wildwahinepaddler

Last evening brought a lovely sunset after all the moisture in the air.  The skies were dark out over the ocean and it was clearly pouring rain,  so I didn’t think there would be a sunset. Then suddenly, there was some clearing out over the horizon and the sun blasted through like a ball of fire!  The sky turned pastel colors of pink, orange, and purple and it was quite a show.  The evening was extremely pleasant and calm,  so I loaded up my board onto  my car in hopes of some good  paddling the next day.  I got up early so I would be sure to get out on the ocean, but the day was windy again and looking stormy.  I looked down to the ocean from my lanai with the binoculars, and I could already see that it was blown out, rough and there were white caps.  Not a day for the beach!  I did happen to see a whale while I was checking the ocean conditions with the binoculars, though, so that was a plus.   I hope this storm front passes soon because I really want to paddle!!!!

Well, we finally got a winter storm, which is good since it will be officially Spring before we know it.  Yesterday was very stormy, windy, and raining most of the day and evening, but today when I woke up, the skies were clearing and the sun was out.  It was windy off and on, so I went down to the beach without my board and just swam and enjoyed the warm sun.  The water was pretty clear considering the storm and wind, so my swim was good.  When I was packing up to go home, I saw three whales spouting and cruising, just out from Kam I!  They were right where I usually paddle too.  Maybe conditions will be good tomorrow and maybe I will get to see some whales!  The rain was great too!

The skies were gray this morning, and it had just started to sprinkle when I went down to the beach.  It was still so dark out that the “dusk to dawn” lights at the lifeguard tower were still on.  The ocean was so glassy, though, so I just had to go out!  Today I left all my beach stuff in my car because I just wasn’t sure about the weather.  There is nothing worse than having to put a bunch of wet beach stuff in your car and then having to drag it all out at home so it can dry!  By the time I got out in the water, it was raining again and the ocean was so dark.  The sky to the north and west was really stormy looking with a slight breeze starting to blow from the north.  I paddled down to Cove Park and turned around.  Paddling in the rain was pretty fun!  Then I paddled south and when I got to Kam III, I decided to turn around.  The day was getting darker and darker as the stormy skies moved in, and I didn’t want to push my luck.  On the way back I saw two whales out in the distance splashing. They were out past where I usually paddle, but the ocean was so calm and glassy that I was tempted to paddle out farther.  My better judgement prevailed, though,  and I just watched the whales from where I was!  By the time I came in, the rain had stopped, but the skies were still looking pretty stormy.  I washed my board off and tied in on my car, and then I grabbed my snorkeling gear and headed out to get my swim in.  The water was so clear, but without the sun, it was darker than usual, so I didn’t hang out too long.  When I left the beach, the rain had started up again, so I headed home for a soak in my hot tub!  The warm water felt so good.  I was very glad I went out, though, because  it is raining like crazy right now and who knows what tomorrow will bring?  Maybe more stormy skies and rain, but that’s okay, we really can use the rain in Kihei.    Even in the rain, Maui is pretty special!

Beautiful Sunday!

Okay, it was a gorgeous Sunday morning,  with a breeze blowing from the South.  The sky was covered in white and silver puffy clouds with some wispy clouds mixed in between, and the mountain looked stormy.  I don’t think I would have wanted to be upcountry today because it looked like it was raining like crazy!  I paddled down to the boat ramp hoping to see my turtle friends, but when I arrived, so had the pontoon tour boat with its snorkelers.  There were also quite a few paddlers there as well so it was actually kind of crowded!  I ran into a paddling friend and we decided to move over to the other side of the boat ramp to see if we could find some turtles.  We chatted and waited, and chatted and waited, but NO turtles appeared.  The wind had backed off and it was perfect at the boat ramp, but I wondered if it was too busy for the turtles to come around.  Eventually the boat and the other paddlers moved on and my friend also moved on.  I waited a few more minutes, and finally ONE turtles surfaced to greet me!   It hung around with me for a few minutes, but then there were no other turtles and that was so strange.  I paddled back in nice conditions, but when I went for my swim, the wind had picked back up again and it was a bit choppy.  The water clarity was very good, though, so I did enjoy the fish down by the reefs and rocks.  I even saw a fish I had not seen before in that spot.  It was about a foot long, black and had all purple fins.  How interesting!!!!!

