wildwahinepaddler

Back at my beach!

Yesterday was a travel day and today it was a beautiful morning at my beach.  Calm conditions,  just perfect for paddling!  I was just so glad to be back out on my board that I wasn’t even looking for turtles today.  The beach we went to on the North Shore had plenty of turtles and I was in turtle heaven that day!  I paddled down to the boat ramp and when I turned around I decided to just sit awhile and just take in the scenery.  All of a sudden a turtle came up next to my board!  It hung around for a few minutes and popped its head up a couple of times to look at me, then it swam away.  What an unexpected treat!  On my way back, the wind stayed at just a nice breeze blowing from the north west and I paddled over some fun bumps.  Just as I was about to go for a swim, the trade winds blew in strong  and my swim ended up being pretty wild.  All in all, a great day though!

Turtles come right up on the reef to eat sea weed!

We spent the day at a beach on the North Shore of Oahu, where the turtles come right up on the reef to eat sea weed!  Just where we were, I counted sixteen turtles!  You can even scoop up the sea weed and go into the water and feed them by hand.  It was amazing!  This turtle has sea weed hanging out of his mouth….. so funny!  I don’t know if I will paddle on this trip, but the swim I had today was fantastic.  I swam with about 15 turtles, all around me and I saw so many fish!  I even saw two large schools of fish that swam right through me!  One school was fairly large,  deep blue colored fish with funny little yellow fins and the other school was a striped tropical fish.  It was a terrific spot and what a beautiful day!  Tomorrow we return to Maui and it will be back to paddling for me!

Beautiful Haleiwa Sunset!

So we have been on Oahu since Friday and I haven’t paddled once!  The first day we went to the North Shore I was looking so forward to swimming in Waimea Bay (one of my most favorite places in the world) and when we got there, the water was dirty from run off from the mountain since it rained recently. I was so disappointed, but swam back stroke anyway (hey I was desperate!)  The next day was windy and cloudy and it looked like it might storm so we stayed in town.  Today we drove over to the north shore and the water was much clearer!  I couldn’t wait to get in the water.  I usually swim down to the rocks and enjoy all the fish, but that direction was not as clear.  I decided to go towards the big rock that people jump off of and I ended up in a huge school of bait fish (there were hundreds of them!)  Then I ran into two turtles and swam along with them for a few minutes, it was great!  That made my day.  We drove down to the Haleiwa beach park to watch the sunset and what a treat!  The sky was pink, purple, gray, orange…. and it looked like cotton candy at the fair.  What a great end to a nice day!  Enjoy the photo!

We’ve had some strange conditions lately.  Perfect one day, windy the next.  Lately we don’t know for sure what conditions we will have for paddling.  Today was a windy one and it was a challenge paddling down to the boat ramp, but a friend and I did it!  I only hoped the wind would not change directions so I could ride the wind back.  By the time we got down to the boat ramp, the wind backed off and it was really nice.  We saw one turtle at the boat ramp, and then two in front of Kam III!  On the way back, the wind stayed back until we headed into Kam I and then it started to get windy again.  My friend continued to paddle and I came in for my swim.   The day was beautiful, but by 11:00 a.m., the trade winds kicked up in a frenzy and it was blown out within a few minutes!  Just one of those days.  Tomorrow we will be on Oahu.  I am not taking my board so I am hoping to rent one.  More later…..

Such a lovely morning!

The last day I paddled was Sunday and it was really windy!  I did see one turtle in all those white caps though.  Today the morning was calm and beautiful.  I couldn’t wait to get out on my board!  The water clarity is improving too which will make it easier to see the turtles.  As I rounded the bend down by Cove Park, I ran into another paddler whom I see often but we had not exchanged names before.  Her name is Nancy and we ended up paddling most of the time together.  We saw a turtle outside  of Kam II, but it didn’t stick around.  Down by the boat ramp the conditions were perfect and I wished I had brought my mask and snorkel with me for snorkeling!  We saw a turtle surface in front of us and on the way back, we saw another one off of Kam III.  The paddling back was very enjoyable and the wind was keeping its distance from us.  Nancy had to leave to go to work, and I continued on to Kam I.  I wanted to swim while it was still calm, and I did!  It was a lovely day for sure!

