wildwahinepaddler

Interesting clouds!

What a switch from yesterday!  Today was windy from the start, but not blown out yet,  so I went out paddling anyway.  I was out later than I had planned so I decided to paddle into the wind which was blowing from the north.  There was evidence of cane smoke mixed in the clouds, so I knew that the wind might get stronger.  I paddled down to Kalama Park and watched the surfers having fun on the small waves rolling in…but I didn’t see a single turtle!  Then I decided to paddle south and about the time I was passing Kam I, the wind gained strength and suddenly white caps appeared.  Soon I was being pushed south so I went with it until I got down to Kam III, and then I thought it wise to turn around!  It’s a good thing I turned around because the wind got even stronger and it took me a while to paddle my way back against it!  The wind stayed strong while I swam too and the clouds moved in making the water dark again like yesterday.  It ended up being solely a work out today and I have no idea where all the turtles were hiding!  There have been quite a few windy days lately, so I hope tomorrow is different….we’ll see…..

Honu!

After some very windy days…..I was anxious to get back out on the ocean.  Since today is the Fourth of July, I expected a lot more people at the beach than usual, which also usually means there is no parking in the parking lot, but I got lucky and someone was leaving!  I got into the water by 8:30 a.m. and it was perfect.  I paddled south towards the boat ramp.  To my surprise, there was hardly anyone down there!  I had the place to myself!  The first turtle that surfaced, popped its head up a couple of times and then disappeared, then I sat for a while hoping that more turtles would appear.  It was a joy to just sit out there today since the conditions were so nice, but finally I spotted a turtle out farther so I paddled out.  As I cruised up, I realized that there were actually two turtles there, so I sat between them! One of the turtles dove under my board and was swimming back and forth under me!  Then the other turtle swam over and popped its head up a few times to look at me.  Three turtles were it for the day, so I paddled back in nice conditions.  Sometimes a couple of friendly turtles is just as neat as seeing twenty turtles.  The ocean was so nice, I hated to come in, but I also wanted to swim in case the wind came up.  Suddenly a big dark cloud moved in over the beach and it started to rain!  I went for my swim, but the combination of the water visibility not being that great today, and the cloud overhead, made it dark under the water.  I don’t really like not having good visibility when I swim so I stopped right before the reef and swam back.  Before long the wind moved in and it was time to leave, but what a great morning for the Fourth of July!!

Nice, but windy!

It was a beautiful day, but it started out windy.  I talked to another paddler who had just come in and he said it had been that way all morning.  Well, I was there, so I decided to go out anyway!  It was really windy too, and choppy!  The wind was blowing from the south so I decided to paddle into it for a while.  The ocean was so bumpy!  I got down to Kam III and then turned around.  All of a sudden, the wind completely stopped, but it was still choppy.  I could only imagine that this was because the wind was blowing really strong way out and sending the bumpy water towards shore.  It wasn’t long before the wind returned and I just paddled north.  I got down to Cove Park and the wind backed off again, but it was still choppy!  The clouds were coming over too and that made the water dark, so I couldn’t see anything.  No turtles for today!  The wind came in again and this time it stayed in, so I paddled in white caps back to Kam I.  It was so bumpy!  Just as I got in, the wind got crazy,  blowing sand and umbrellas, but I went for my swim anyway.  I swam into the wind, going north, and then enjoyed a push back.  Some days it is just about the work out……and today was one of those days!!

Beautiful Honu!

Well, the south swell is diminishing, but still hanging around enough to muck up the water visibility.  After two days out of the water, I was ready to get back in today!  The wind was playing games though, coming up and backing off, and since I got a late start today, I didn’t trust it so I paddled north.  I ran into a paddling buddy I haven’t seen since May 8th, so we paddled north together.  She had been out since earlier in the morning and came in when the wind started pushing her around, and was now out paddling a second time!  We paddled down to Cove Park and the south swell was still bringing in some waves for the surfers.  We stopped for a while and chatted, but no turtles appeared.  We turned around and paddled south just in time for the wind to come in again, making the water ripply.  We paddled down to Kam II and then my friend decided to go in, so I turned around again and paddled into the wind, north.  By the time I got half-way past Kam I, the wind backed off again!  The conditions got pretty nice and I saw my husband swimming towards me.  He was headed south and I was headed north so we passed each other!  I continued to paddle north in better conditions and made my way down to Cove Park again.  This time I saw two turtles swimming, but they weren’t hanging around.  I decided to paddle back to Kam I and go in while the conditions were better so I could swim.  The wind mostly cooperated and my swim was smooth, although the water visibility was not the best.  The water definitely felt good though!  The wind came up in a frenzy about 11:00 a.m. and sand started blowing, so it was time to go home.  I hope the swell is all gone by tomorrow and the water visibility starts to improve since I really miss seeing my fish and turtles!  Well I can hope anyway…..

Nice view from my beach chair!

It was a gorgeous morning with just a light breeze blowing from the south, so I headed down to the boat ramp.  Ten minutes into paddling, the wind got stronger and then it backed off by the time I got to the boat ramp.  My first two turtles greeted me outside of Kam III!  I had one on each side of me for a few minutes and then they both disappeared.  One of the turtles I recognized as “Lizard”, with that long lizard-like tail!  At the boat ramp, there were four kayaks sitting in my spot when I got down there, but luckily they all moved on quickly.  Then the turtles started to surface!  I counted nine turtles at the boat ramp……and at one point, I was sitting in the middle of three turtles……and then I noticed a line of three turtles down farther so I paddled over.  The wind stayed out and I got eleven turtles for the day!  I paddled back in nice conditions and it stayed nice for my swim too!  Just as I was getting ready to leave the beach, the wind started to blow again so I got lucky.  I hope tomorrow is nice too!!

