wildwahinepaddler

Beautiful day!

Early in the week it did get stormy, then there were rough conditions and yesterday the VOG was so thick that the day seemed dark all day.  I couldn’t even see the mountain!  I really hoped that today would be different and it was!  When I got up, I looked out the door and most of the VOG had blown away and the sun was starting to come out.  I was ecstatic!  The conditions at the beach were nice and calm too so I couldn’t wait to get out there.  I paddled down to the boat ramp and just as I was entering the area, a turtle popped up right in front of me!  Then a second turtle popped up beyond the first turtle!  Then two turtles surfaced near me and I cruised up and sat between them.  I spotted a turtle farther north so I paddled over.  It was a very friendly turtle and it hung out with me for quite a while so I called it my buddy for the day!  After the five turtles, a lull set in and I didn’t see any other turtles but I stayed down there anyway.  Just as I was thinking about paddling back, more turtles started to surface!  First there were three in a row……. then two disappeared and one remained. Then another turtle popped up and I was in the middle again!  I had plenty of turtles so by the time I counted nineteen…… I decided to paddle back.  It ended up being a great turtle day!  The conditions stayed nice all the way back so I decided to paddle down to Charley Young Beach.  It was so nice out on the water that I hated coming in!  My swim was nice too, although the visibility is still kicked up, but I enjoyed it anyway.  The only thing I didn’t do was go hang at the reef today, but I don’t like to do that when the water isn’t clear…… no point in tempting fate!  I know the sharks live out there!  Anyway, I hope tomorrow is as nice as today and just maybe the water will clear up!

Stormy!

It was a stormy looking day at the beach today, mixed with some VOG, but the paddling conditions were perfect!  Hardly anyone was out since it really looked like it was going to storm, but so far, there were only just a few sprinkles here and there.  The ocean was very glassy and calm so I don’t know if that was the “calm” before the storm or not!  Just as I started out paddling, I ran into a paddling friend, so we paddled together down to the boat ramp.  It was so glassy and smooth!  We were greeted by three turtles!  Then two more surfaced too.  My friend decided to paddle back for some exercise, so I stayed  by myself at the boat ramp.  A big turtle surfaced by me and then swam under my board.  Then it was just hanging under me and I could see it’s flippers!  Pretty soon it started to come out,  but only about half way, and then it tried to surface but it didn’t clear my board and it banged into my board!  The turtle freaked itself out and jumped out of the water and quickly dove down, splashing me in the process!  Its so funny when they do that.  Two more turtles popped up and I sat in between them.  When I had counted fifteen turtles, I decided to paddle back, but then one more turtle surfaced, so that made sixteen turtles for today!  The conditions stayed nice on the way back except when I headed into Kam II, the ocean surface got a bit choppy.  I ran into my paddling friend again and asked her what happened to all the glassy water!  We both decided to paddle back to our beaches and get a swim in before it got too stormy.  No one else was out swimming and the visibility was not very good so it was kind of eery, but the water felt great!  Back on the beach, it started to sprinkle again and this time it looked like it might really mean it, so I packed up and went home.  I hope tomorrow is a better weather day!

Maui Sunsets!

