wildwahinepaddler

Nice morning!

Well, I almost didn’t go out because I got up later than I planned, but I decided to go for it.  I am so glad I didn’t back out, because this is what the morning looked like!  There was a hint of cane smoke in the air, but luckily it didn’t last long and even the island of Lanai was visible today.  The conditions were just perfect with just a slight breeze blowing from the south.  Just as I was getting ready to go out, I looked out on the ocean and saw a couple of dolphins right out in front of Kam I!  Well that made me hurry and I got out as soon as I could and paddled furiously north in the direction I saw the dolphins swimming.  I looked for them and hung around for a little while, but I never saw them again.  BOO!  Oh well, I took a chance and paddled all the way down to the boat ramp, and just as I was passing Kam III, a big turtle surfaced right in front of me!  I stopped to hang with it, and then ran into a paddling friend on her way back to Kam I.  She told me that she saw the two dolphins up close and thinks she got a photo of them!  I can’t wait to see it.  She said it was most likely a mother dolphin and a youngster.  I continued down to the boat ramp and spotted my first turtle lounging out farther.  When I paddled out to it, the turtle didn’t stick around.  Then I spotted one more north, so I paddled over.  It ended up being two turtles and I got to sit in between them!  Then a couple of kayaks showed up, so I paddled out farther.  I spotted another turtle and paddled over to it…..and then another turtle surfaced and I was in between again!  Then, another turtle surfaced to my left and another turtle surfaced next to it!  That was four turtles all together….. I just love when that happens!  I knew it was getting later and I might be pushing the limit with the wind, so I was happy with my seven turtles and started to paddle back.  Just as I was passing Kam III, turtle #8 popped up right by me and I stopped for a few minutes to visit.  Then the turtle headed south and I headed north, and the conditions stayed perfect!  It was nice the whole time today, even when I went swimming!  I love days like this!

some days I have to share my turtles!

I am still waiting for our more normal wind patterns to return!  The morning looked so calm and perfect, and I thought, oh great it’s not windy.  It was pretty perfect paddling all the way down to the boat ramp too, and there were no boats with snorkelers there to compete with!  Some days when the boats show up, like in this photo, I have to share my turtles, but not today.  I immediately spotted my first turtle, so I paddled over to it.  It was lazily floating on the surface!  Then I spotted two turtles more north, so I paddled over to them.  One was very friendly, and hung out with me, but the other one dove down.  Suddenly a kayak with a  couple on board showed up and started to follow me around.  Two more turtles surfaced.  Then one more surfaced and then there were three.  The kayaking couple were ecstatic!  Then two more stand up paddlers arrived too, and then it became more crowded than I like so I decided to paddle back.  As I started to paddle back, another really big turtle popped up!  I stopped to visit with it and it was very friendly, but the others saw it and started to paddle over too.  Suddenly the wind started to kick up and the water was not so smooth.    I paddled passed Kam III, and saw the man who was paddling the day I got lucky with the dolphins.  He was with three other friends and I overheard him telling them, “oh that’s the dolphin lady”……it’s so funny!  The wind continued to get stronger, but with some little lulls in between the gusts, so I paddled harder during the lulls to get back.  It was just going to be an early windy day, but my swim was very nice too.  The water is so clear right now!  I hope it’s tomorrow that the wind patterns get back to normal…well I can hope!

oh my turtles!

Yesterday I ended up being a chicken.  I could already see the white caps out there, so after connecting with a paddling friend, we paddled down past Kam II and then we both chickened out going farther down!  The wind has been so crazy and unpredictable lately so it has been a little threatening to go as far as we usually do.  Today I still saw the white caps out there, but I was earlier than usual, so I took a chance and paddled down to the boat ramp.  No one was there…in fact, no one was really out paddling so that made me a little bit wary, but luckily the wind seemed to be blowing from the south.  I was just heading into the boat ramp area when I was surprised by a turtle popping out of the water right at me!  I thought, okay, you almost ended up on my board buddy!  Then it swam under me and down.  Then I saw a turtle surfacing out farther, but I was hesitant to go out any farther because the wind was already picking up strength.  The water was getting very choppy, but I spotted another turtle out in front of me.  When I got to it,  there were two turtles and one of them was very friendly!  I wanted to hang out longer, but white caps were starting to form and the wind seemed to have changed directions which wasn’t a good sign for me paddling back!  It didn’t let up and I prayed I could make it back.  It was like a Disneyland ride….with water splashing over my board, but I just kept on paddling and hoping I would make it back.  Finally I got back to Kam I and made it in.  The wind continued to blow in and out, trying to decide which direction was going to take over…..but I did get to swim and the water was so clear!  I hovered down over the reef and rocks and saw quite a few fish, but then I headed back.  Suddenly a big turtle appeared!  I was so excited!  I swam with it for a while but it didn’t cozy up to me like the last turtle did.  I could tell it was not the same turtle as the other day, but I still enjoyed swimming with it!  The wind never quite went out again….so I packed up my stuff and went home.  I sure hope this wind gets back into its normal pattern one of these days.  I miss relaxing and hanging with my turtles!!!!

