wildwahinepaddler

Love those turtles!

I got a late start and didn’t get down to the beach until about 9:00 a.m. and then there was no place to park…..not a good start to the day!  It was already getting windy and I ended up having to wait almost a half hour for someone to leave.  I was definitely annoyed…..but when I went to get my board,  I looked out at the ocean and the wind had completely backed off and the conditions were glassy and perfect!  What a stroke of luck!  Since it was late, I hustled down to the boat ramp.  I spotted a turtle in closer to shore and paddled in but two snorkelers popped up and scared it away.  Then I saw two more turtles farther north.  I paddled over to them (and away from the snorkelers….) and eased up right  between them.  It was a large turtle and a really small one.  Then I spotted another turtle farther north and paddled towards it, but when I arrived, four more turtles surfaced and I was sitting in a sea of turtles and was surrounded!  The turtles swam around, dove down and popped their heads up and down for a few minutes.  Then they caught the attention of the snorkelers and a kayak with a couple on it, so they joined us.  The turtles were just hanging around and the water was so clear that I could see some of them sitting on the bottom of the ocean!  The coral was beautiful too.  The day was so nice and the conditions so calm…..I hated to leave!  By the time I counted about fourteen turtles, I headed back.  Behind  me I could see the boats heading in too.  I paddled back in perfect conditions and spotted a turtle swimming under the water on my way in.  Just as I got closer to the shore, a tourist pointed out another turtle swimming right under me!  Two other tourists got nervous and moved quickly away from the turtle, I guess they were afraid of my buddy!  The conditions held nicely for my swim and the water was so clear.  I swam down to the reef and watched the fish for a while and then headed back.  It was so nice out in the water I wanted to just keep swimming!  I love days like that.  Before I left, the clouds blew in along with the wind and it got chilly like yesterday, so I went home.  I hope tomorrow is  as nice as today!!

Nice morning!

It was a very nice morning with just a bit of wind blowing….and just as I was getting myself ready to go out paddling, I spotted two whales spouting!  A friend said they had been out there all morning, but when I paddled out there I couldn’t see them anymore!  The wind backed off and the ocean got so nice and it was a joy paddling down to the boat ramp.  Of course I watched for whales the whole way!  It was nice down at the boat ramp and thankfully the turtles didn’t make me wait today since I wasn’t sure how long I dared hang out down there with the wind threatening.  I spotted two turtles floating on the surface, so I paddled over and sat between them!  One of the turtles disappeared, so I paddled closer to the other one and it was very friendly!  Then another turtle popped up on the other side of that turtle so I paddled in between them.  Finally a third turtle popped up putting inside a turtle triangle!  I was grateful for my four turtles because the wind was starting to emerge so I headed back.  I paddled against the wind until I got mid way past Kam II, and then the wind backed off again!  It got really nice again, so I paddled past Kam I to enjoy a few more minutes of paddling.  A few minutes later, the wind started to kick up again so I headed in.  By the time I went for my swim, the skies had become overcast and my swim was a bumpy one!  At least the visibility was okay, except down by the reef, but I did see fish though.  It was work swimming back against the wind.  When I came in I was chilly!  The wind wasn’t a warm wind and the overcast made it even colder.  Luckily, the sun came out for a little while so I could warm up, but so did the wind.  It was time to go home!  I hope it’s nice tomorrow and maybe a little warmer would be even nicer!

Whales!!!!!