When I arrived at the beach this morning…..the shark sighting signs were posted and the water was off limits.  Not what I wanted to see at my beach on a calm beautiful day!  I decided that I was paddling and swimming today no matter where I had to go, so I proceeded down South Kihei Rd. to check on all the beaches.  Kam II and Kam III were also closed, so I continued down to the Mana Kai Resort.  I parked in the gravel public parking lot and walked down to the water to check it out.  IT WAS OPEN!!!!  There was even an event taking place there, a “swim-paddle-run event”, so there were plenty of people out in the water!  I paddled out and turned north towards the boat ramp (yup, there are more ways than one to get to my favorite turtle spot!) and no one else was there except an outrigger canoe with four people on it.  I asked them if the boat ramp was open and they said yes it was on the south side of the buoy.  Wonderful!  I was careful to stay just on the south side of the buoy so I wouldn’t get yelled at by the lifeguards.  My first turtle seemed to be just waiting for me right as I passed the point.  I stopped to visit with it and it was just lazing on the surface.  Then I headed farther north and came across three turtles and I cruised up into a turtle triangle!  Then two turtles surfaced out farther so I paddled out and sat between them.  The conditions were so perfect and peaceful with no one else out there.  At two different times I was surrounded by four turtles and I just sat in the middle and totally soaked it up!  I don’t know how long I stayed there but I counted fifteen turtles in all, including the turtle that I ran across on my way back to the Mana Kai.  It was so beautiful out on the water so I continued to paddle south along Keawakapu. The water was so clear that I could see the bottom and I even saw four scuba divers down there!  I paddled in and by that time, a lot of the people who had participated in the event had left and the beach was much more quiet.  I hurried to grab my snorkeling gear because I wanted to get out for my swim (since I begrudgingly missed it yesterday!)  It was a surprisingly nice swim and good snorkeling along the reef.  There is coral there too which I didn’t realize.  I thoroughly enjoyed my swim/snorkel and the only thing missing was a decent shower to rinse off in!  I used my drinking water to splash my face and then just relaxed in my beach chair for a few minutes to dry off.  The trek to my car is longer at this spot, but it’s kind of nice since there are also lots of shade and grass areas.  I stopped by Kam I to use the shower and one of the lifeguards came out and told me that they hoped to open the beach in an hour.  I was glad I acted quickly in the morning and found a plan B, and it ended up being quite enjoyable!  I hope my beach is open for business tomorrow morning!

Here turtle, turtle!

Well, the VOG was out there again today, but there were also some high wispy clouds that looked very much like winter (a Maui winter of course…..!).  The wind was not blowing at all and paddling down to the boat ramp was hot!  Just as I entered the area, I spotted two turtles to my right so I paddled over.  The two turtles were just lounging around and I had one on each side of me.  Then one of the turtles came right over to my board and started rubbing its shell against my board!  I think it was actually just floating really close and bumping it, the turtle was staying right next to me, so I reached over and rubbed its shell!  It poked its head out of the water and looked over at me and then continued to hang by me!  Then it swam under me.  I paddled farther south and was surprised by three turtles!  I sat in between them for the longest time, and then one of those turtles (a smaller one)…..swam right up to my board and did the same thing as the other friendly turtle, floating and lightly banging into my board!  So I reached over and rubbed its shell too!  It just stayed there floating and seemed to be enjoying the attention.  The turtles reminded me of little dogs, waiting to be petted!  I don’t ever chase the turtles and try to touch them, but when they come right up to me like that, I will pet them.  Two more turtles surfaced and I counted seven turtles at the boat ramp!  The surface of the water changed slightly making me think about wind, so I started paddling back. Thankfully, it was a lot cooler going back with a breeze blowing in my face!  Just as I was passing Kam II, I ran into a paddling friend and we chatted for a few minutes and the wind backed off completely and it was glassy again.  I decided to do some paddling sprints, so I sat down on my board and paddled.  Suddenly I looked over to my left side, and there was a turtle keeping up with me, popping its head up and down!  I stopped for a minute and so did the turtle, then it circled me and disappeared.  That made eight turtles for today!   I paddled in anticipating a nice swim until the lifeguard made an announcement on the beach that there had been a shark attack farther north and the beach was closed!  In his announcement, he also said that Kam II was open for swimming, so I grabbed my snorkel gear and my backpack an headed on foot to Kam II!  Just as I arrived there, Kam II was closed now too!  I was really bummed out.  I walked back to Kam I and took a shower and called it a day.  Why is it that every time something happens and the beach gets closed, it is always on a really nice calm day???  I sure hope I get to swim tomorrow!

Lovely day!