I love these turtles!

Okay, so I didn’t hear my alarm until it had been on for forty minutes…..and now I would be late for paddling.  Even worse, I could  already see white caps out on the ocean from the shore, and  feeling the wind already.  I went out paddling anyway and paddled to the north, but the wind was actually blowing from the south.  I turn around and now I am paddling against the wind….but suddenly I see a turtle under the surface.  I stopped paddling and the turtle swam around me and under me, but then never surfaced.  I continued paddling south and got to the end of Kam II…..and then remembered what happened last Monday with the wind!!  Okay, last Monday wasn’t pleasant, so I decided to just paddle around the area to get my workout in.  Then suddenly the wind backed off and I couldn’t see the white caps now, but it was too late to paddle down to the boat ramp.  Oh, I really needed to see the turtles today, but it just wasn’t going to happen.  I came in and the wind stayed out, so it looked good for my swim.  I start swimming in the direction of the rocks down by the end of Kam I…..and suddenly a huge turtle appears under me!  I swam with it for a few minutes and then it started to surface right in front of me.  No kidding, it came up right in front of me with its shell facing me…..so what did I do?  What could I do?  I gave it a shell rub, that’s what!  Then it dove down and came up again, right in front of me, so I did the same thing! It really seemed to be enjoying it.  Then it swam to one side and looked at me!  The turtles head was about two feet from my face!  Then it started to swim, so I swam with it.  The turtle stayed right under me and then came up just in front of me.  Suddenly, I decided to try something, so I carefully put my fingers on the ridges of its shell right above its flippers on each side.  I thought the turtle would probably startle and swim away…..but it didn’t!  It swam gently along pulling me!  I was in shock!  Turtles are stronger than we give them credit for and clearly this turtle had decided that I was not a threat!  This lasted for a few minutes and then the turtle started moving out to sea, so I let go.  I could still see it swimming along out farther!  Well this was quite an amazing adventure, and I probably could get in trouble for doing that, so I would just deny it happened, but those of you who know me, will know what to believe!!!!  Thank you my turtle buddy, you must have known how much I needed that today!

Here come the turtles!

I was so excited that the conditions seemed decent today for paddling!  I got out by 8:30 a.m. and there was just a slight wind blowing from the south.  As I made my way down to the boat ramp, the ocean got a little more choppy, but I kept on paddling.  I have to admit, that after last weeks wind bail out…..I was a bit anxious to get caught in the wind again!  But the wind stayed constant and didn’t get any worse, so it was good conditions at the boat ramp.  I was just paddling in, when I spotted my first turtle.  As I got closer, I could see two more turtles as well, and then WHAMMMM….out shot three guys on jet skies!  They are not supposed to do that, and of course, they totally scared the turtles.  Then I saw a coast guard patrol boat coming in my direction and then they turned in the direction of the guys on the jet skies.  I could see them out there but I didn’t know what was going on, and then the jet skies came back in slowly….and got out of the water.  This is the first time I have seen a coast guard patrol boat with three officers on board, but I sure hope they are starting some new program of patrolling the area!  It’s about time they started enforcing some of the boating rules and making sure people are being safe.  After the excitement, I began to get uneasy about the wind, so I decided to paddle back.  It was still nice, but I just didn’t know for how long. As I was starting to pass Kam II, I ran into a paddling friend so we stopped to chat and then we paddled together down by Kalama Park and then turned around. Neither of us wanted to get stuck in any wind…. so I went in and she paddled back to Kam II!!  As luck would have it, the wind stayed out and I was able to get in a really nice swim too.  The swell really messed up the water clarity, but at least I could see, even if it wasn’t very clear.  All in all, it ended up being a really nice day and the wind still has not blown out!  I hope it’s nice tomorrow!

