wildwahinepaddler

Turtle day!

It was another beautiful day on Maui today and I headed right to the boat ramp!  Just as I was paddling into the area, I noticed a group already there of a guy on a stand up board and three kayaks full of Japanese tourists.  The tourists were making so much noise that I wanted to plug my ears!  Luckily they stayed very close to the shore and all of the turtle action ended up being out farther.  Turtles were popping up everywhere!  Immediately I had a group of five turtles surrounding me and then I sat in a line of three turtles!  I saw “Lizard” and “Torpedo Head” today!  I was thoroughly enjoying the turtles and the nice day, but when I counted twenty-one turtles, I called it a day.  I paddled back in perfect conditions and it stayed nice right through my swim!  I was down at the reef and two large Ulua’s swam past me!  I attempted to swim with them, but they are much too fast.  On my way back, the same two Ulua swam past me again!  It was such a nice day with just a hint of Fall in the air…..

sixteen today!

I got out on the water at around nine o’clock again…..but it was another beautiful morning with sunny skies and just a little bit of wind blowing from the south.  I paddled south towards the boat ramp, and just as I was passing Kam III, a turtle popped up!  I stopped for a few minutes and watched it swim around me and then continued on.  Down at the boat ramp I had company……two kayaks and four stand up paddlers!  Luckily the paddlers moved south and one of the kayaks moved north, and I was left with one kayak with a man and woman on board.  The first turtle I spotted was also spotted by the kayakers…..so I let them go to that one.  I spotted another turtle up ahead of me so I paddled to that one.  It was a really little turtle too!  Then more turtles started to surface and I got to sit between two different turtle triangles……and in between quite of few other turtles!  I even saw “Torpedo Head”  and “Lizard” today!  It got really nice down at the boat ramp but I knew it was getting late….so as soon as I had counted fifteen turtles at the boat ramp, I headed back.  It was nice paddling back and it seemed like it might stay nice for my swim too.  Luckily, the nice conditions prevailed and my swim was great too!  Not a bad day to spend with sixteen turtles!!

Twenty-four turtles!

I woke up with a stiff neck and could barely brush my hair…..it wasn’t looking promising for paddling today, but an hour later my neck was feeling much better!  I slathered on my sunscreen and filled my water container and I was off  to check the beach.  It was so perfect!  No wind and the water was calm today and I couldn’t wait to get out there.  It was already nine o’clock, but I paddled south towards the boat ramp.  It was so pleasant paddling!  When I reached the boat ramp, I was the only one there.   I sat for a few minutes and didn’t see a single turtle, but all of a sudden six turtles surfaced all around me!  The turtles kept popping up too and soon a man and woman on stand up boards hurried over to get in on the turtle action.  They were overwhelmed!  I saw three familiar turtles today too…..”Bumpy”, “Lizard”, AND “Torpedo Head”!!!!  The other two paddlers and I were having a great time with all the turtles, until I noticed the red pontoon snorkel boat approaching, so it was time to leave.  I paddled back in the same perfect conditions and ran across a paddling friend I hadn’t seen in a while as I passed Kam II.  It was a hard decision to make to go in with such nice conditions, but I wanted to swim.  Just as I came in from paddling, so did the wind!  By the time I went swimming, it was getting quite windy, blowing from the north.  The water visibility was not very good down at the reef so I didn’t stay long….I find myself taking a few looks behind me these days after the woman had her arm bitten off by a shark last week.  After I finished swimming, the wind came in stronger and soon the sand was starting to blow so it was time to go home.   I sure am glad I had such an excellent paddling adventure while the conditions were ideal!  I’ll take twenty-four turtles to play with any day!!

Turtle day!

Yesterday ended up being very windy and I paddled for an hour but didn’t go any farther than Kam III…..I hit white caps on my way back and I didn’t see a single turtle.  Today looked much better!  Just as I paddled out a big turtle was waiting for me.  I stopped to visit for a minute, but the turtle was more interested in the old lifeguard tower that was dragged out here a few years ago and is submerged,  and now has stuff growing on it that turtles seem to like to eat!  I paddled on in nice conditions.  Half way past Kam II, a breeze picked up from the south.  It made paddling very pleasant and comfortable, like a little mini-fan blowing on me!  When I passed Kam III, another big turtle surfaced so I stopped to visit with it.  I think it was the turtle I call “Lizard”  with the strangely long tail!  Just as I was paddling into the boat ramp area, I spotted a Ray swimming just under the water!  At the boat ramp a kayak with a man and woman on it paddled up just as I was arriving.  They had snorkeling gear and the man jumped into the water.  I hoped that he wasn’t going to chase the turtles, but he didn’t seem to be finding any turtles.  Just then, two turtles popped up by me and the woman started screaming at the man to swim over by me!  He really wasn’t fast enough, but he tried.  Turtles were popping up all around…..and before I knew it….I had counted sixteen turtles at the boat ramp!  Lucky for the man snorkeling, a couple of the turtles surfaced near him and I thought he was going to flip out!  The breeze backed off and it got perfect at the boat ramp and it was hard to leave, but I wanted to avoid all the boats coming in.  Just as I was passing Kam II, the breeze started to blow again and I was lucky to get a nice gentle push back.  The conditions stayed nice throughout my swim, although the reef wasn’t as clear today as it was yesterday.  All in all….it was a pretty nice day with a total of eighteen turtles!!

