wildwahinepaddler

I got a late start today,  so I was kinda worried about the wind coming up, but the conditions for paddling were just perfect.  I paddled north and encountered my first turtle down by Cove Park.  It surfaced a couple of times to look at me, and then dove under.  I ran into a paddling friend and we visited for a few minutes and then we decided to paddle down to the boat ramp.  It was a calm journey and the conditions could not have been more perfect!  I wanted to stay at the boat ramp for a while, but I was concerned about the wind coming up crazy like the other day.  My friend was at the end of her paddling journey and so we said good-bye.  I continued down farther in hopes of seeing some turtles.  Initially I didn’t see any, but suddenly two turtles surfaced, one on each side of me!  They were so friendly that I just had to stick around for that.  They popped their heads up to look at me and then took turns diving down and swimming under my board.  It was really neat!  Then I saw another one out farther, but I decided to beat the wind and paddle home.  My trip back was just as nice, though, and the wind never came up.  When I got back the sky got somewhat overcast and there were even some sprinkles of rain.  Thankfully the conditions held long enough for me to get in my swim and the water was warm, clear, and calm.  The wind didn’t come in until almost noon, but when it did, it got really windy.  I wonder if we will get any more rain?  Maui could sure use it.

Another lovely Maui sunset!

Sharing another lovely Maui sunset!   Enjoy!

I got a late start today and was pleased to see what a perfect day it was.  The ocean was glassy with some scattered clouds to make it cooler.  After paddling down to Cove Park and making my turn, a slight breeze from the south came up.  Paddling was perfect all the way down to the boat ramp!  When I arrived, there were some kayakers and several paddlers already there, but no turtles were around.  It was so nice and calm, I decided to stay there for a little while, but I also knew the wind could pick up at any minute like it did last Sunday.  My blister is healing nicely, but I knew it would be hurting if I had to paddle all the way back against the wind.  Suddenly, five turtles surfaced all around me, and then two more!  I hung out with them for a few minutes and then one of them came so close to my board, I could have reached out and touched it.  Then it used my board to push off with!  The water was so clear I could see the turtles swimming under me too.  On my way back, the wind came up in a fury!  Luckily I was half way back, but it took me forever to get back to Kam I.  The ocean was a sea of white caps, and some of them were actually breaking on me,  so I was glad to get back to land!  When I came in, my husband was waiting on the shore line.  I guess he was worried about me in the crazy wind!  It’s nice to have someone who cares about you!  Then he carried my board for me up to the shower, now that’s a nice guy.  The wind never backed off,  in fact, it got even stronger, so you guessed it….. another rough water swim for me!  I figured it this way, the water was warm and clear, but not calm.  Two out of three is still pretty good!

It was an amazing sky!

Sharing a beautiful Maui Sunset tonight!  The color in the clouds was amazing and I just had to get the swaying palm in too.  Enjoy!

It was a beautiful day for the beach today.  A slight breeze was blowing and the conditions were calm.  I encountered my first turtle down at Cove Park again today, and this one was friendly so I hung out with it for a few minutes.  As I was paddling down to the boat ramp, I ran into a paddling friend so we paddled together.  We ran into a turtle out in front of Kam I, and she saw another one closer in by the buoy.  Then we came across another turtle by Kam II!  Down at the boat ramp, we were the only ones there.  Just like the other days, there were no visible turtles, and then suddenly they started to surface!  They were coming up two and three at a time, and then two other paddler friends joined us for the turtle fest.  Some turtles were in between our boards just checking us out and they didn’t seem to have a care in the world!  There were so many turtles, I lost count, but I know there were more than a dozen.  Just like yesterday, the tour boat caught sight of us amidst the turtles and came in to drop off the snorkelers.  We paddled away from the boat, and my friend said, “Hey, there they are!”, and some of the turtles had come with us.  We were having a great time when it seemed like it was getting windy so we decided to paddle back.  Just as we started to pass Kam III, I looked over to my left and a big turtle was swimming with us as we paddled!  I yelled to my friend to look at the turtle, and as we both were looking, it pushed out of the water and extended its neck so far out that I thought it was going to jump out of the water!  It seemed to be making a big effort to look towards us, and then it dove down.  We were both shocked!  I don’t think I have ever witnessed that before.  We continued to paddle back against the wind that had come up and my friend thought she saw the fin of a Manta Ray.  After two hours, I was ready to come in, but not before I saw one last turtle out in front of Kam I!  The wind died down by the time I was ready to swim, so I got perfect conditions for swimming too.  Some days are just like that!

