wildwahinepaddler

Lots of turtles!

It was another beautiful day on Maui today!  The skies were mostly sunny and there was just a bit of a breeze blowing from the north.  The breeze was at my back paddling down to the boat ramp, but when I arrived, the breeze stopped blowing.  Two other paddlers were paddling north while I was paddling south….so I ended up being the only person at the boat ramp!  It was nearly immediate when the turtles started to congregate…..I counted eight turtles all at once, surrounding me!  When that happens, I just want to soak in the moment, so I laid back on my board with my hat over my eyes….and just listened to the turtles swimming up to me and around me,  and splashing!  A couple of times I looked to my right and left, and saw turtles looking at me, it’s was so neat.  I couldn’t believe how many turtles were hanging around, little ones, big ones and every size in-between!  One of the turtles was “Bumpy”…. the very friendly turtle who likes to try to climb up on my board to get a rub on its shell!  I also saw “Little Torpedo Head” !  There were so many turtles that when I counted about twenty-five….I decided to quit counting!  It was quite a turtle day!  I paddled back in perfect conditions and I was pretty sure my swim would be just as perfect.  Not only was my swim perfect, but half way down to the reef I ran across a turtle swimming north, so I turned and swam north.  Suddenly the turtle began to surface right under me!  I tried to move back, but it came right up under me and brushed my chest!  Then it surfaced and went back under, but stayed right with me.  I swam side by side with the turtle, as it bumped into me along the way and honestly….it looked me right in the eye!  I gave it a few rubs on its shell and it happily swam underneath me.  This went on for probably ten minutes or more, so I was afraid that someone might see what was going on and report me!  I would just deny it.  I once heard it said that turtles don’t initiate contact with humans…..and I call B.S. on that!  It simply is NOT true and they prove it to me every day.  It was quite an encounter!  I never know when something like this will happen, but it’s always such a joy when it does!  After awhile, the turtle turned and headed out to sea and I turned and headed back towards the reef.  I got an extra swim today with one of my most favorite sea creatures!!  I am so lucky!!

Honu!

This morning I was just about to get disappointed because it looked like yesterday……but I went for it and paddled right down to the boat ramp.  The wind blew at my back the whole way down but just as I paddled past Kam III, the wind backed off completely!  It was perfect at the boat ramp!  I didn’t completely trust the wind to stay away so I really hoped the turtles would not make me wait, and they didn’t!  Three other paddlers were there too and one turtle popped up between me and the other paddlers, and then the other paddlers moved on.  It was just in time for the turtle show!  Immediately four turtles surfaced all around me!  Then a new turtle swam over by my board and it’s shell looked like a patchwork quilt, so I named it “Patchy”!  It was very friendly too.  I also saw “Little Torpedo Head” today zipping past me!  I was in a couple of turtle triangles and sat between numerous turtles and I had them all to myself.  It stayed really nice and just as I was leaving the area happy with fourteen turtles……two more big turtles surfaced and I stopped to visit with them too.  That was sixteen turtles for today!  It was perfect conditions paddling back and I suspected that my swim would be just as perfect, and it was!  There were lots of busy fish down at the reef and the water is reasonably clear.  The day was so nice and comfortable with just a nice cooling breeze blowing onshore.  I don’t think it could have been any nicer!!

Windy day!

I guess everyday can’t be just perfect!  Today started out windy and stayed windy so I paddled north into the wind.  I paddled down to Kalama Park but I didn’t see any turtles, so I headed south.  The wind pushed me down to Kam II, but I didn’t dare keep going!  I turned around and headed back to Kam I and just as I passed the rocky point….the wind backed off.  By the time I got out for my swim, the wind had picked up again.  I knew I was in for a windy swim but it also got overcast and that made it dark under the water.  It was too eery to hang out at the reef when it was so dark!  On my way back, I saw a large Puffer fish and a crab trying to bury itself in the sand!  Then a school of about thirty small fish fluttered by underneath me.  I missed seeing the turtles today!!

