wildwahinepaddler

Turtle friend

I was really anxious to go out paddling on Sunday since the last few days were filled with sadness.  When I went out, the ocean wasn’t glassy but it was still nice, and since I was getting out a bit later than I like to, I decided to paddle north.  On my way down to Kalama Park, the ocean got so glassy!  I really hoped to see at least one turtle…..and that is exactly what I got….ONE turtle!  At least it hung around with me for a little while and then swam under my board and disappeared.  There were a few swells coming in and those who were surfing were very happy about that.  I decided to head south and paddle down to Kam III, to at least make sure I got in my workout in.  As I passed Kam I, I thought about going in but continued down to Kam III which ended up being a mistake because the wind came up in a fury out of nowhere!  It was a struggle paddling back against the wind!  The wind swells were relentless and were breaking as white water over my board.  I had to keep paddling and try to stay on my board!  Finally I made it past the rocky point between Kam II and Kam I and knew I would make it back.  When I came in the wind was really blowing my board, almost out of my hands!  Luckily my husband was also at the beach and he came to my rescue and helped me get my board up to the showers.  Then he even carried it to my car and put it up on the racks!  What a guy!  I knew I was in for a rough water swim too, so I just swam north into the wind and then took advantage of the push back.  The wind never backed off one bit!  It stayed windy the whole rest of the time.  At least I did get the workout in……more than I bargained for!!

Friendly turtles!

After the last few days of neck pain……I finally felt better this morning, so  I went to the beach.  The conditions could not have been more perfect!  I ran into a couple of paddling friends I hadn’t seen for a while and then I thought about staying close to home just in case the wind came in, but once I got out there paddling……nothing was going to keep me from paddling down to the boat ramp!  It was too perfect!  It was clear at the top of Haleakala,  the island of Kahoolawe was in full view and no wind was blowing!  Just as I paddled into Kam III, a turtle surprised me by popping up right next to me!  Down at the boat ramp, I was the only person there and the turtles did not disappoint.  As soon as I saw the first turtle, I paddled right over, but to my surprise there were three turtles and I was in the middle of a turtle triangle!  Then, pop, pop, pop, pop……and four more turtles joined in and I was surrounded by seven turtles!  Then four of the turtles made a line and two more turtles surfaced!  I was in turtle heaven….just me and the turtles!  Then out farther I spotted one more turtle and in closer there was another one, so that made eleven turtles for the day!  It was still so perfect, but I decided to paddle back.  The good conditions held out for my swim too, and down at the reef I saw Yellow Tangs, a couple of baby Puffer Fish, and a Moorish Idol fish!  It was a great day to be out in the water!!

Nice!

After a difficult night with my neck and pain……..instead of paddling, I spent the morning at Urgent Care.  Just as I thought, it is muscle spasms and I have to try not to aggravate it more, but the doctor told me she wasn’t going to tell me I couldn’t paddle, even though paddling probably wouldn’t help it any.  I know….. I know…..we’ll see how I feel in the morning!!

Well hi there!

It was a nice day today but it was already windy.  It was strange though, because I couldn’t really see any white caps out there, yet the water wasn’t calm either.  Yesterday I stayed home to care for a sore neck, so I decided to paddle north and stay closer to home in case the wind got stronger.  The wind was blowing onshore…..so that made me have to paddle just mostly on one side because it was pushing me towards shore.  Down at Kalama Park, a turtle was waiting for me and I sure was glad!  The last day I was out paddling,  I only saw two turtles, and today it was two turtles again!  The first turtle popped its head up three times and floated by my board, but the second turtle didn’t stick around.  Then I turned around and paddled south and the wind continued to blow onshore, forcing me to paddle almost exclusively on the left side all the way down to Kam II.  Of course, that didn’t make my neck feel any better!  As I turned around at Kam II and started back, I ran across my husband swimming! Then I got in okay but the wind did not let up, so swimming was a bit challenging too.  The visibility down at the reef was minimal, but I did see some fish including a Unicorn fish!  It was a nice day but I hope it isn’t windy tomorrow morning!

Gorgeous day!

Oh happy day, it was a gorgeous morning and just a slight breeze blowing!  Conditions were very good and I decided to paddle north today.  When I got down to Kalama Park, I didn’t see a single turtle!  I watched the surfers enjoying some small waves and then paddled south.  It was such a nice day so I decided to just keep paddling, and before I knew it I was down at the boat ramp!  The first turtle popped  up between Kam III and the boat ramp and I sure was glad to see it!  I paddled on down to the boat ramp and sat for a while and no turtles.  Three girls were nearby on paddle boards and a turtle surfaced and one of the girls freaked out and started screaming!  Of course the turtle startled, dove down and disappeared.  I wouldn’t come up either if someone was screaming at me!  After that, no more turtles surfaced.  The conditions were still perfect, though, and the wind was staying away.  I paddled back to Kam I and it was still perfect!  The conditions stayed nice all the way through my swim and it was even clear down at the reef today!  What a gorgeous day…. I sure hope it’s just as nice tomorrow!