It was a beautiful day on Maui today but a swell came during the night, causing some shore break.  I watched it for a while, and then decided to get out there because I saw a couple of whales from the beach!  Just before I went out, the baby whale breeched and that settled it!    I ran into a paddling friend on the way out and we paddled out towards the whales together.  I went out farther than she did, and there were already quite a few paddlers out by the whales.  One of the lifeguards at Kam II started making announcements about staying away from the whales, but I got to a spot where I had a good view of the mother and calf!  They were staying around the same area so I think the mother was nursing the calf.  It’s always so amazing to be out on the ocean and watch whales from such a great vantage point!  My friend started paddling towards the boat ramp and since nothing was happening with the whales, I started to turn around.  Just then, two turtles surfaced, one on each side of me!  There I sat with a turtle floating on each side of me, and watching two whales….it doesn’t get much better than that!!!!!! 🙂 When the turtles disappeared I joined my friend and headed down to the boat ramp. Despite the swell, the ocean was nice a glassy out where we were.  We got almost to the end of Kam III and decided to turn around.  I kept thinking about how it might be when I paddled in with the shore break, so I headed in watching the swells roll in.  I got lucky and hit a lull and got in without any problem.  The wind hadn’t come up yet, so I went out for my swim.  There was no visibility at all because of the swell and after a while, I got tired of not being able to see anything!  I came in and took a shower.  By then, the wind started to kick up and clouds started to come in too, so I went home.  I hope this swell doesn’t last very long because I long for more perfect days like the other day!!  I ‘m so spoiled……

spectacular day!

Yesterday started out really, really nice.  I paddled down to the boat ramp in great conditions and got to visit with about fourteen turtles!  I even saw “Spot” yesterday and I haven’t seen my regulars for a while, so that was nice.  I was surrounded by several turtles twice and sat between quite a few turtles too.  A kayak with an older couple paddled over to where I was to see the turtles, and the woman started to tell me about some paddlers who were out by whales the other day and that the whales were breeching right by them……I let her tell “my” story and then I informed her I WAS one of those paddlers!  It was so funny.  The red pontoon snorkeling boat showed up too and I had a nice chat with the friendly crew, then I paddled back in still nice conditions.  By the time I went for my swim, the wind had kicked up and I had a rough water swim!  I didn’t care though!  Today started out much like yesterday, very nice and calm.  I ran into a friendly turtle just as I paddled out.  It stayed with me as I paddled slowly along,  just popping up here and there to look at me!  I recognized the turtle as one I’ve swam with before.  It was the one with the right flipper that looks like it got chewed mostly off by something because there is only about a quarter of it left.  I paddled with it down to the rocks and then it dove down and I continued on to the boat ramp.  It was a spectacular day out on the ocean, but the turtles were hiding somewhere.  I ran into a paddling friend and we hung out waiting for the turtles!  Finally she spotted one so we paddled over to it.  We waited and waited until we saw three more turtles.  It was a long wait for four turtles!  We paddled back and the conditions were still really nice. It was one of those days that made it hard to come in it was so nice!  I saw one last turtle as I paddled in, so that made six turtles for the day.  We saw some whales too, but they were out pretty far.  My swim was great too and the conditions stayed nice!  Everyone was commenting about how spectacular the day was.  I hope tomorrow is just as nice!!

Fish friends!

Of course I couldn’t wait to get out on the water today and look for more whales……but the morning was already windy and the ocean choppy, unlike yesterday that was so perfect.  I went out anyway hoping the wind would back off, but by the time I got down to the boat ramp, the wind seemed to be gaining strength.  When I saw white caps starting to splash…..I almost decided to just turn around and paddle back, but suddenly a turtle appeared and I had to stay for a few minutes!  Then another turtle popped up on the other side of me too, so that took a few more minutes.  By then, the wind was definitely stronger and I knew paddling against the wind would be a lot of work.  The ocean got so kicked up and it was like paddling in an agitating washing machine!  I just kept paddling, trying not to let the wind push me south.  Finally about the time I was struggling to get past Kam II, the wind did back off some so I could get home.  It was quite a workout, but I didn’t care!  When I got ready to go for my swim, the wind had totally backed off and the ocean got so nice and glassy.  It was much nicer than when I was paddling!  I knew my swim would be great and it was.  I swam down to the reef and watched the fish for a while and then swam back in perfect conditions!  Then I was just chillin’ in my beach chair enjoying the sun, when a huge group of tourists descended on me!  I looked up and they were putting their stuff  literally inches from my chair and they could care less.  I am always amazed when people have zero sense of space and consideration for others, when there is a whole beach available, but they sit right on top of you anyway!  A few minutes later their beach umbrella almost harpooned me, so it was clear that it was time for me to go home.  I know we need the tourist industry on Maui,  but sometimes the tourists are so annoying!  Okay, vent over…. it was still a beautiful day on Maui!!

whale breeching!