Turtles galore!

I checked the beach cam and it was not windy this morning…..so I hurried down to the beach.  Yesterday I decided to leave the beach to all those having Labor Day picnics since I knew it would be crowded.  Today was super perfect!  I drove right into a parking spot and I got out in the water before 8:30 a.m.  It was so perfect!  I paddled down to the boat ramp, but as I passed Kam III, my first turtle for the day popped up right in front of me!  Down at the boat ramp I had some company……two guys on stand up boards and they were snorkeling off of their boards.  I paddled in a little closer to shore and sat on my board.  Pretty soon, the turtles started to surface….one, two, three, four, five, six!  Wow, I was surrounded!  I laid back on my board and just enjoyed hearing the turtles swimming and surfacing around me…..it was so peaceful!  The conditions were picture perfect too!  I could even see the fish swimming around down by the coral because the water was so clear.  So many turtles came up, it was hard to keep track of!  I stayed down there for a while and finally counted twenty-four turtles for the boat ramp and one turtle at Kam III!  Twenty-five turtles in all for the day!  I paddled back in perfect conditions and knew I was in for a perfect swim too.  The water is so clear right now!  It was a beautiful day and the wind didn’t start to come up until about 11:30a.m. and by then, it was time for me to head home! I hope it’s just as nice tomorrow…….

Perfect paddling!

What a perfect day to start out September!  I was so excited to get out earlier today so I paddled directly down to the boat ramp.   There were two kayaks there with people snorkeling off of them….but they seemed pretty mellow.  I sat there for a while and didn’t see any turtles…..but then all of a sudden the turtles started to emerge!  I found myself sitting in between three turtles…..then in between several sets of two….and then another turtle triangle!  There were turtles of all sizes today, even really small ones.  It was so peaceful there that I just laid back on my board with my hat over my eyes and enjoyed listening to the turtles swimming around me!  When it suddenly got quiet, I knew the turtles had moved on.  I paddled out farther and hit another turtle triangle…..so many turtles!  Then three more surfaced and I was in a turtle line with three more turtles!  Wow, it was such a gorgeous day!  After I had counted seventeen turtles, I paddled back and it stayed perfect.  I couldn’t wait to get to the swimming part of my workout because the water was so clear and calm!  Lucky for me, it stayed just as perfect and my swim was great.  Lots fish down by the reef!  I love days like this…and not a bad way to start out September!

Thirteen turtles!

It was a beautiful day, although it seemed as if the wind was coming up already, but I took off down to the boat ramp.  About half-way down, the wind backed off and it got perfect!  When I arrived at the boat ramp, I was the only one there.  Within a few minutes, I spotted my first turtle for the day, so I paddled out to it.  Just as I got there, three more turtles surfaced and I was immediately surrounded!  It was so perfect! The turtles kept coming up until I had counted thirteen turtles!  Then a dive charter boat roared up and anchored near where I was sitting.  At the time I had three turtles around me, and I heard a woman on board say, “She comes out here every morning to hang around with the turtles, what a life, huh?”  The five passengers put on snorkel gear and jumped into the water.  One of the snorkelers was pretty aggressive and was chasing the turtles!  The same woman from the boat yelled at him to stop harassing the turtles….but he didn’t stop.  Pretty soon the turtles all disappeared.  They were probably hiding in the coral shelves.  I really get annoyed when tourists do this.  I paddled back in perfect conditions and I was hoping that it would stay nice for my swim.  Luckily, the conditions cooperated and my swim was lovely!  Lots of fish down at the reef today.  The wind didn’t start to come up until about 11:30 a.m. today and I sure was glad!  Such a beautiful day on Maui today!

Nice, but windy!

