wildwahinepaddler

blustery day!

Yesterday I woke up later than I had intended…..and looked outside.  It looked like it was already windy and there was VOG in the air, so off to the gym we went to work out!  Today it looked sunnier out and it wasn’t windy, but when I got down to the beach, it was getting blustery!  It was a Kona wind which was not helping the VOG situation….but it wasn’t as bad as yesterday….although Kahoolawe, Molokini, and Lanai were not visible at all.  Even the West Maui mountains were almost invisible!  The VOG is not something we can do a thing about since we just happen to have an active volcano among us on the Big Island.  Hopefully the trade winds will return soon and blow it all out to sea!  Since it was already windy, I went out paddling knowing what I was getting into, but since I was there,  I wanted to paddle.  Not many people were out either, just a couple of other paddlers and a one man canoe.  I think the wind scared people away!  I wanted to paddle down to the boat ramp but given the wind situation, I doubted that would happen.  I paddled south into the wind for a while and through the white caps.  I ran into one big turtle when I first paddled out, which surprised me, but it hung around with me for a little while so I was happy about that!  There was some commotion out on the ocean too.  A lifeguard was on a jet ski and another one was on a board…..and then a yellow fire department helicopter came into the area and was going back and forth over me.  It seemed like they might be searching for something or someone, but I didn’t hear anything about it when I got back to the beach.  I paddled for about an hour and it was all paddling, with not much time for sitting and enjoying. I call days like this “skill building” days….because about the only thing you can do is use all your skills the whole time!  It’s all good.  During my swim I swam against the wind and then rode it back.  The water was all kicked up but at least the visibility was pretty good.  I only saw a few Humu Humu fish hanging around the reef, probably looking for food.  Despite the windy conditions and the VOG, the day was a beautiful Fall day on Maui.  Maybe the VOG will blow away tomorrow…..I can hope!

so glad to be back out there!

I couldn’t have ordered a more perfect day to get back out on my board!  Clear skies and calm water were the conditions of the day.  I had just started paddling out when two turtles popped up one on each side of me,  startling me!  Then I saw a third turtle surface ahead of me.  That was three turtles before I even got out there!  I started paddling towards the boat ramp and ran into a paddling friend, so we paddled together.  Just as we came into the area, a big turtle surfaced to my right so I stopped to visit.  It came right up to my board and popped its head up and then swam around to the back of my board.  I followed it for a few minutes and then continued down to the boat ramp.  My friend said there were more turtles down farther, but I immediately spotted two turtles out farther so I paddled out to them.  I sat right between them for a few minutes and then a third turtle surfaced and I was in a turtle triangle!  There were so many turtles and they did not disappoint!  By the time I counted twenty turtles, I decided to paddle back.  Then I saw one last turtle as I started back!  It was such a gorgeous day and the conditions stayed nice all the way back.  When I reached Kam II, I ran into my friend again so we paddled north for a while.  Before we knew it we were at Cove Park and a swell was rolling into shore, so we headed south.  We had been out on the ocean for a while, so I decided to paddle in and go for my swim.  The beautiful conditions prevailed all the way through my swim and it was still very nice at the beach when I left.  What a nice day to come back to my beach.  I really missed it!  I hope it’s just as nice tomorrow….

Cabo!

Yes, I’m back!!  It was fun to visit Mexico and I did find some options for stand up paddling, but it never quite worked out.  I am looking forward to getting back out on my board though!  I will post soon!

oodles of turtles!

The day started out windy.  The wind was already blowing from the north, but since it was my last day to paddle for three weeks, I went out anyway.  I decided to go straight to the boat ramp to see if there were any turtles around.  The wind had the ocean bumpy…..but at least it was at my back!  Just about the time I arrived at the boat ramp, the wind died out completely and it got nice and glassy.  I think the wind had scared a few paddlers away, so when I got down there, I was all alone.  I was thinking about the wind, though, so I wasn’t sure how long I would wait for turtles.  Luckily, I didn’t have to wait, because right away two turtles surfaced and I paddled in between them!  Then a third turtle surfaced and a fourth one….. so I looked around and I was surrounded….boom, boom, boom!  I couldn’t believe it happened so fast!  But the rest of the turtles didn’t disappoint either, and by the time I had counted twenty-five turtles for the day……I knew my day had been made!  So many friendly turtles and when I started to leave, the turtle I nicknamed “torpedo head”, popped up three times as it swam around me!  What a great send off!  The conditions stayed nice all the way back and all the way through my swim.  I enjoyed the fish down at the reef and swam back in the nicest warm water!  The wind only came up a bit from the south about the time I had to leave, so what a nice day it ended up being!  I’m going to miss my turtles, but I will be blogging from Cabo for the next couple of weeks.  I wonder if stand up paddling has caught on in Cabo yet???  We’ll see!

oh hello!