Turtle buddies!

Well, the day started out windy and it stayed windy!  The wind was blowing from the south, so I paddled into it.  It was a good workout paddling down to the boat ramp!  I ran into my first turtle as I passed Kam III, then there were more turtles waiting for me at the boat ramp.  I counted nine there and twice I was surrounded….the first time by three turtles and the second time by four turtles!  Despite the windy and choppy conditions, the turtles still surfaced.  On my way back, another turtle surfaced in front of me out from Kam III, so of course I stopped, but not for long since I didn’t know if the wind was going to change directions.  Lucky for me, the wind continued to blow from the south so I got a push on my way back!  The wind only backed off momentarily when I went for my swim but started up again on my way back.  Lucky for me, the wind pushed me back then too!  It was a beautiful day, but a windy one!!

Super Sunday!

Well, it’s been really perfect lately, what can I say?  Such a beautiful Sunday morning out on the water!  There was just a breeze blowing from the south and it never let up, but that didn’t stop me.  I paddled into the breeze and down to the boat ramp  but when I got there, a six-person outrigger canoe was there and everyone from the canoe was in the water snorkeling!  The water was a bit choppy, but not too bad.  The first turtle surfaced….. and then the second and third…before I knew it I had counted six turtles!  I sat between turtle #6 and 7 for a few minutes,  then one of the turtles dove down, while the other big one (that had no tail…)  drifted towards my board.  It was so funny, bumping up against me with its shell!  Then suddenly it’s front, left flipper was on my board!  Well I just had to rub its shell when that happened…..then it swam back behind me and disappeared.  It wasn’t long before turtle #8 and 9 appeared and I got to sit between them too!  I was getting ready to paddle back when turtle #10 popped up over near the canoe. That was ten turtles for today!  The wind was still blowing from the south, so it pushed me along on my way back.  Just as I was about to go for my swim, the wind backed off momentarily and most of my swim was very smooth.  The water was very clear today and I saw lots of fish.  I saw a Trumpet fish that was so big and fat, that at first I thought it was an eel!  Other people saw turtles out in front of Kam I, but it wasn’t my day for that.  I was happy with my ten turtles from the boat ramp!  What a beautiful Sunday at the beach!!

Another gorgeous day!

Today looked perfect, just like yesterday started out, but I didn’t trust it after getting stuck in the wind yesterday!  I decided to paddle north down to Cove Park and Kalama Park.  There was no wind in sight, but I was still skeptical!  As soon as I got down there, a turtle was waiting.  I brought a camera today and started to photograph the turtle and it seemed to be posing!  Eleven more turtles popped up while I was there and I got some great pictures I think.  The day got more and more perfect and still NO wind!  I watched the people paddle-surfing for a little while and then headed south.  The ocean was so glassy and calm!  I kept paddling until I got down to Kam III and then I turned around, but it wasn’t easy coming in because it was really that perfect.  Wow, it was such a beautiful day and twelve posing turtles made it even better!  The great conditions held while I swam and it was still perfect when I left.  I love days like this!!

Looks can fool you!

Oh my, it was so nice and perfect when I arrived at the beach this morning!  I couldn’t wait to get out on the ocean.  I headed south towards the boat ramp and I noticed an odd bump pushing from the north and there was no wind blowing.  It pushed me south and I was there before I knew it! I could see that Kam III had red flags up but I didn’t know why.  A turtle was waiting for me when I arrived at the boat ramp!  It stayed around for a bit, popping up and down and then diving down and swimming under me.  Then I sat, and sat.  Where were the rest of the turtles?  Then I heard the lifeguard at Kam III on the megaphone warning people on the beach that the wind was coming in.  I still didn’t see any wind and it was still early….but within a few minutes….the wind did come roaring in!  Before I knew it I was surrounded by white caps and chop and I was all the way down at the boat ramp!  I knew it was going to be a long, wet paddle back, so I just kept paddling.  It took me forever to get back and a couple of times I wondered if I might have to bail out at one of the closer beaches!  So I just kept paddling and as soon as I made it past the point, I knew I was home free.  My swim was also a rough water swim and not much visibility either.  It was still a beautiful Maui day, but I really hope that tomorrow is not windy!!

Twelve turtles!

Today the wind was definitely blowing from the south.  I watched for a little while and it didn’t seem like it was going to let up anytime soon either, so I accepted the workout ahead of me and paddled out!  I paddled into the wind and hoped it might back off while I was paddling, but that didn’t happen today.  It was work paddling south and it took me so much longer to get to the boat ramp too!  I ran into my first turtle of the day just as I paddled out at Kam I and the second one just as I paddled past Kam III.  Then as I was heading into the boat ramp area, I saw the red pontoon snorkel boat zipping in too, so I just accepted that I would have company today!  The boat had quite a few snorkelers too, but I worked around them and ended up with ten turtles anyway.  That was twelve turtles for today!  The wind was kind enough to back off as well so the conditions got very nice.  I think I stayed out over an hour and a half!  It was so nice paddling back too.  The conditions held out during my swim, but the visibility was not as good as yesterday.  Despite the lack of good visibility I did see the Unicorn fish that has been hanging around at the reef!  The wind had just started to change direction and turn into trade winds when I was going to leave.  I wouldn’t be unhappy if the ocean was calm and glassy tomorrow!!  Let’s hope…..