The sky was full of pastel colors as the sun set due to the moisture in the air.  It was beautiful!

This morning I was surprised to find out that it had rained earlier in the morning and my car was all wet.  Down at the beach the skies were a little overcast, but the ocean was pure glass!  Paddling was a joy, so smooth!  I paddled down to the boat ramp and since I had gotten kind of late start this morning, the pontoon tour boat was already there!!!!  Uggghhh.  I didn’t expect to see any turtles since  the boat had already arrived to disturb the turtle flow.  I paddled past the boat and was immediately greeted by three turtles!  I was surrounded!  I was so excited to get such an unexpected treat.  Then three more turtles surfaced and I couldn’t decide which one to follow!  I followed the one that was swimming in the direction of the tour boat, but then it stopped and just swam around me.  Suddenly another turtle popped up and swam near me too!  I paddled out farther than where the boat was anchored, and two more turtles surfaced.  That was nine turtles even with the tour boat there!  The conditions were still perfectly glassy when I paddled back and the white and silver clouds were being reflected on the water.  It looked very surreal!  Just about the time I made it back to Kam I, I ran into a paddling friend so we chatted for a while.  The ocean was so perfect, it was hard to come in!  The glassy conditions prevailed during my swim and the water was so clear!  What an amazing Saturday on Maui!

So today started out to be a bit windy from the north….and the conditions were not glassy like yesterday. I ended up entering the water about the same time as two other paddling buddies, so I paddled straight out with them to look for whales.  When we didn’t see any, I continued towards the boat ramp by myself. When I arrived there, only one snorkeler was in the water, so I sat on my board and waited.  The wind had backed off some and the day was beautiful.  For quite a while I didn’t see any turtles, so I paddled to the other side of the boat ramp.  Almost immediately a big turtle surfaced ahead of me, and when I paddled to it, two more turtles surfaced to my sides and I was surrounded!  After they disappeared, I paddled back to the other side of the ramp and another turtle surfaced right next to me.  I waited for a while and it seemed no more turtles were around, so I decided to paddle back.  The wind had again picked up so it was a work out.  Just as I was passing Kam III, one more big turtle surfaced and popped its head out of the water a couple of times, swimming next to me!  That was five turtles for today.  I paddled back against the wind and it took a little while.  The conditions stayed a bit windy for my swim, but the water clarity was perfect, so I really enjoyed all the fish down by the reefs and rocks!  A little wind doesn’t bother me, it was still a great day at the beach!

Path to Paradise!

On Tuesday, my daughter and grand baby daughter came to the beach so we stayed for a while after I swam.  It was their last day on Maui and they flew home to California yesterday.  It was great seeing them!  On that day, I was met immediately after hopping on my board, by a large turtle.  I hung with it for a little while as it swam around me and under me.  Paddling down to the boat ramp I ran into the second turtle outside of Kam III!  That was two turtles before I even got to the boat ramp.  Nine additional turtles visited me as well, until that pontoon tour boat roared up again and disturbed us!  On Wednesday, I woke up with a migraine headache, so no paddling yesterday.

Today I got out earlier,  by 8:30 a.m., I really wanted to miss that tour boat if I could.  The ocean was pure glass and it was so smooth paddling down to the boat ramp!  When I arrived there, a kayak was there with four people who had jumped off and were snorkeling.  Then I noticed about five other people also snorkeling in the area where I usually visit the turtles.  I was shocked at how busy it was and I didn’t see a single turtle.  Two of the people snorkeling popped up and asked me if I knew where the turtles were……well I could guess that they were not coming around with all the activity going on!  I paddled over to the other side of the boat ramp and spied a turtle in front of  me.  As soon as I paddled over to it, a turtle popped up on each side of me too, so I was surrounded!  It seemed the snorkelers were still trying to find some turtles, so I stayed on the other side.  Pretty soon the kayak moved on and so did most of the snorkelers so I paddled over to my spot and waited.  Suddenly the turtles started to show up!  I got surrounded by three turtles, and then I was in-between  two other turtles before I knew it!  Then a couple of smaller turtles surfaced and one big one.  The big turtle swam right over to my board and just floated on the surface.  Then it dove under my board, but instead of coming up on the other side of my board, it suddenly stopped and tried to surface under me.  I heard two big “clunks” under my board and then the turtle swam out from under me!  I couldn’t believe it did that!  Then turtle #12 popped up behind me.  A dozen turtles in one day was exciting!  I paddled back in perfect conditions, and my swim was very enjoyable too.  It was a great day! 🙂

