wildwahinepaddler

I know it might sound boring, but it was another picture perfect morning on Maui!  Mostly sunny skies and no wind created perfect conditions for paddling.  I paddled down to the boat ramp and as I was arriving, two kayakers and three paddle boarders were just leaving.  The only people left there were a woman paddler on a board and her son on  another board.  Initially, I didn’t see any turtles, so I sat down on my board and waited patiently.  Pretty soon the turtle show began!  I recently bought a disposable under water camera, so I brought it and was hoping to get some photos.  Turtles started popping up all around me and I was surrounded a couple of times, but I tried to get some photos.  The turtles seemed to be posing for me, it was so funny!  The woman paddler and her son paddled over to where I was and she said to me, “Those turtles are posing for you!”….it was just what I had been thinking too.  They were so excited to see so many turtles that they told some tourists on rented boards to follow me because I had turtles all around me!  Uh oh…..it wasn’t exactly what I wanted to happen, but they did just that….they followed me around.  They were overjoyed at all the turtles, but they were so noisy so I tried to move away from them. By then, I had counted fifteen turtles, and a paddling friend showed up.  We decided to paddle more south, towards Keawakapu.  Just as we passed the boat lane, three more turtles surfaced and then we saw one swimming under the water along with at least three manta rays, who were trying to hide in the rocks and coral.  I decided to turn around and start back, and before I knew it a couple more turtles popped up!  I think I had passed counting twenty turtles, so I stopped counting.  As I paddled past the boat ramp, five more turtles surfaced and I was surrounded!  I had to stop for that!  I paddled back in nice conditions, except the wind was starting to come up.  I made it back before the wind got crazy and took my swim down to the rocks and reef, where I visited with the fish!  Even though the wind was coming up, I swam back in decent conditions.  It was quite a turtle day for Friday the 13th!!!

Perfect day!

It was another picture perfect morning on Maui!  There were just a few scattered clouds and a slight northerly breeze and the ocean was calm.  I paddled down to the boat ramp and several paddlers and a kayaker were moving out of the area.  It was so perfect and nice!  I sat on my board and just enjoyed the scenery.  Suddenly I spotted two turtles surfacing beyond me, so I hurried and paddled over to them.  I sat with them while they floated on the surface of the water and they occasionally popped their heads up to look at me.  They were too close together for me to squeeze in-between them, but eventually they drifted apart and I ended up between them!  Then I spotted a third turtle out farther so I paddled out to it.  It was a big turtle, and it was also not in a hurry to swim away.  It floated on the surface for a while and then dove down and swam under my board.  I just watched it swim around because the water was so clear!  I was about to paddle back, when a small turtle popped its head up closer to shore.  I paddled over to it, but it didn’t stick around.  Three friendly turtles made my day anyway!  I paddled back in the same perfect conditions, stopping briefly out in the “quiet zone” to sit for a bit, before heading in.  The conditions stayed nice through my swim and the highlight swimming today was finding myself in the middle of a school of fish!  There were at least fifty of them swimming back and forth,  so I hung with them for a while!  I don’t know what kind of fish they were but they were shiny silver and had a light violet trim on their body.  I never know what adventure I will have each day…… every day is different!

It was another beautiful day in paradise!  Patchy clouds and only a slight breeze made for perfect paddling conditions.  I was so glad to be out on the ocean!  I paddled down to the boat ramp and when I got there, at least six paddlers and a kayaker were already there.  It was more crowded than I like, but I decided to be patient.  There were no turtles for quite a while, and the other people got bored and started to move on.  I sat on my board and whispered….turtles, oh turtles, where are you?  Suddenly I heard something behind me, so I turned to look and a turtle popped up right behind me and then dove under my board!  I watched it swimming around, and then suddenly two more turtles surfaced, one on each side of me!  Then another turtle popped up in front of me, and turtle #1 was behind me again!  I sat there in awe, surrounded by four turtles!  The other paddlers were out too far to notice me sitting in the middle of the turtles…..their loss!  The turtles hung with me for a few minutes and then one by one, they disappeared.  Suddenly I spotted a turtle farther out so I paddled out to it, but it disappeared.  Five turtles in all…..and all to myself!  It was getting late, so I paddled back in the same perfect conditions and it stayed nice all the way through my swim too.  Not sure if there is anything to the turtle whisperer thing…..but it sure worked today!!!!!