It was such a lovely day today!  The ocean was flat and perfect for paddling.  I didn’t even have to wait for my first turtle since it was waiting for me just as I paddled out!  I stopped to sit on my board and the turtle just floated next to me, intermittently popping it’s head out to look at me.  Then it swam to the back of my board so I slowly turned my board around.  The turtle swam under me and surfaced on the other side and then dove down.  It was great paddling down to the boat ramp…..but half way down I noticed some VOG rolling in along with some lingering cane smoke.  Before I knew it, the skies got overcast and I could no longer see the island of Lanai!  I’ve never seen that happen so fast before.  Down at the boat ramp I was the only one there.  Almost immediately after arriving, my first two turtles surfaced to my right. so I casually paddled up between them.  Then three more turtles appeared and I was surrounded by five turtles!  I sat there, in the middle, just enjoying the experience!  Then I heard a voice say, “There you are with all your turtles!”  It was a paddling friend who had just come out from Kam III.  We chatted for a few minutes and drifted down past the boat lane, then she continued on to Keawakapu and I headed back where I had been sitting with the turtles.  Before I got back to that spot, I noticed two turtles floating to my left so I stopped to visit with them, but suddenly two more turtles appeared too and I was again surrounded!  Wow, surrounded twice in such a short amount of time!  The overcast made it a bit difficult to spot the turtles, but I saw one out farther so I paddled out to it.  I was just hanging out with the turtle when the ocean surface changed, so I knew the wind might be coming in.  I started to paddle back and when I was passing Kam II, I saw something very unusual.  The surface of the ocean looked like a patchwork quilt….with spots of glassy water and spots of ripples!  I can’t imagine what caused that effect, but it sure looked interesting!  The wind didn’t get any stronger so I continued to paddle past Kam I and then I turned back and headed for shore. The skies were still overcast but the ocean was calm so my swim was really nice.  It was like swimming in a giant swimming pool since the water was so clear!  The air temperature has been so comfortable and not hot at all.  While I was sitting on the beach, the light wind managed to blow the VOG and smoke out to sea, so then the sun came out.  It was still a lovely day despite the VOG and smoke.  Hopefully tomorrow will be nice too!!!!

Hey buddy!

Well, after a nice day of paddling on Thanksgiving day and a nice Thanksgiving dinner at Buzz’s Wharf…..I ended up sick!!!!  I guess it was one too many plane rides breathing the recycled air.  Then we got some weather which would have been great had it been some rain (which we greatly need…)  but instead we got clouds and lots of wind!  The wind started on Sunday and it didn’t stop until last evening.  Today was just beautiful though!  Sunny skies, mild temperatures, calm conditions and warm water……just what the doctor ordered!  Quite a few people were out paddling, taking advantage of the perfect conditions.  I padded down to the boat ramp and hoped to see some turtles.  Just as I was passing Kam III, I spotted my first turtle of the day!  I paddled over to it and it swam right past me so I followed it.  Then it turned around and dove under my board.  I continued to the boat ramp and was greeted by two turtles there,  which I sat between for a few minutes!  Then I spotted two more down towards the boat lane.  I had been all by myself with the turtles until two guys came paddling up.  One of them yelled to the other one that there were two turtles.  Suddenly, the two turtles ended up being five turtles and I was surrounded!  One of the guys yelled, “Hey you’re surrounded!”   Yes indeed, I was!!!  They guys finally moved on and I once again, had the turtles to myself.  It was so calm down there I couldn’t believe it!  By the time I had counted thirteen turtles in all, the surface of the water completely changed and got all ripply.  The wind seemed to be coming in!  I decided to not take any chances with the wind and paddled back against it.  By the time I was passing Kam II, the wind backed off and it was perfect again!  I didn’t know how long that would last so I paddled in and went for my swim.  It was perfect conditions for swimming too and the water was so clear!  On my way back, I saw a Spotted Eagle Ray swimming near the bottom.  The day just got nicer and nicer…….so nice that it was difficult to drag myself off the beach and go home!  I hope tomorrow is just as perfect.  Not bad for the 28th of November!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is so good to be back home on Maui!  Two weeks on the mainland makes you very thankful to be living on Maui.  The pace of life is way too hectic on the mainland!  Despite the overcast conditions mixed with VOG, today was perfect paddling conditions.  The sun only popped out briefly but the air temperature was very pleasant!  I was so happy to be out on the ocean paddling that I told myself even if no turtles were around, it would be a great day.  Fortunately, the turtles did not disappoint!  I started out sitting in a turtle triangle, then I sat between two huge turtles.  I was the only one at the boat ramp for some reason, and the other paddlers were farther south, but I wasn’t complaining!  The ocean was so calm and there was no wind blowing, so it was easy to just sit and enjoy.  At one point, I paddled into a group of four turtles and a fifth joined us!  Then they all dove down and I watched them swimming underneath me.  I saw huge turtles as well as little ones today, and every size of turtle in between!  I paddled back in perfect conditions and ran into a paddling friend on the way back.  I was very satisfied with my fifteen turtles, but when I paddled in, turtle #16 popped up right by me at Kam I!  The conditions stayed perfect for my swim too, but visibility was not very good, especially with the overcast skies.  I totally enjoyed every minute anyway!  I could not have ordered a more perfect day for paddling for my first day back from our trip.  I hope the VOG blows out by tomorrow and that the day is as perfect as today!!!  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Perfect November Day!