Wow, I just live for those turtles!  I so look forward to seeing them and interacting with them each day.  They have the ability to just sweep me away from any challenge life might be tossing at me, and I feel calm and at peace.  Today’s conditions were not as glassy as yesterday, but still very nice.  I paddled down to the boat ramp and I was the only one there!  At first I didn’t see any turtles, so I sat and waited.  Suddenly one big turtle surfaced in front of me!  It hung around until two more turtles joined us and I was surrounded, and then it dove down and swam under my board.  Pretty soon three more turtles surfaced all at once and I had six turtles around me!  Two kayaks with four tourists paddled over and one woman said, “Hey, they seem to like you”.  Then one of the turtles swam over to her kayak and bumped right into it!  I thought the tourist was going to fall out of the kayak due to her excitement!  After a little while, the kayaks started to paddle away and they yelled to me, “thanks for sharing the turtles with us!”  Then suddenly two more turtles popped up to the right of me, and then one to the left of me, and I was surrounded again!  I paddled a bit more north, and turtle #10 surfaced right next to me.  It was so friendly and inquisitive and it hung around with me for quite a while!  In the distance I saw the pontoon tour boat approaching, so I knew my time was short.  Just then, one more big turtle surfaced (#11) by me.  The tour boat roared up and threw its anchor and the snorkelers started to jump into the water, so it was time for me to move on.  That boat really disrupts the turtle flow so I am going to have to get my butt in gear a  little earlier tomorrow!  The conditions stayed nice all the way back, and all the way through my swim.  I enjoyed snorkeling down by the rocks and reef, and the water was clear so I saw quite a few fish.  It was a wonderful start to my day, I only hope the rest of it goes as well!  Thankfully, there’s always another day tomorrow!!

Serene Sunday!

Wow and wow!  It was a perfect day at the beach today and the conditions were perfect.  It was great paddling down to the boat ramp and I was the only one there for a little while.  I was immediately greeted by a large turtle, that popped up to my right!  Then two more followed ahead of me.  A kayak with a couple of tourists stopped by and we saw another turtle!  The kayakers moved on and suddenly I was surrounded by three more turtles!  Before I knew it, there were three more turtles all around me…..I was in turtle heaven!  I paddled out farther and was met by two more turtles, one of them much smaller than the rest.  It was probably a young one and was very inquisitive!  The next thing I knew, three more turtles surfaced and I was surrounded again! I was ecstatic.  Suddenly the pontoon tour boat roared in to drop off snorkelers, so I was happy with my fifteen turtles!  On my way back, I ran into a paddling friend and we chatted for a few minutes, then we parted ways and I paddled back by myself in still perfect conditions.  I swam in a clear ocean and saw many fish down by the reef and rocks!  It was just one of those days…….PERFECT!

Well I am really glad I got the “perfect” yesterday…..because today it was getting windy by 8:30 a.m.!  I really wanted to paddle on my birthday so I went out anyway.  The ocean was not glassy like yesterday……it was bumpy and rough, which made it the ideal “skill building” kind of day.  Those days are good to get because it helps you realize where your skill level is at.  The good news?  I think mine is pretty good since I found it fun to work the entire time!  Due to the wind I paddled down to Kam III, and then turned around today.  I decided it was best to respect the wind.  It was a work out too!  After I came in, the wind backed off and my swim is what ended up to be perfect today.  I enjoyed the tropical fish down by the reef and thought it so appropriate considering I am a Pisces and today is my birthday!  🙂