Fish tale!

So my day started out with a text from a paddling friend…”Did you hear about the shark attack yesterday?”  Well, no I hadn’t so then I wondered what happened and where and if the beach was closed.  I looked up the beach cam and I didn’t see any evidence that the beach was closed, however I didn’t see anyone out in the water either!  My friend didn’t answer my text, so I headed down to the beach.  It was a gorgeous day with nice paddling conditions and no wind was blowing.  It was a much nicer day than yesterday, but no one was out in the water!  I paddled out and saw my paddling friend, so I paddled over to her, then a big turtle popped up by me!  We talked about the shark attack.  Apparently a twenty year old woman was swimming in Makena (the exact spot that I was snorkeling at on Monday….), and a shark bit her whole arm off at the shoulder!  People heard her screaming and brought her in on a kayak….but she lost consciousness before an emergency vehicle could get there.  They took her to the hospital and there has been no other information about her so far except that she was alive.  Back to the gorgeous day…….my friend and I saw three more turtles before we got out of Kam I, and then while passing Kam III, another turtle surfaced.  That was five turtles before we even got down to the boat ramp!  Paddling into the boat ramp , several turtles surfaced all at once and I counted six turtles.  I recognized one of them as being “Bumpy”….. the friendly turtle….and he sure was!  That turtle bumped right up against my board and practically climbed right on!  I yelled for my friend to look……and then I proceeded to rub its shell (I didn’t have to bend either since he was almost on my board!)  My friend couldn’t believe it!  This has happened before with this particular turtle, but this is the first time I actually had a witness!  We were talking about the turtle encounter, when my friend noticed something out in the water.  She thought it was a plastic bag, and since we try to pick up any trash we see, we paddled out to it.  It was a fish!!!  A big fish that looked to be maybe twenty pounds and it was fresh!  It wasn’t alive but it looked like it had been alive not long ago, so we tried to lift it with our paddles but it was too heavy.  Then I got to a place where I could grab its tail and I hauled it on to my board!  It was heavy!  We paddled back with the fish and my friend came with me to Kam I so we could get some photos of it with my phone.  A bunch of people started to gather around to look at the fish and take pictures.  Some of them asked me how I caught the fish, so I told them I just jumped in and grabbed it!  Now that was a fish “Tale”!  One of the lifeguards came down and looked the fish over and said it was a fresh fish and he helped me carry it up on the sand.  I wrapped it in a towel and put it in my car and drove home so I could put it in the refrigerator.  At home, I wrapped in a trash bag and stuffed it in our frig!  I went back down to the beach and went for my swim and the conditions were still nice.  Later I called a fisherman friend to ask him about the fish.  I texted him a photo of it and he told me it was a “Nenui”….but he said it’s not good for barbecuing and best deep-fried.  Well we don’t “fry”….. so I don’t know yet what to do with that big fish in my refrigerator!  This was truly a Fish Tale today!!!

Nice day!

It looked like a nice day and although there was some wind blowing and some loopy swells rolling in, I was happy to be going out paddling!  Just as I started to paddle out, I spotted a big turtle popping up just south of me, so I paddled over.  Two tourists on rented boards saw it too and were also dashing over to see it, but I got there first.  It went under a couple of times and then swam under my board so I paddled along with it.  The turtle was going way too slow for me, so I paddled on.  Then I ran into a paddling friend who I haven’t seen for a while, so we paddled together south and did some “catching up”.  The wind continued to blow from the south and the water wasn’t very calm but we kept paddling south.  My friend needed to go in so I decided to paddle a little longer to the south, but I also knew the wind wasn’t backing off completely and could quickly turn around.  I got into Kam III, and then decided to paddle back.  The wind never turned and it ended up being really nice!  It stayed nice while I swam too and the water is very clear right now, so I saw lots of fish down at the reef.  I also saw what looked like a snake….but there are no snakes in Hawaii….so I knew it had to be some type of eel.  It was white with black markings and it sure acted like a snake!  It slithered around the rocks and coral and sat with its head held up like a Cobra!  I watched from a distance!  Then when I headed back, I ran across a ray that was bigger than the Spotted Eagle Ray I’ve been seeing lately and it was only spotted around the edges of its wings.  It didn’t seem afraid of me at all!  I swam with it for a while and then swam back.  The wind really backed off and it just got nicer out on the ocean!  I could see the white caps way out in the distance, but it wasn’t coming in any time soon.  It was just a really nice day!!