All I can say is WOW!!!!   It was such a perfect day today in every way.  It started out with Kona winds, but those backed off half way down to the boat ramp.  I spotted two turtles lounging at the ocean surface right at Kam I today!  Down at the boat ramp there were two snorkelers already there, but my turtle adventure started at Kam III, where I came across a big turtle.  I stopped to visit it  but the turtle was on the move, so I just started paddling along with it!  I was so surprised when it just stayed with me, swimming just under the surface all the rest of the way to the boat ramp!  The turtle was my buddy for the day!  Then it disappeared and I spotted two more turtles ahead.  I paddled to them and so did the snorkelers.  One of the snorkelers surfaced and asked me, “Hey,  so are you making your daily sojourn down to the turtles?”  I didn’t recognize him, but he obviously recognized me, so I told him oh yes, this is how I like to start the day!  Then he swam off and just one snorkeler remained.  I spotted another turtle out farther so I paddled out and it turned out to be two turtles!  Then there was a lull and I wondered if that would be it for the day, but then the turtle show began!  The remaining snorkeler swam back to where I was and when he surfaced, he said, “When I was here a few minutes ago, there were only four turtles…..and now I can see about twelve turtles and they are ALL underneath you!”  And they put on quite a show for us!  There were quite a few young turtles today too which is a good sign.  I always feel encouraged when I see healthy young energetic turtles at the boat ramp!  By the time I left, I had counted about twenty-eight turtles!  It was hard to leave to paddle back since it was so perfect, but it sure was nice paddling and looking up at Haleakala and seeing just some scattered clouds meandering around the top!  Otherwise, the skies were clear and so was the water.  Another turtle surfaced as I paddled in and then just as I hopped off of my board, a really big turtle swam by me in the shallow water!  I quickly pointed it out to a tourist lady who was floating near by and she looked at it and started to panic!  I told her not to worry, that the turtle was just passing through.  My swim was also perfect and the ocean water is so warm right now.  I swam through a school of about fifteen little yellow fish with black stripes on them, and saw a variety of other fish at the reef.  It was such a nice day at the beach. it was really hard to leave!!!  I love days like this!!

Hey baby!