I woke up late, again.  It was almost 9:30 a.m. before I got out on the water and I didn’t know about the wind, but I went out anyway.  The day was beautiful and so far, the conditions were ideal, so I paddled on down to the boat ramp.  Just as I was passing Kam II, I ran into a paddling friend.  I pointed out that there were some boats congregating out farther on the ocean, and wondered if there was a whale out there.  Suddenly, my friend said, “Hey, isn’t that a whale right there?”  I looked in that direction and sure enough, there WAS a whale out there and it was pretty close to us!  The whale seemed to be heading south, so we started to paddle south and I inched my way out farther in the ocean hoping to get closer to it.  I soon realized that there were actually three whales, not one, and I got really excited!  I yelled for my friend to hurry up, but she had somewhere she had to be so I took off out to the whales without her.  When I got close to them, another woman was paddling over to where I was too.  The whales were right out from the boat lane and I was worried about the boats starting to roar in and not seeing the whales.  Then I could see that one of the whales was a calf and the other two were adults.  One of them might have been the mother whale, but I’m not sure.  Soon I spotted a boat roaring in and got nervous!  I started waving my paddle around frantically to hopefully draw attention to the group of whales so the boat wouldn’t run over them, but it paid no attention to me and roared right by the whales.  I was so worried about the boat hurting them, but as soon as the boat passed, the three whales popped up again!  They must have heard the motors and dove down.  I was so relieved!  It was just beautiful out on the ocean and the other paddler and I were just hanging out by the whales, when all of a sudden, BAM…..one of the adult whales flew out of the water in a full breech just yards from where we were sitting!   We were in shock!  It was totally amazing!  The whale was huge and there it was, all of it, in the air, out of the water right in front of us!  We both got rocked from the wake of the whale splashing down into the water and we were just recovering from the shock of it, when BAM….to the right of us, another full breech, just like the last one!  Wow, just wow….we were really in shock now!  A guy on a one man canoe had just started to paddle over by us when the second breech occurred and he was also in shock!  There we sat, all three of us, just marveling at what we had  just experienced, and then a few more yards out….BAM….a third breech!!!!!!!  That one was about a 3/4 breech but we were still overwhelmed by the whale show!!!!  WOW, that is all I can say!  Then the three whales headed out to sea and I almost just paddled back in awe, but decided to hang at the boat ramp for a few more minutes.  As soon as I got there, three turtles surfaced and I was now sitting in a turtle triangle!   Then two more turtles surfaced and I paddled over and sat in between them.  I was just about to leave when one more turtle popped up and then when I was passing Kam III, another turtle surfaced in front of me!   So, that was three whales and seven turtles for the day…..not bad for a day I almost didn’t go out paddling!  Surprisingly the conditions stayed so nice all the way  back and all the way through my swim too!  The water has cleared up and I got to see lots of fish down by the reef too.   What a fantastic day! (The other paddler had a camera and I hope I can find her and see what she was able to video!!!!!)  I hope tomorrow is just as great!

my buddies!

Well it was another perfect day for paddling today and to think I almost didn’t go out!  I got up late and didn’t get into the water until almost 9:30 a.m. but it was perfect!  Even better conditions than yesterday with hardly a cloud in the sky and calm.  I paddled down to the boat ramp and waited.  Pretty soon two turtles surfaced so I cruised up between them.  Then I spotted another turtle farther south.  Then two more turtles surfaced and I cruised up and sat in between them too!   The last two turtles seemed to be hanging out together and they hung out with me for quite a while.  The turtles dove under my board and surfaced on my right, then they dove under and surfaced one on each side of me!  During our time together, they dove under me and surfaced behind me and in front of me too!  It was so funny!  I expected to encounter the boats coming, but no boats came in while I was there so maybe everyone was going to Super Bowl Sunday parties.  It was strange not seeing any boats coming in at the ramp but I sure was glad!  I paddled back and ran into a paddling friend.  We chatted for a while and then paddled north together, near the Whale Song buoy.  I saw the lifeguards helping set it up a few weeks ago, apparently you can go online and hear the whales!  Then the wind started to come up so I paddled in and she paddled back to Kam II.  A turtle popped up as I was coming in so that made six turtles for the day!  By the time I went out for my swim, the wind was blowing and it was a rough water swim but I didn’t mind.  At least I could see the bottom today which hasn’t been the case for quite a few days.  I hope tomorrow is another nice day!!

