wildwahinepaddler

Paddle surfing

So it’s been a week since I last went out paddling…..and that needs to change.  I watched some sunset paddlers tonight paddle surfing and it made me want to go get my board!  The pastel colors of the sun setting,  mixed with the blue ocean was so nice.  This photo was taken at Cove Park.  I hope it will be paddling for me tomorrow!

Amazing Sunset!

I missed paddling the last couple of days…. So I really wanted to go out today.  Unfortunately, it was already windy at Kam I but I went out anyway.   The wind was blowing from the north but I paddled south.  I paddled down half-way past Kam III, but when some white caps started washing over the back of my board, I decided to turn around!  It felt good to paddle!  Back by Kam I, I ran into a paddling friend so we stopped to chat and my one turtle for the day surfaced.   I decided to swim too, although the water still isn’t clear, at least it was somewhat clear in spots.  It was a brief swim!  Hopefully soon our beach will get back to normal…..

Beautiful, but windy!

When I got up this morning…. It looked like it might be windy…. And was it ever!  I wanted to go out paddling anyway so I decided to stay in the area in case the wind got worse.  Well it got worse!    A paddling friend and I seemed to be the only people out….I guess no one else wanted to paddle in the wind today!  It was definitely a workout day!  Afterwards, I packed up and drove down to Keawakapu Beach and went for a walk.   Then the wind really picked up but I swam anyway!  The sky had become overcast too which made the water darker and visibility was limited.  No turtles at all today…. Only a few fish.   It would be nice if the wind would wait until I was done paddling and swimming to get crazy!  Well not today anyway…. I’m pooped!!!!

Great view!

The day started out windy so we headed to Keawakapu Beach.   We took a beach walk and the wind backed off a bit and I headed out for my swim.  It was so mellow there!  The water was clearer than yesterday and as soon as I swam out……a turtle popped up right next to me!  I swam down to the coral reef and was surrounded by little fish with black and yellow stripes…..there must have been thirty of them!  Then another turtle appeared near me!   It was a great swim and snorkel!  I hope to go paddling tomorrow…..but I’ll most likely be down here swimming in cleaner water afterwards!!

Beautiful Sunday!

I really missed swimming in the ocean yesterday…. so we packed up and headed to Keawakapu today.  It was beautiful but there’s still a swell which is affecting the clarity of the water.  At least it wasn’t brown!   I don’t know how long it will take for our beach to get back to normal.  We walked along the beach down to Ulua Beach and back…. And then I took my swim.  I swam down to the point at the Mana Kai, but the coral reef wasn’t very clear.  I saw some fish but it just wasn’t clear.  I hope the swell passes soon and things can get back to normal!!

Nice for paddling!

From this photo, you can’t really tell that there is still run-off plaguing the water…..but it was actually worse today!  It seems to have spread out and there is a slight swell that is making the situation worse.  The paddling conditions could not have been more perfect, though, so out paddling I went!  I paddled south, hoping to see more clarity in the water, but all the way to the boat ramp and even the boat ramp wasn’t clear today!  I ran into some debris in the water outside of Kam II and III……some of it looked like straw or hay…..I can’t imagine where that came from.  Luckily, the situation didn’t stop the turtles, so my first two turtles were at Kam III and then I had twelve more turtles at the boat ramp!  It was good to see the turtles….but I can’t imagine that they are very happy with the water situation either!  On my way back, I ran into a paddling friend and we hung out at Kam II for a while and watched the swell roll in.  I decided to head back to Kam I and try to get in before a wave could knock me into that brown water!  Since it was Saturday, I knew that the beaches south would be more crowded, so I just ended up taking a shower and missed my swim for today.  It felt so odd not swimming after paddling!  I don’t know how long it will take to clear up the water, but it can’t happen soon enough for me and my paddling buddies and everyone who swims here most every day!  At least it was a beautiful day even though there was some VOG hanging around hiding the island of Lanai today……….it sure is hotter without the trade winds blowing too!!

Keawakapu Beach

Our beach is still trying to rid itself of the storm run-off……so we decided to go swimming at Keawakapu Beach.  It was an alternate workout day…….going for a walk and swim….instead of paddling, but it was really nice!  I had forgotten how beautiful this stretch of beach is and it’s just a few minutes drive from our house.  The water visibility was not as pristine as the previous days but I think it was due to some high tides and a little swell….at least it wasn’t brown!  No turtles today, just a nice long swim.  I swam down to the point by the Mana Kai Resort and snorkeled around the coral reef there, but the water wasn’t very clear there either.  The weather couldn’t be nicer, though, and hopefully I will be out paddling tomorrow!!