.   It was windy but it never got blown out.  Just as I was heading out for my swim…. The wind backed off and it got really nice!  It was a smooth swim but the visibility in the water wasn’t very good so I stopped short of the reef and swam back.  The wind stayed out and there was barely a breeze blowing when I left.   I would be happy to see the vog dissipate!   Maybe tomorrow……

Hanging with my buddy!

Today was just as perfect as yesterday, except the Vog moved in and it was obscuring the sun.  The paddling conditions  were perfect though!  I ran into a paddling friend, so we paddled together down to the boat ramp.  My friend pointed out something in the water just out from Kam III…..so we paddled to what looked liked possibly whales or dolphins…but once we got closer, whatever it was disappeared.  Down at the boat ramp, I paddled right into a group of five turtles right away!  I got some great photos with my iPhone!  The photo up above was of “Bumpy”….. who came visiting right next to my board!  That turtle is so friendly and often bumps my board with its shell.  We had some company at the boat ramp too……a local guy in a kayak and a couple of other kayaks with tourists in them.  The turtles were everywhere too!  I was having fun taking the photos and there were at least twenty turtles if not more.  It got later, but the conditions were still glassy and nice and then the pontoon snorkel boat roared in to drop of their noisy snorkelers.  I was surprised that the turtles were still hanging around despite the chaos!  Finally I decided to head back and paddling was so enjoyable with no wind!  Without the wind, we get the Vog that moves in…..but at least without wind, they don’t burn the sugar cane either.   I always know how thick the Vog is when the island of Lanai is nowhere to be seen!  I swam in perfect conditions too and besides seeing fish down at the reef, I ran into a turtle swimming south.  I quickly turned around and joined it but after a few minutes, I turned around and swam back to Kam I.  It was quite a turtle kind of day…….just how I like it!!

Oh hello turtle!

After all the wind from last week, today was glorious!  I got out late but I headed for the boat ramp with my iPhone in the water proof case, hoping to photograph some turtles.  It was a gorgeous day with no wind blowing and although the VOG is creeping in, it was still mighty nice!  I didn’t see a single turtle until I hit the boat ramp and then suddenly I was surrounded by five turtles and I scrambled to get my phone ready.  I took some great pictures of the turtles too! (The above photo is one I really like and that turtle posed for me!)  I stayed even after the snorkel boat cruised over and got more photos.  I am really enjoying taking my phone with me but I was confused when my phone actually rang!  There were at least thirteen turtles in all at the boat ramp and one turtle at Kam III!  I got a nice little video too which surprised me.  A paddling friend showed up and we chatted for a bit, then I took her picture too! And  I just texted the photo to her!  I paddled back in perfect conditions and swam in perfect conditions.  The reef was actually clear today and I saw a lot of fish too!  I sure hope it’s just as nice tomorrow!!

Love the Honu!

Today was even more windy than yesterday!  I knew it before I went down to the beach, but I guess I was desperate to go paddling, even in the wind.  It was mighty windy with choppy conditions and white caps too!  I paddled standing up as much as I could, but it was so much easier to power through the chop sitting down.  I paddled into the wind to the north but it took me forever to get down to Cove Park, so that’s where I turned around!  With the wind at my back, I was getting a pretty good push,  but it was still wavy and choppy, so sitting down to enjoy the sights was out of the question.  It was a paddling, paddling, paddling kind of day!  Then I paddled down to Kam II and turned around.  The wind has been crazy!  I knew I was in for a rough water swim too, but usually it’s not too bad with a mask, snorkel and fins.  I swam south with the wind and a few minutes into my swim, a big turtle swam by me, so I quickly turned around to swim north.  It didn’t seem interested in surfacing, so I turned around and swam south again.  Down by the reef, the visibility was not as good as yesterday, so I headed back.  Suddenly another turtle passed me swimming south, so I turned around again to swim with it!  The turtle came up right in front of me, so I gave its shell a rub……then it turned completely around and swam directly under me!  I wasn’t sure what it was doing, but I didn’t want it to surface again right into me, so I swam away from it.  Soon the turtle was right next to me and I was looking right into it’s eye!  Then it swam under me and surfaced right in front of me again…..so I gave it another good rub on its shell!  I love turtle encounters!  Hopefully the wind will get back to normal soon and I can paddle down to the boat ramp…..we’ll see……