So it started out pretty windy this morning so I almost decided not to go out.  The day was beautiful, though they had burned some cane somewhere and the wind was spreading the smoke south.  The smoke was hanging over the mountain and making Kahoolawe and Molokini almost invisible, not to mention I am very allergic to smoke and was wondering how long I would last out in it.  Well, I went out anyway, paddling against the wind for a while before turning south.  Surprisingly, I ran into my first turtle of the day down by Cove Park!  I paddled down to the boat ramp with the wind, but told myself I would not stay long in case the wind picked up like it did yesterday.  I didn’t want to be paddling furiously to get back with a sore blister again today!  At the boat ramp I was alone again and amazingly the wind backed off and it was gorgeous.  It didn’t seem like there were any turtles around today, so I just sat on my board enjoying the scenery.  Before I knew it, three turtles appeared and then another!  Just as I decided to head back to beat the wind, the turtles started popping up just like yesterday….. soon I was sitting in a sea of turtles and I had counted 12!  Then a tour boat must have noticed all the turtles because it brought a boat full of tourists for snorkeling.  Thank goodness I had my time with the turtles before that happened!  I started to paddle back and then right in front of me popped up turtle #14  just outside of Kam III.  I just had to hang out with it, so I did! Surprisingly, the wind stayed back and the ocean calmed, so my paddling back was really smooth.  I even stopped at the quiet zone for a few minutes of solitude before paddling in.  Even more amazing was the ocean stayed calm and nice for my swim too, and besides the fish I saw, I also watched a crab walking along the ocean floor!  The wind line ended up not coming in until after the noon hour.  We never know what we will get, but I was grateful today for perfect conditions and so many turtles!

Perfect morning for paddling!

This is how it looked this morning.  Clear, sunny skies and calm ocean, perfect for paddling!  The top of Haleakala was clear and I could see the island of Lani today.  There was a slight North wind blowing,  just enough to keep it cool.  Paddling down to the boat ramp was very enjoyable and when I got there, I was the only one there.  Initially I didn’t see any turtles, but the first one surprised me by surfacing  behind me!  It swam around me for a few minutes, and then turtle, after turtle popped up all around me.  I was in turtle heaven when I had counted 12 turtles in all!  It started to get windy and wasn’t backing off, so I decided to paddle back.  All of  sudden another big turtle popped up in front of me, so that made 13 in all!  I couldn’t help sticking around to experience the last turtle since it was so friendly, but I paid for it when the wind got even stronger and I ended up having to paddle against it all the way back from the boat ramp.  It took me forever to get back, and when I came in I noticed that I had a blister on my right thumb from paddling so much on my right side.  This blister will be sore for a while!  The “bakers dozen” of turtles was so worth it though.  And my swim?  It was a rough water swim today!

I got out early because the wind had been coming up so early lately, but today was perfect!  The top of Haleakala was completely clear and the sun was shining bright. I paddled in perfect conditions down to the boat ramp.  When I got there, there were a couple of other paddlers there, plus a couple of jet skis were out since it is the weekend.  It was so calm and beautiful I just decided to sit for a while.  At first, there were no sign of any turtles and then suddenly a really big turtle surfaced right next to me!  It swam around me and hung out for about ten minutes. The I spotted another turtle out a bit farther, so I paddled out to it.  It just popped its head up a couple of times to look at me and then it disappeared.  I was just about to head back when another turtle surfaced to my right!  It seemed I got all the turtles today.  Paddling back was just as nice and I headed out to the quiet Zone to enjoy some tranquility.  Suddenly I heard the sound of a jet ski and paddled back.  Swimming was just a nice too!  I saw a Unicorn fish, baby Puffer fish, and an assortment of other tropical fish.  What a nice day for the beach!

Beautiful Maui Day!

You can’t tell from this photo, but just about the time I got into the water, it got windy!  South wind again today and quickly the conditions got choppy for paddling.  I paddled in the chop and made it down to the boat ramp.  By then the sky had become mostly cloudy, so it made the water look dark and the choppy conditions made seeing any turtles next to impossible….. I thought.  I was the only person out there and didn’t have big hopes of seeing anything today,  but all of a sudden, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 turtles showed up all around me again!  I was having a great time with them until a boat roared in and they all vanished.  I sat there for a minute before heading back, and suddenly two of the turtles popped up again!  The wind stayed Kona, and it was a good push back, until it suddenly backed off and there was NO wind.  Thankfully the cloudy skies remained to keep it cooler and I was back before I knew it.  As I started to come in,  the wind returned and I had another rough water swim again today!  Some days are like that.

It started out windy from the North today.  I paddled against it towards Cove Park, and then made my turn south.  Before I knew it, the wind had changed directions and now it was blowing from the South!  I paddled against the wind all the way down to the boat ramp, and when I got there, the wind backed off and it was really nice. Mostly sunny skies prevailed with just a few clouds hugging the top of Haleakala.  Initially I saw no turtles at all, but while I was sitting on my board I spotted a small turtle out a few yards.  I paddled out to it, but it dove down and disappeared.  I turned around to start paddling back when a huge turtle surfaced right next to me!  It had a really big head and it checked me out for a few minutes, not acting like it was in a hurry.  About that time a boat came near to let passengers off to snorkel, and I heard a commotion in the water.  When I looked in the direction of the noise, I saw something thrashing in the water around something that was a bright green.  Something dark thrashed again so I paddled in a hurry to see what it was!  By the time I got over to it, whatever it was had disappeared.  I scooped up the bright green object on to my paddle and discovered it was just a sand toy shaped like a turtle that was floating in the water!  I think “whatever” it was out there thrashing, it was trying to decide whether or not to eat the bright green sand toy.  I’m not sure if I care to know what that sea creature was, but I am glad I scared it away!  The wind picked up on my way back, so at least I got to ride with the wind, but by the time I took my swim, it was a rough water swim!  At least the ocean is still very warm.