It took me a couple of days to recover from the excitement of the “bail out” and hurricane force winds…so yesterday I got up early so I would avoid the wind.  The day was beautiful….and the ocean seemed okay when I arrived at the beach….until the shore break started!  It was inconsistent, but I opted not to paddle and instead walked and swam back stroke.  The swell has stirred up the ocean bottom and the visibility is not good so back stroke is the best option when that happens!  But then the wind kicked up.  It’s been windy so early the last few weeks, and that is not usual!  I showered off and then came home and decided to look online for Go Pro cameras.  A paddling friend told me that Walmart had them for $100.00 less than the surf shop, but when we checked it out, the cameras were sold out and the salesperson wouldn’t tell me when they would be available again.  Well, it worked out going online, because the cameras were “in stock” and it was free shipping right to my door…and the camera cost only $184.00!!!!  Win!  Now I just got notification that it has already been shipped so I should receive it soon.  Today’s conditions were better than yesterday, but still kicked up, so hopefully tomorrow I can get back on my board!  I worked out at the gym…..but hey, it’s just NOT the same!!!!

Nice sunset!

It was so windy today, but it was a nice sunset!  So here’s what happened today……I got down to the beach a little late and I could already see white caps out on the ocean.  In closer to shore, it was nice, though, so I gave it a shot.  It was nice paddling down to the boat ramp but it seemed like no one else was out on the water.  That should have been my first clue!  When I got to the boat ramp, a white boat was sitting there and the pontoon tour boat was making its way in.  I thought, oh great, this should be interesting!  I moved away from the boats and started to have my own little turtle show, with three large turtles surfacing and hanging out right by me.  Suddenly, the ocean surface started to change and I could feel the wind, so I took off paddling.  The wind came in like a hurricane and before I knew it, I was immersed in white water, getting belted by wind waves and I could barely hold on to my paddle!  I paddled and paddled, and I only got as far as Kam III which had me concerned.  I looked in the direction I wanted to go and all I could see was white water!  It was then I knew I was not going to make it back.  I paddled hard to get in position to make my way to shore at Kam III,  but the wind was creating wind waves and they were breaking on me!  I was getting really pushed around and the wind seemed to want to push me towards the rocks!  I finally made my way in and I was exhausted.  I stood there watching the  ocean, hoping that the wind would back off and maybe I could get out there and paddle back, but no such luck!  I hauled my board up the hill, over the park, and up to the shower at Kam III.  I washed my board off and went over to the lifeguards to ask if I could leave my board there while I walked back to Kam I to get my car.  One of the lifeguards put it by their stuff and I took off with my paddle and walked back to Kam I!  After stepping on some kiawe thorns, I decided to take the sidewalk.  The problem was that the sidewalk was getting hot!  So when I got to Kam II, I took the beach path and made my way back to Kam I.  It was so windy…hardly anyone was at the beach!  I decided to go for my swim before going back to get my board, but it was a rough water swim too!  I couldn’t believe how windy it was.  A friend came by and told me she had been worried about me and wondered where I was.  Then she asked me if I had  heard the weather report warning of high winds, but I had not.  Oh well, my board was safe and I could take my car down to get it.  When I got to Kam III, I got my board from the lifeguards, but the wind was blowing so hard, I could barely get it to the parking lot!  There I stood, in the parking lot, hanging on to my board for dear life, hoping the wind would back off for a few minutes so I could throw my board on my racks and quickly tie it on.  No luck with that, the wind was merciless and at one point it pushed so hard on my board that my board actually pushed me back a few feet into my car!  It was clear to me that I was not going to be able to get my board on top of my car in the wild wind!  Finally the lifeguard said he could help me, so we worked together.  Even with the two of us, it was a challenge hoisting my board onto my car in the wind!  Then it took both of us holding onto the board and working together to tie on the straps!  It was so stressful, but the lifeguard kept reassuring me that we could do it.  Finally, my board was strapped on, so I thanked the nice lifeguard for helping me and then he kidded me about having to bail out at Kam III!  I know, I know…..in almost three years of stand up paddling and paddling in a lot of wind, this was the very first time I had to bail!  Well, I guess there is a first time for everything, even though it’s not what I wanted to do, it was the safest thing to do, that’s for sure.  I drove carefully to my house and made it home without incident.  The wind was wild most of the day and had blown everything around on my lanai, even heavier things that don’t usually blow, so that tells you how strong it was!  I sure hope it’s not like that tomorrow….. but, I will be noticing it if no one else is out and paying attention!