This morning there was already wind blowing from the north and the water was not glassy.  The day was beautiful, though, and the water clear.  I paddled against the wind for about ten minutes, and then turned to go south.  About five minutes later, the wind backed off completely and the water got glassy!  What a quick switch!  I paddled down to the boat ramp and had the place all to myself again.  I waited a little while for the turtles to appear, but it was well worth it!  Up they came, one at a time, and then two at a time……and then suddenly I was in a turtle triangle!  Then two more turtles surfaced and I was surrounded!  Just as I was sitting the middle of the turtle party, a paddling friend joined us.  She brought her mask and snorkel and was going to lay on her board and watch the turtles below….and since I had a bunch of them around me, she had a lot to look at!  She told me that there were five turtles right under me and two of them were just sitting on the bottom hanging out.  I paddled farther north and three turtles popped up and I was in a turtle triangle again!  I yelled to her to come over where I was and she said the turtles were following me, so she paddled over to take a look.  They were under me again!  Then a few other paddlers cruised through the area, but the turtles disappeared, only to surface again after they paddled past us.  Then it was a turtle party again!  Some of the turtles were so friendly and hanging right by our boards and then diving down and swimming under us.  I counted over twenty turtles and quit counting!!!  I stayed down at the boat ramp for quite a while and the wind still did not come back up.  Paddling back was very nice with just some fun little bumps to paddle over, but no wind.  It was so nice and glassy that I continued paddling until I got to Charley Young Beach, and then sat out there for a little while. I knew it was going to be hard to go in again today!  The wind stayed out while I swam and I enjoyed quite a few tropical fish down at the reef.  The wind just started to come up as I was getting ready to leave, so the timing ended up being perfect!  It was great to get treated to a turtle party today!

Turtle on Oahu!

This is a photo of a turtle on the North Shore of Oahu.  On one of our trips over there, these turtles were coming right up onto the reef to eat the seaweed!  Some tourists were even trying to pick them up….really smart, right?   Well today was a beautiful day, but the wind was already blowing from the north.  I went out hoping the wind would back off, but it didn’t seem like it was going to.  I paddled against it for a while, and then I turned south towards the boat ramp.  The wind at my back was giving me a nice push until I reached Kam III, and then the wind changed directions and it was blowing against me!  There was hardly anyone out, which made me wonder about the wind.  I pay more attention to things like that ever since I had to bail out at Kam III that time!  I don’t mind the wind and a lot of the time it keeps me cool, but when it blows crazy, it can be a force to be reckoned with!  Down at the boat ramp, there was no sign of any turtles, but I also didn’t stay long due to the unpredictable wind conditions.  I figured I would paddle back while the wind was blowing from the south and get the push on the way back.  Lucky for me it worked out that way.  Another friend who had paddled north, got stuck paddling against the wind all the way back to Kam I!  The only turtles I saw were right out from Kam I, when I was coming in.  Two turtles surfaced a few yards from me.  The wind stayed constant, but it backed off a little bit during my swim.  It was nice down by the reef and I saw a big puffer fish!  I followed it around for a while, but it wasn’t happy about it!  There were a lot of other fish at the reef too.  The water is SO warm right now, that it makes it hard to come in!  The south wind prevailed for the rest of the time I was at the beach, but it was still a very beautiful day!

nice sunset!

A little bit of rain…..and a nice sunset!!!

Serene Sunday!

Wow, it was just this beautiful today!  The ocean was not as glassy as yesterday, but I just couldn’t complain about the day.  Usually on Sunday, there are a lot of people out paddling , but today I about had the whole place to myself!  Maybe since we had some rain yesterday, and it looked like it might be stormy on other parts of the island, some people might have thought it was stormy over here on the south side too.  I sure didn’t mind the emptiness out on the ocean though!  I paddled down to the boat ramp and about half way there, the ocean turned glassy.  It was so nice down there and so empty!  Just as I was leaving the Kam III area, I noticed a turtle swimming right under me, so I followed it, but it didn’t surface.  Then I was continuing down towards the boat lane, and suddenly I saw a big manta ray swimming around!  I was excited because I haven’t seen one of those in a while, so I just followed it around for a few minutes.  I paddled when it moved and I stopped when it stopped….and this went on for quite a while!  Then I spotted two turtles down by the boat lane, so I paddled down and sat right between them!  One of them swam away, but the other one stayed and hung out.  Then I spotted a turtle farther north, so I paddled north.  When I got to it, it ended up being two turtles, then a third surfaced and a fourth surfaced and I had four turtles surrounding me!  I love when that happens!  Suddenly I saw a head popping in and out of the water, so I knew it was “torpedo head”!  Then another head popped out farther south, so I paddled over.  It was one of the little turtles and it dove down and popped up again!  I was really enjoying the super nice conditions, when I spotted a turtle out farther.  By the time I paddled to it, the turtle had disappeared.   It was a great day getting to hang out with a manta ray and a total of ten turtles…..all by myself!  I paddled back in perfect conditions and looked around for some of my paddling friends, but I didn’t see a single one.  It was so nice, so I paddled down to Charley Young Beach and sat for a while just enjoying the scenery.  I knew it was going to be hard to go in today too!  The conditions stayed nice all the way through my swim and I watched some Yellow Tang fish chasing each other down at the reef.  What a great day for a Sunday!