Turtle love!

Thank goodness the swell that popped up yesterday was gone this morning and it was a gorgeous day!  I had just started out paddling when I saw a turtle under me so I stopped, then another turtle surfaced right next to me.  Turtles don’t hang out together or travel in pairs, so I wondered what these two were up to.  I watched them circle me and then go under the water facing each other and then back up to the surface next to my board.  I soon realized that these two were doing a turtle “mating” dance!  After a while, the turtles dove down and I could hardly see them.  I guess they wanted their privacy!!!  I continued on south with just a comfortable breeze blowing and when I passed Kam III, a big turtle popped up in front of me and then a second turtle joined us!  That was four turtles even before I got to the boat ramp!  Down at the boat ramp, the turtle day continued with eleven more turtles!  I was sitting there in the middle of four turtles when a Coast Guard boat cruised up.  I didn’t want them to think I was harassing the turtles, so I laid back on my board with my paddle laying across my hips so they could easily see that the turtles were choosing to be there by their own choice!  There is a fine possible if someone is harassing the turtles, but they could see that I was not doing that, so they moved away and left.  Too bad the Coast Guard is never around when snorkelers are chasing the turtles!  Anyway, the conditions stayed perfect as I paddled back and all the way through my swim.  Even the water visibility was improved from yesterday and I saw a school of about twenty blue and silver fish dart by and saw quite a few fish at the reef too.  It was just a gorgeous day with the wind holding off making it a perfect day in the water!  Woo Hoo!!

Honu!

It was a beautiful summer day…..but there was no parking available in the beach lot, so I had to park across the street today.  Usually I wait it out, but the wind seemed to be coming up and I didn’t want to miss my paddling opportunity!  The wind was blowing from the south and it prevailed until I reached the boat ramp, and then it got so perfect and glassy!  I spotted my first turtle down closer to the boat lane, so I paddled over, but it turned out to be two turtles!  I cruised up between them to sit.  Then another turtle surfaced beyond the second turtle and I paddled in between those two turtles!  Next I ended up in a turtle triangle, and then two more turtles popped up and I was surrounded! I counted nine turtles in all for today and even though the conditions were still very nice, I headed back.  At any minute, the wind could roar in just like yesterday so I wanted to try to avoid that.  Luckily for me, the conditions stayed nice all the way back to Kam I!  I kept my eye out for dolphins, since I had seen several dolphins this morning cruising past Kam I on the beach cam, but I didn’t see any today.  I was so surprised to check the beach cam this morning and see the dolphins!  After I came in, a strange swell started and it was generating some shore break waves, so the lifeguards posted the red flags.   I swam out past the breakers to get my swim in, but the water visibility was kicked up by the waves breaking and that made me decide against swimming all the way down to the reef today.  Still, it was a beautiful summer day….but I hope the swell is short-lived and gone by tomorrow!!

Hello buddy!

The morning looked really nice and the water wasn’t totally calm, but it was still nice.  I was thinking that it would be nice to see some dolphins today while I paddled down to the boat ramp.  I was met by one friendly turtle, and then two more surfaced and I sat in between them!  I was the only one down there which was amazing since it is a Sunday.  More turtles surfaced and I laid back on my board and put my right arm in the water and one of them rubbed up against my arm!  Then I watched two more turtles swimming underneath my board for a few minutes.  Suddenly I noticed that the wind was coming in and decided to paddle back before it got crazy……but then I noticed two outrigger canoes zipping by and they were paddling with a pod of Spinner dolphins!  Oh, I sprang into action!  I paddled hard to get to them and was paddling behind the canoes with about twenty to thirty dolphins all around!  I was near the end and a smaller dolphin flew out of the water, spun around and splashed back in right in front of me! Wow!  I was paddling hard to keep up, but the wind was bearing down on me, and the dolphins eventually disappeared beyond me.  Now I had to paddle hard just to keep going north with bumpy water and hissing white caps plummeting me!  It took me forever to get back and I never saw the dolphins again.  It was worth the struggle to paddle with dolphins though!  It’s always a great day when I get turtles and dolphins!  The wind didn’t back off and I swam in rough water too.  The water visibility is improving, but it was still cloudy down by the reef, although I did see some fish friends.  It was a wild day and the wind never backed off!  I’d be happy if the wind came in later tomorrow…..we will see!