Paddling Makena!

We decided to go on a little “stay-cation” right here on Maui, to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.  We both like Makena so that’s where we headed and spent a couple of days at the Makena Beach and Golf Resort.  It’s a nice resort and the last one in that direction for South Maui.  I like the way it is away from the rest of the resorts in Wailea and so much quieter and peaceful.  Monday morning was really nice, so I headed down to the beach.  The conditions for paddling were perfect so I broke down and rented a stand up board and paddle.  Forty dollars for one hour!  And the board wasn’t the best board either, but I managed.  I have been wanting to paddle Makena for some time and this was my opportunity!  Unfortunately, the resort has “boundaries” for where and how far you can paddle……so I stretched their boundaries as far as I could.  I paddled for my hour and it felt good to be out on the water!  I didn’t see any turtles, though, so I would bet that the turtles are beyond the resorts boundaries.  Oh well, I will have to come back another time with MY board and then I can paddle wherever I want!  Snorkeling was another story….it was great!  Lots of tropical fish and nice coral to swim around.  I saw a huge purple coral too which I have not seen before!  It was a nice little mini trip but I will be glad to be out in my usual spot paddling tomorrow!!  I hope the wind doesn’t come in early like it did today…..we will see…..

Sixteen turtles!

It ended up being a real mixed bag of conditions today!  I got out a bit later than I wanted but it was so perfect!  Just a slight breeze keeping it comfortable and mostly sunny with a calm ocean, just how I like it.  I paddled south, towards the boat ramp and it was so nice I kept commenting to myself about how perfect it was!  Down at the boat ramp, three people were snorkeling but a turtle surfaced right as I got there.  Then they came around slowly…..first two more turtles popped up and I sat between them and then a couple more turtles surfaced.  One of them was “Bumpy” who I haven’t seen for a while!  Bumpy is very friendly.  I thought that might be it for turtles until the snorkelers left and the turtles started popping up all around! Turtles of all sizes today….even a really little baby turtle!  The conditions were so nice and glassy that I didn’t want to leave, but I knew by the time sixteen turtles had visited me,  it was getting late.  I paddled back in perfect conditions and just as I was nearing the rocky point into Kam I…..whammmo….the wind roared in and it was nearly instant chop and white caps!  It took me forever to paddle the rest of the way against the strong wind…but I just held my head down and paddled!  Even when I finally made it in, the wind was blowing my board south while I was trying to carry it up the beach.  Then it was a chore trying to get it hoisted up on my racks and tied down!  The wind didn’t let up when I swam either and by the time I got back, my beach chair, towel, backpack and everything else, was covered in sand!  I was glad I didn’t bring my iPhone to the beach today!  After I showered off, it was all I could do to shake the sand off of all my stuff, and head up to the grass by my car.  Blowing sand is no fun!  The wind is supposed to be backing off over the weekend, so we will see!!

Nice day!

Wow….I almost didn’t go out because I was so late today….but I’m glad I did because it was so nice out there!  Since I didn’t get out until 9:30 a.m. I decided to paddle north.  Just as I was going out in the water, the lifeguards were posting the red flags which I could see no reason for.  Out on the water, though, there were some swells coming through and there was plenty of surf down at Kalama Park!  I turned and paddled south, down to the end of Kam II and it was so pleasant.  For being out so late, it sure was calm and quiet on the ocean.  My only turtle for the day popped up as I was passing Kam II and that was it for the day!  I paddled back and I noticed that the water wasn’t as clear as yesterday either, so there is definitely a swell brewing.  It stayed nice through my swim too, but once again, the visibility was not very good, so I hesitated to hang around by the reef for very long.  Despite the looming swell, it sure was a nice day!!

Only one buddy today!

Okay….so every day can’t be as exciting as yesterday with the dolphins…but every time it happens, I always hope it will happen the next day too!  I can’t help it!  The dolphins are so special and I never know when they will make their appearance and make my day.  Today was sunny but already windy.  I knew it when I went out!  The choppy conditions forced me to work on my skills and some days are just like that.  The wind was blowing from the south, so I paddled against it down to Kam III, and then turned around.  I had no intention of getting stuck all the way down at the boat ramp if the wind suddenly changed direction.  The only turtle today surprised me right out in front of Kam I again, in almost the same exact spot as yesterday!  I did stop for a while and hang with it as it swam around me and then dove under me and disappeared.  On the way back to Kam I, I had the wind at my back and enjoyed the push it gave me, but I had to concentrate because the rolling wind swells and white caps were behind me and would sneak up on me!  It stayed windy through my swim too, but at least the water was pretty clear down at the reef and I saw lots of fish.  There was even a unicorn fish down there eating the dead spots off the coral and I don’t usually see many of them at the reef.  I got the same push back on my swim and then once I came in and showered, the wind backed off some and it was nicer then than when I paddled earlier!  Figures!  I wonder what tomorrow will be like???