Yesterday was a big disappointment.  When I got down to the beach, there was a swell.  It wasn’t real consistent, but there were some sets of waves that came five at a time and so I watched.  When I saw a guy coming in on a one man canoe….and get tossed by a shore break wave…I decided to stay on shore!  The wind had been threatening as well, so I went home.  I was happy about the wind, though, because I knew it would blow all the VOG away!  This morning the ocean looked a whole lot friendlier and there was just a hint of a breeze blowing from the south.  I was happy that I could see the island of Lanai today, but that was short-lived when I noticed a plume of cane smoke billowing up into the air!  Before long, the smoke had Lanai obscured from view again.  Luckily, the breeze stayed Kona and it wasn’t very long before the smoke blew out.  I hate cane smoke!  The conditions for paddling were great and I paddled down to the boat ramp.  I was the only one there initially, except for two swimmers,  and then a man and woman paddled up by me.  I was enjoying my first turtle and it had surfaced right by my board, but when the two paddlers moved in, I knew the turtle was going to panic.  Sure enough……it popped up and saw that it was surrounded on all sides….and dove down!  Then two more turtles surfaced to the north of me and so I paddled over.  The two paddlers also paddled over.  Then I spotted another turtle out farther so I paddled out.  The two paddlers also paddled out!  The turtle hung around for a few minutes and then it paddled right over by the woman paddler and I thought she was going to freak!  Then it dove down right in front of her.  Finally, the couple moved on and I had the turtles all to myself.  Three turtles surfaced and I paddled over in between them.  I stayed down at the boat ramp for quite a while and ended up with twelve turtles!  One of them was the friendly turtle I affectionately call “Spot”….. that has the reddish-brown markings on its shell.  That one came up a few times and at one point I paddled with it too,  when it was on the move!  The conditions stayed nice while I paddled back and when I was passing Kam II, I ran into a paddling friend.  We chatted for a few minutes and then we paddled together down by Charley Young Beach.  It turned out to be such a nice day!  Swimming was great too and the water was so clear.  I hope it’s nice tomorrow too!

Turtle buddies!

The VOG was worse today and even the mountains were hard to see while the island of Lanai was completely invisible.  The trade winds have not returned enough to blow the VOG away so we are stuck with it for now.  At least the conditions continue to be perfect for paddling!  Just as I started out today, a turtle surfaced ahead of me so I paddled to it, but it dove down and I didn’t want to wait around to see if it was going to surface again.  I headed towards the boat ramp and I began to cough a little, thanks to the VOG.  I sure hope the trade winds come back soon!  Since it was Sunday, there were quite a few boats and jet skis coming in and out of the boat ramp and there were a couple of snorkelers out there too.  I waited for a while and the turtles weren’t coming up right away, so I wondered if I would see any today.  Suddenly a turtle surfaced by me and hung out for a while, popping its head up to take a few breaths of air.  A few more turtles appeared and I was surrounded by five turtles!  Then a kayak with a  man and a woman on it paddled over.  The man said hello and then he asked me if I recognized them.  He proceeded to tell me that they were crew on the pontoon snorkel boat, but I really didn’t recognize them!  They clearly knew who I was though so we hung out and chatted for a bit.  We had quite a few turtles surfacing and we were enjoying them and then the couple paddled away.  Now I had all the turtles to myself!  I stayed down at the boat ramp for quite a while until I had counted sixteen turtles!  The conditions were still perfect as I paddled back and just as I was paddling past Kam III, I ran into a paddling friend.  We stopped and chatted for a while and watched five more turtles surface!  The last one was a really little turtle and I knew it was going to “freak” when I paddled up next to it….and it did, splashing and diving down under the water!  We paddled back together and the day was so nice that we paddled all the way down past Charley Young beach and hung out.  When the conditions are this perfect, it sure is hard to make the decision to come in!  I did want to get my swim in too, so I paddled in.  Down at the reef I was enjoying the fish and then suddenly they were darting away.  Then I noticed a free diver with a sling spear!  He was scaring all the fish away and even worse, he was hanging onto the coral in order to stay down!  I wanted to yell at him for messing with the coral, but then I decided that I didn’t want to be around someone with a sling spear at all!  I swam back a bit disappointed.  Hopefully tomorrow I won’t encounter any divers at my reef!  It sure was a beautiful Sunday, though, despite the vog in the air and at least I got to visit with twenty-two turtles!