It was a beautiful start to the day, with just some mild overcast overhead.  I couldn’t wait to get out on the ocean since I missed out yesterday, but a few minutes into my paddling workout, a wind popped up out of the south.  Then the ocean got choppy and bumpy and it looked like it was going to be a windy day!  I paddled against the wind down to Kam II, and gave some thought to turning around, but decided to just keep paddling.  It was tough paddling against the wind, but I persevered and I hoped on the return I would get push from it.  I made it down to the boat ramp, but all the paddlers I had passed along the way, were bailing out on the wind.  I was hoping I hadn’t made a big mistake by paddling all the way down in the wind!  When I got to the boat ramp, I definitely was the only one there and it was still choppy.  I sat for a few minutes, and then spotted my first turtle!  By the time I got over to it, it dove down.  I knew the pontoon tour boat would be roaring in anytime…..so I hoped the turtles would start showing up.  Finally I spotted two turtles floating on the surface down near the boat lane, so I hurried and paddled over.  I sat between them for quite a while and they were just hanging out!  Then one of them swam over by my board and popped its head up and the other one dove down.  Turtle #4 surfaced closer to shore, so I paddled in a ways to get to it.  The turtle was a small one, and when I got to it, I startled it and it dove down under me.  Then it surfaced on the other side of me and popped its head up to look at me, then startled again and dove down.  Out in the distance I could see the tour boat making its way in and then I spotted another turtle out farther, so I paddled out.  It was a huge turtle!  It came right up to my board and just floated there.  The tour boat roared and I decided to take advantage of the fact that the wind had backed off, and paddle home.  Just as I was passing Kam III….I spotted another big turtle so I paddled over to it.  It was just hanging by me and then swam around me, and then it floated some more right next to me, so I called it my buddy!  I noticed a paddling friend coming towards me, so I started pointing to my “buddy”!  She came up by us, and the turtle spooked.  She said, “oh I don’t think it knows my board!”   Then it came back up and hung out some more.  Neither of us was sure about what the wind was doing, so we paddled north.  Suddenly she spotted another turtle out farther, so I paddle out to it.  It was friendly too, but not as friendly as the other one was, and it dove down.  I could still see it swimming under me, though!  We paddled together towards Kam II….and she decided to go in.  I paddled back to Kam I and the wind still had not come back in. The conditions stayed nice all the way through my swim too!  By the time I was all showered and sitting in my beach chair, the wind roared in and it was in for the day.  It was time to go home and celebrate Father’s Day with my husband anyway….but I hope it’s not windy tomorrow!

I didn’t even look down the street with the binoculars today…..I was getting in the ocean no matter what!!        It turned out to be a gorgeous day with perfect paddling conditions and I needed some turtle therapy as soon as possible!  The ocean was so calm, it was sheer joy paddling on it.  I ran into a paddling friend and we paddled together down to the boat ramp.  When we got there, there was an older couple there on paddle boards.  I spotted my first turtle and hurried over to it.  It was big and it was friendly!  The turtles were coming up one by one….and my friend got to chatting with the couple.  I concentrated on the turtles because I needed some turtle therapy!  The seventh turtle ended up being the silliest.  It swam around me and then swam under me and was just hanging out there under my board.  I was watching it from the side of my board and suddenly I heard “clunk, clunk, clunk”…. the turtle was trying to surface right under my board!  It was so funny! Finally it figured it out and swam to the other side and popped up.  I was thoroughly enjoying several turtles and sat between two of them for quite a while!  Then I overheard one of the paddlers saying, “hey, she is the dolphin lady….I saw her surrounded by dolphins one day and I tried so hard to catch up, but I couldn’t make it”.  I guess he was the one who i saw trying to paddle like crazy to get out to where the dolphins and I were last week!  My paddling friend said, oh we call her the turtle lady, too.  It’s so funny to me to have these names!  I figured out that I had visited with about ten turtles by then, and I noticed the pontoon snorkel tour boat was roaring in.  I told my friend that I didn’t want to be part of the “tour”….. since last time the tour guide told her snorkelers, “that lady marks the turtles…..so go by her and watch them surface”.  I paddled away as fast as I could!  My friend left too, but the older couple were still hanging out there.  We marveled at how perfect the day was and how hard it was to go in, but she went in at Kam II, and I headed back to Kam I.  Just as I parted ways with her, without warning or white caps, the wind seriously roared in!  It took me a while to paddle against it to get back, but I didn’t care.  I knew my swim would be a rough water swim…and it sure was, but at least the water clarity is improving from the south swell.  I hope the conditions stay nice like this for the next few days!