It was a nice mellow Monday.  When I first went out on the ocean, it seemed like it was going to get windy, but it was coming and going in little bursts.  The skies were mostly sunny with just scattered clouds and  conditions were good, though, so I paddled down to the boat ramp.  Not very many people were out paddling, so I had the place to myself.  I spotted my first turtle over near the ramp, so I paddled over.  When I got to it, two other turtles surfaced, one on my right and the other one next to the first turtle.  The first turtle vanished, but the other two hung around with me for a while.  Then I paddled more north of the ramp, and a turtle popped up behind me and one surfaced in front of me, so I was right between them!  They floated on the surface for a few minutes and then disappeared.  I sat and waited for a little while to see if any more turtles were going to surface, but nothing was happening.  By then, a couple of other paddlers moved into the area, so I decided to head back.  The conditions stayed good all the way back, but when I was heading up to rinse my board, the wind came in.  I went for my swim in somewhat choppy conditions, but it wasn’t too bad.  The water is super clear right now and I saw lots of fish down by the rocks and reefs.  When I came back, some clouds moved in and the wind got stronger, and it was even a bit cool, but it was still a very comfortable and mellow day.  Hanging with five turtles at my favorite spot is always wonderful too!

Nice!

Bursting with yellow and orange!!!!!

Gorgeous day!

Easter morning on Maui.  A beautiful day with light, wispy clouds strewn about in the sky with a breeze blowing from the south.  I couldn’t wait to get out on my board, but it already seemed like it was going to get windy.  I paddled out and begged the wind to back off  because I really needed a nice, calm day to paddle!  Before I knew it,  the wind did back off and the conditions were perfect!  I paddled down to the boat ramp and when i got there I had the place all to myself.  At first I didn’t see any turtles, so again I begged…. please visit me today because I really need some cheering up!  Suddenly the first turtle surfaced out in front of me.  I paddled to it and then a turtle popped up on each side of me and I was surrounded!!!!  I paddled out farther and was met by another turtle and when I got to it, three more turtles surfaced and I was again surrounded!  Then turtle # 8 joined us and they were very friendly turtles so I got to hang out with them for quite a while.  It was so nice to visit with five turtles all at once!  The conditions stayed perfect and I was feeling very cheered up by my turtles, so I headed back.  I was just about back, when I ran into a paddling friend and we chatted for quite a while.  We drifted down to Kam I and then paddled back to Kam II, and a turtle surfaced in front of us and then another one surfaced out from us!  Of course I had to paddle out to the last turtle, but it disappeared by the time I got to it.  I said good-bye to my friend and paddled home.  The conditions were still pretty good, so I had an enjoyable swim too.  That shiny Ulua fish that I saw the other day, swam right past me again today!  All in all, it was a very enjoyable Easter day…. Happy Easter everyone!!!!!

Pastel skies!

The sun had already set behind the island of Lanai, and the sky burst into pastels!  Earlier in the day it was very windy…. even more windy than yesterday.  The skies were mostly overcast and the water was choppy, but I managed to paddle down to the boat ramp anyway.  I only saw a couple of turtles, but they were swimming down under the water and I never saw them surface.  I watched as the clouds got darker and darker out over the ocean and it looked like it was raining out there.  The wind continued to be from the south, so the stormy skies were moving in.  I decided to paddle back before I got caught in any rain!  The wind pushed me north and it was basically a “skill building” kind of day, on choppy water, not allowing for any sitting and just enjoying.  When I came in, the wind backed off some, but it was still overcast.  I enjoyed my swim down to the rocks and reef and saw a Moorish Idol fish,  a Yellow Tang fish, and a baby Puffer fish.  Then the wind came up again and luckily pushed me home!  The moisture in the sky created the amazing sky at sunset.  I wonder if it will be windy again tomorrow?