I checked the beach cam and it looked perfect so I hurried to get down to the beach.  No problem with parking and drove right up and was out within minutes.  It was so perfect!  I paddled down to the boat ramp and when I passed Kam III, a big turtle popped up so I stopped to visit.  Then I headed to the boat ramp and I could see two stand up paddlers and three kayaks there.  By the time I got there, they all moved on except one paddler and it ended up I knew her!  We chatted for a while, talking about sharks, etc. and I spotted one turtle while we were sitting there.  My friend decided to head in and I headed out farther to look for more turtles.  Suddenly I spotted two turtles floating on the surface so I paddled right in between them!  One of the turtles swam up to my board and I could see it was “Lizard” with the long tail.  Then a third turtle joined us and now I was in a turtle triangle!  Farther north, I  spotted two more turtles so I paddled to them and two more turtles popped up too!  Finally I had counted a dozen turtles between Kam III and the boat ramp and decided to paddle back not wanting to tempt the wind.  Too bad for me…….just as I entered the Kam III area, the wind roared in from the north and I was immersed in white caps and wind swells!  There was also some cane smoke in the air and it was a drag having to breath that AND paddle against the wind!  I kept paddling like I was on a Disneyland ride and I looked long and hard at Kam II, wondering if I should bail out there!  I just kept paddling and when I started to pass the rocky point…..I spotted a turtle getting tossed by the wind swells and I paddled right by it thinking, “yeah buddy…..I know just how you feel!”  Finally I got past the rocky point and knew I would make it back sometime.  The wind did not back down and it practically blew my board out of my arm as I was making my way up the sand to the shower!  It was crazy windy and I knew my swim would be crazy too.  I swam down by the reef but the wind swells had the water at the reef all kicked up and no visibility, so I swam back.  The wind was not going to back down and the sand started blowing too!  I went home and proceeded to scrub sand off of myself….so much fun.  I hope it isn’t windy early tomorrow!

Delightful paddling!

It was just delightful paddling today!  Such perfect conditions, light breeze, clear water, passing clouds…….just right.  I paddled down to the boat ramp and when I arrived, I was the only person there!  I hadn’t been there very long when a turtle popped up ahead of me, so I paddled to it.  When I got there, it ended up being two turtles…..and then another turtle surfaced and I was in a turtle triangle!  Then “Torpedo Head” began its dance of up and down in the water and that made four turtles right from the start of the day.  Then “Bumpy” popped up and swam over by me and another turtle was swimming right underneath my board at the same time!  I ended up being in another turtle triangle and a couple of turtles surfaced out farther which made an even dozen turtles for today!  The conditions were so wonderful and glassy the whole time I was paddling and it stayed nice all the way through my swim too!  I saw several baby Puffer fishes and those two Ulua from the other day were hanging around again!  Three fish with stripes and purple tails and fins were lounging at the reef too.  What a delightful day!!

Turtles!

What a beautiful Maui morning!  There sure is a feel of Fall in the air……subtle, but it’s definitely there.  I was a bit concerned because the wind had come up and it was blowing from the south, but I headed down to the boat ramp anyway. The wind blew until I reached the boat ramp and then it totally backed off and it got perfect!  It was so nice down there and I immediately had three turtles surface in a turtle triangle!  There were turtles of all sizes today and I saw “Bumpy” and “Lizard” today as well.  One turtle was such a little guy and one turtle had tumor growths on both its eyes.  I really hate to see that, but most of the turtles are very healthy looking.  Turtles kept surfacing and Bumpy came over bumping my board with its shell and when that happens, of course I have to give it a rub on its shell!  I also saw a dead Puffer fish all bloated with water and a little spotted fish was trying to eat something off of it.  I tried to scoop up the Puffer fish to get a better look at it, but it was wasted effort since it was like trying to scoop up a water balloon!  I hope the little spotted fish enjoyed its munch!  After sixteen turtles had surfaced, I decided to paddle back and it was still perfect conditions.  Even my swim was nice too and it was still nice when I left the beach.  It may have started out a bit windy….but it ended up being a perfect day!!