Groundhog Day!

It might be Groundhog Day….but we don’t have any ground hogs in Hawaii!  We have mongooses….but no groundhogs and I don’t think mongooses predict the seasons anyway!  It was a pretty perfect day, however.  After days of unpredictable conditions, this morning seemed pretty perfect.  The wind and rain cleared the skies of the VOG and it was a beautiful, sunny day!  I paddled down to the boat ramp and was greeted by several turtles!  First I saw two turtles and then three more turtles surfaced, and I glided up in the middle of them!  I was so happy to see the turtles after so many days of not seeing them!  Then I spotted two more turtles farther south and paddled up in between them.  I had just counted seven turtles, when I noticed some activity out farther on the ocean and in front of Kam III.  Then I saw two canoes out there too and the lifeguard started warning the paddlers to stay away from the whale!  A whale!!!!!  So I paddled closer and hoped the lifeguard wouldn’t yell at me.  I stayed  far enough away, but I could see the whale and it was a big one! Then it surfaced and blew out of its blow hole!  The whale then disappeared and apparently had dove down because all of a sudden, I saw a huge whale tail shoot out of the water…..the whole big tail, as clear as day!  It looked just like photo that someone had taken earlier in the week that was featured in the newspaper!  I watched for a few more minutes and then started paddling back to Kam I.  The conditions were still very nice and as I neared Kam I….when I ran into a paddling friend who had paddled north.  I told her about the whale and then I noticed a big turtle swimming right next to me under the water!  Then my friend spotted another turtle too.  That made nine turtles for the day and one big whale!  It was so exciting. I decided to paddle in and go for my swim, but the water had zero visibility due to the crazy conditions all week.  I really don’t like it when I can’t see anything!  I swam for a while and then came in.  It was such a beautiful day and I hope tomorrow is just as nice!!

A whale of a tale!

The conditions have been so unpredictable lately……it was sunny finally today, but it was really windy early.  I hope it calms down by tomorrow.  This was in the Maui News…..apparently the photo was caught at Kam III last Tuesday!  I sure want to see that when I am paddling down there!  Maybe tomorrow?  Quite a whale tail!

After the storm

It has been an interesting series of days while this storm passed through.  Luckily, we finally got some rain out of it too, which we really needed.  Now everything is fresh, the VOG disappeared, and the mountains are greening up!  I did go out paddling a couple of days during this time, but the turtles were hiding somewhere and the swells were fun and a bit scary at the same time.  One day I got brave and paddled over swells all the way down to the boat ramp, but as soon as I got there, I turned around and paddled back!  Then another day I went out and there were inconsistent swells, but when a set came in, it was scary.  I had just run into a paddling friend and a large set of three waves rolled through, and I looked at her and said, “I’m going in!!!!”  So she paddled back to Kam II where there was some substantial shore break to muddle through.  I made it in okay but I don’t know how she did!  I enjoyed the rain while it was here too, but this morning I was very glad that the ocean wasn’t stormy. In fact, the ocean was really glassy and calm!  Not many people were out due to the fact that it was still mostly overcast and still looked threatening, but I happily paddled down to the boat ramp.  I ran into a paddling friend who told me he had seen half a dozen whales and even two dolphins!  I stopped at the boat ramp to hopefully see some turtles, but I spotted a whale just out from the boat ramp, and watched it jumping and spouting!  Then there was a splash behind me, and I turned around and a turtle buddy has surfaced!  It didn’t hang around long and occasionally a fairly large swell would roll in, so I decided to paddle back.  I was really glad to see a turtle and a whale!  The conditions stayed calm and glassy all the way back to Kam I and the sun kept trying to come out.  By the time I went for my swim, the sun still had not made it all the way out, so visibility was not as good as it would have been.  I swam down by the reef, but there was no visibility down there at all!  The storm still has things  kicked up, but at least I could see the bottom today.  It sure was a beautiful day, and of course, it’s winter!!