wildwahinepaddler

Yesterday was such a nice day!  Finally the swell dropped and the conditions improved.  I watched the ocean for awhile and then decided to just swim with my mask and snorkel today.   It was a great swim for a change!  The water visibility is not very good due to all the recent shore break …… But I wasn’t complaining!  I was just glad to be back out in the water.  About 11:00 a.m…… The ocean got very calm and I was tempted to go get my board down!  Then some wind blew in from the north and it was time to leave the beach.  I was really happy for a nice day!  Oh yeah….. The woman on the left in one of the photos was carrying a blow up paddle board on her shoulder…. I guess those boards are not that heavy……  Interesting!

After several days of less than optimal paddling conditions…….. finally the swell backs off just in time for the wind to pick up!  I contemplated going out on my board anyway but it really isn’t fun to me to be tossed around by choppy conditions.  I watched it for a while and the wind was not backing off one bit.  The winds are supposed to change direction later this afternoon……. which is good since the vog has crept in over Maui again.  I could not see the island of Lanai at all today because of the vog.  I hope the wind blows it away soon!  I decided to go swimming despite the wind and chop and I’m so glad I did!   The water was so clear!  I swam down to the reef and watched the fish and then on my way back….. I ran across a turtle!  It was a big healthy turtle too.  It swam with me for a while, right under me!  Then it came up towards me a couple of times so I gave it a rub……… It was so friendly.  Then something happened that I had not experienced before….. another turtle appeared swimming in our direction!  I wondered what the turtles would do.  They saw each other and moved towards each other……and …practically touched snouts!  Then they moved away from each other and I swam back with the other turtle.   Wow… My day was made!   What a great swim with the turtles!

Wow!  Another perfect day!  So far…. The predicted swell has not materialized.  It could not have been more perfect today!  The vog seems to have blown out to sea and things are back to normal.  I paddled in perfect conditions down to the boat ramp.  A turtle popped up just as I passed the point between Kam 1 and 2!  Down at the boat ramp it was glassy and I enjoyed kicking back and just soaking in the sights!  No turtles came up there today.  It was just as nice paddling back and my swim was equally as nice!  The visibility was really good too and I saw Unicorn fish, Yellow tangs and Humu Humu fish!  It was good to see the fish for a change.  I would be happy with many more days like this!  Happy February!

It was so nice to have some wind blowing out the nasty vog!   Being able to see the island of Lanai today was lovely.  I headed down to the boat ramp and ran into some wind blowing from the south….. Just like yesterday.  I was short on time today so I paddled to Kam 3 and then turned around.  On my way back I happened to look up at the mountain and it was clear!  The vog was pretty much gone from the mountain and the top of Haleakala was fully visible ( and that’s up about 10,000 feet!).  I really hate the vog!  But what can you do?  The Big Island has a volcano erupting and when the wind doesn’t blow then the vog creeps over to the other islands.  Hooray for trade winds!  I went for a nice swim too and the visibility was pretty good.  It sure was a beautiful Sunday……

The conditions were so perfect this morning!  It was glassy going out but ten minutes in…… A wind started blowing from the south.  I paddled against it all the way down to the boat ramp…… Questioning myself about turning back all the way!  As soon as I got there the wind totally backed off to my surprise!  The pontoon snorkel boat already had snorkelers in the water there but I did see two turtles and then headed back.  It was really nice paddling all the way back!  I got in a nice swim too…… It was a very nice day at the beach!

Despite the repeated warnings of a huge swell…….. It just didn’t materialize (this time anyway!).   There was some shore break the last couple of days….. But it seemed to be better today.  Yesterday I braved what shore break there was and went out on my board.  It was such a beautiful day!  The winds are light which is good for paddling…… But it’s bad for the vog that is plaguing us creeping over from the Big Island.  I noticed the little “vog cough” I get during voggy conditions.  I paddled down to the boat ramp and had the place to myself!  One turtle hung around me and after taking some photos of the little poser……. It was time to look for more turtles!  A paddling friend showed up and I think I counted a total of eight turtles for the morning.  We also saw a pod of dolphins racing by and heading out to sea!  It was really good to see the turtles and Dolphins.  As soon as my photos from today load I will share those as well……

The swell is finally dropping.  I only swam today….. But tomorrow I hope to paddle.  The winds have backed off which would be good for paddling…..however the light winds are bringing in the vog too.  Today the island of Lanai was not visible and the mountain was covered by a blanket of vog.  It made me sneeze a few times but it was actually a bit better on this side of the island.  Hopefully tomorrow I can get out on my board…….