This morning started out much like the last morning I paddled, except instead of getting crazy windy, it stayed perfect!  I mean really perfect!  I enjoyed glassy conditions all the way down to the boat ramp, and when I got there the water was crystal clear.  I decided to just lay on my board and soak in the scenery, when I was startled by a school of Hawaiian Damsel Fish fluttering along beneath my board!  I love those fish!  Then when I headed back, I came across a turtle just outside of the boat ramp.  It didn’t stick around for very long, but just as it dove down, I saw another turtle out just a bit further.  I paddled out to it and it hung out with me for a few minutes.  When it dove under, I followed it for a few minutes and got quite a treat.  As I watched, the sun was shining in such a way that the turtle looked illuminated and watching it gracefully swimming was a joy!  Wow, what a great day!

Perfect start for the day!

And it was!  Unfortunately about ten minutes into my morning paddle, it looked totally different.  The Kona winds picked up quickly and didn’t back off.  Paddling south, against the wind was difficult.  I decided to just keep on paddling south as far as I could, and then turn around and hopefully “ride” the wind back.  It got so choppy that I knew the chances were slim I would see any turtles, but staying on my board was a big priority!  When it gets too windy, I usually just get down low on my board and keep paddling.  There is less drag that way and I can keep going.  I got down as far as Kam III, and then gave in to the wind!  Unfortunately,  the wind took a slight turn right at that point and became onshore, pushing me towards shore.  I had to paddle straight out in the direction of the wind to get anywhere.  I finally made it back and  I was glad about that!  My swim was also exciting, it was more like swimming in a washing machine.  Gorgeous day though, and yes, some days are just like that!

We have been having some interesting conditions lately.  The wind that usually comes up around noon, has been coming in as early as 8:15 a.m.!  This was the case on Monday.  Yesterday the conditions were very nice and glassy, and today there was an intermittent wind from the south and also onshore.  Paddling was still very enjoyable, though,  and I did see one turtle down by Kam III!  I don’t know where the rest of the turtles are hanging out right now, but they seem to absent.  When the wind did kick up, it created little white caps that were breaking around me making a hissing sound.  Every time I would see a white cap form, I would think it was something in the water and paddle over to it.  I guess I was hoping to see something really interesting today!  But some days are like that, some days are just about enjoying the scenery and the experience of paddling.  I sure can live with that!

Nice Sunday Sunset!

After the most perfect day for paddling on Saturday, Sunday morning was really windy!  When I arrived at the beach I wondered if I should go out since it was already windy.  After waiting fifteen minutes, I decided that as long as I was already there, I would go paddling since I  have paddled in more intense wind conditions than that!  I paddled north along with several other paddlers, against the wind.  I figured I would paddle against the wind for a bit and then turn around and ride it south.  Going south was a breeze with the wind pushing me on!  Then the  wind decided to take some breaks, so I paddled down into Kam III, but turned around and decided not to push my luck.  It was nice paddling back, until I was almost to Kam I and the wind picked up in a frenzy!  I was glad to get back on land.  Tonight was a great sunset as you can see, so I thought I would share it with you.  I am hoping for a calm start to tomorrow, wish me luck!

Ahhh....perfection!

The past two days were really different.  Thursday I paddled in windy conditions, yesterday was windy early and overcast and then rained in the afternoon so I didn’t paddle.  Today, however, was perfect as you can see!  Scattered clouds, slight breeze, calm and glassy conditions. Just the way we like it!  Outside of Kam III, I ran into two small turtles floating along.  Then when I got to the boat ramp, up popped two more larger turtles.  Then as I was getting ready to paddle back, I ran across another turtle and this one was really friendly.  It circled my board to check me out, and then popped its head up a few times to look at me!  That went on for a few minutes.  Paddling back was just as nice and so I paddled out to the quiet zone to sit for a bit.  It was so peaceful I just wanted to stay right there!  On my swim I saw quite a few fish, and then ran across a rather large Puffer fish.  I don’t think I have ever seen one this big before!  I hung around looking at it, but it seemed to be annoyed with my presence and was trying to hide amongst the rocks, but it was just too big!  Finally it just swam out to sea and I swam back.  What a great day!