After all the excitement of yesterday, my arm has been hurting.  When I paddled with the whales, I am sure I over worked it and it hurt.  Now paddling with the dolphins yesterday, I definitely over worked it!  So today I needed to take it a bit easier, but the wind didn’t see it that way.  A Kona wind was blowing out of the south and it made it harder to paddle to the boat ramp.  On my way down, I stopped to check out something dark under the water.  It was pretty far down so I couldn’t quite make it out but it looked like a ray swimming near the bottom.  Two tourists on rented boards yelled over to me to ask what I was looking at, so I told them it was something dark but I wasn’t sure what it was.  One of them had fallen off his board and the minute I said that, he scrambled back on his board!  Then I ran into a paddling friend and she had just seen a couple of turtles down by Kam I. We paddled towards the boat ramp, but the wind had picked up and it seemed like it took us forever to get there!  The ocean got choppy too, so I wasn’t sure how long we could hang out.  As we passed Kam III, I spotted a turtle and paddled out to it. It stayed on the surface for a few minutes and then dove down and disappeared.  We continued to the boat ramp in choppy conditions.  It was hard to sit on my board to wait for turtles, because every time I did, the wind turned me completely around and it was pushing us towards the rocks.  Suddenly the pontoon tour boat roared in to drop off its snorkelers and we ran into another paddling friend who had just come out.  We all agreed that it was too choppy to hang around!  All three of us started paddling north.  One of my friends spotted a turtle in front of Kam III and then I spotted a turtle out from Kam III!  I paddled out to it despite the wind, but it didn’t stick around.  The wind pushed us north and I couldn’t believe how fast we got back!  In closer, the wind was not as strong, so I got in a nice swim.  I was swimming towards the rocks and reef, when suddenly a large Ulua fish swam right past me!  They are such a pretty shiny silver color outlined in a light purple and I don’t see them very often, so that was a treat.  My arm hurt the most swimming (so go figure), but all in all, it was a good workout day!  I wonder what tomorrow will be like?  I never know…. it’s always a different adventure every day!

wild wahine paddler!

It was a beautiful day with hazy sun, and the conditions on the ocean were glassy!  I paddled down to the boat ramp, and as I headed in closer, a turtle popped up right in front of me!  Just as I got to it, the turtle dove down, but a second turtle then popped up beyond that one.  Then two turtles surfaced right behind me and I was surrounded!  I paddled more north, and four turtles surfaced at the same time and I was surrounded again!  I paddled out a bit farther and spotted a turtle floating on the surface.  When I got to that one, two more turtles popped up, one on my right and one on my left!  I don’t remember how many times I was surrounded, but I counted fifteen turtles today!!!  It was great and the water was so clear, I could see them just swimming around under me too.  After having such a good day with the turtles, I decided to paddle back.  The conditions stayed perfect all the way back.   I came in and rinsed my board off, and a beach friend asked me if I saw the dolphins.  I said “what dolphins?” She told me that dolphins had passed by Kam I and some paddlers were following them.  Another paddling friend had just been swimming and she confirmed that there were dolphins out there!  Then she said, “Look, they are coming back this way!” and she was right, they were headed back past Kam I!  I hadn’t put my board on my car yet so I grabbed it and ran down to the water.  I could see the dolphins and the paddlers behind them coming up fast!  I jumped on my board and paddled like crazy, hoping to get out there just as they were passing Kam I.  When I got out there, I was just in time, and the pod of dolphins surrounded me!  There were at least twenty of them and I paddled like crazy to keep up with them.  They were clearly playing because they were diving down and changing directions, first one way and then the other!  I kept up with them and I could see them all swimming under me, so I knew when they surfaced I would be in the middle of them.  Suddenly they all surfaced and I was surrounded by dolphins!  Then one of them flew out of the water, made noises and spun around, and then fell into the water making a big splash that got me wet!  I have never witnessed something like this before, and being so close to hear it and see it do its jump and spin, well, it was spectacular!  I paddled around with them for at least forty-five minutes to an hour, and was in the middle of them several times hooting and cheering!  I was so tired that when they went under and disappeared for a few minutes, I paddled in.  What an amazing experience!  Some tourists ran to me on the beach saying, “I saw you right in the middle of those dolphins!”  Gee, I felt like a celebrity!  My paddling friend who was on the beach took my board out and a camera, hoping to get some photos.  I would not have had  the  time to take a photo…no way….it was all happening so fast and it was so exciting!  My friend did see the dolphins out there, but it was getting windy and she didn’t know if she got a photo or not.  When I went swimming, I barely had the strength to do it!  I swam down to the reef and rocks and saw lots of fish too, so I had a well-rounded day…..Dolphins, and turtles, and fish, OH MY!!!!!!!!!!

looks nice!

So, very nice day today.  I got to the beach and grabbed all my stuff and started to head out into the water.  Suddenly some swells started coming in and crashing on the shore!  I watched it for 30 minutes, and although there were some breaks, it was definitely shore break.  While I was watching, the lifeguards put out the shore break signs and red flags.  Oh how disappointing!  I contemplated going out anyway, but since I hurt my arm some time back coming in with the shore break, I decided not to.  I did go for a swim, but the visibility is being affected by this swell, so the water is not clear right now.  Oh well, hopefully it won’t last very long and things will be back to perfect!!!!