wildwahinepaddler

Swimming in clear water

It was a spectacular day!  Just a bit of a breeze blowing from the south, enough to keep me cool.  It was 9:30 a.m. by the time I got out but it was such a nice day I decided to head for the boat ramp.  Paddling conditions were ideal!  My first turtle popped up as I passed Kam III……then there were twenty more turtles at the boat ramp!  Today the  water was so glassy and perfect.  Yesterday’s paddling was a chore in the wind and chop but I paddled for an hour.  There were so many turtles popping up and diving and swimming under me…..and the water was so clear!  Even the red pontoon snorkel boat came in while I was there and still the turtles came.  At one point I was sitting with a line of three turtles floating in front of me…….then twice I had several turtles surrounding me while I tried to get photos!  I knew it was getting late, but I just couldn’t leave all the turtles! Even Bumpy was there being friendly as usual!  At least the snorkel boat is now having one of their crew get in the water with the snorkelers and telling them not to chase or harass the turtles.  I think it is making a difference!  I stayed quite a while there enjoying the turtles and the perfect conditions and enjoyed nice conditions on the way back too.  Just as I was coming in from paddling, some friends that are visiting from Oregon snatched me up to go snorkeling in Makena!  What a treat!  So many colorful fish there and I followed a big Parrot fish around the reef.  What a great spot to swim and snorkel!  And what a spectacularly beautiful day on Maui!

Great Makena snorkeling spot!

So nice!

I didn’t get out until almost ten o’clock today!  I almost didn’t go because I was so late, but when I got down to the beach……it was so nice!  A friend told me that earlier there had been shore break due to a very high tide and that the water visibility wasn’t very good.  By ten o’clock, the ocean had calmed with the tide going out and the wind was light.  The paddling conditions were glassy!  Since it was so late, I decided not to go down to the boat ramp.  I paddled north towards Kalama Park.  It was so nice out on the water!  The closer I got to Kalama Park, the more waves I could see breaking and the people surfing were very happy.  I stayed south of the break and saw three turtles.  On my way back to Kam I, I got visited by two turtles…….none of the turtles surfaced long enough to get a photo.  I was happy to get five turtles for the day though!  I paddled on down to Kam II and then turned around.  The wind never came in!  My swim was calm but the visibility was not good.  When it is like that, I really hate seeing any shadows!  I don’t hang out at the reef either……better to be safe than sorry.  It was a beautiful day!  I hope tomorrow is nice too…..

A friend sent me this…..pretty cool. It was done from a photo she took of me…..

Surreal!

Where do I start?  I headed down to the beach early only to find that the wind was already blowing from the north and causing choppy conditions….it was ONLY 8:30 a.m.  I also noticed that there had been a really high tide and there was a bit of a swell coming in.  Kam II had red flags posted but not Kam I.  I watched it for almost thirty minutes and was about to go home….. when suddenly the sun came out, the water calmed down and it got perfect!  It was bizarre.  I grabbed my board and my iPhone and was off!  The water was so glassy that I couldn’t believe it.   A paddling friend was just passing Kam I going north, so we paddled together down to Kalama Park.  We didn’t trust the wind so it was a no go down to the boat ramp for today!   It was so perfect down at Kalama Park and twelve turtles ended up surfacing which I was shocked that I got this surreal photo of one of the turtles.  I really like this photo!  Neither of us could believe how perfect the conditions were.  Suddenly there were some ripples in the surface of the ocean and it started to get overcast.  We paddled south and could see that it was raining out by Molokini and it was getting closer to Kam I.  The wind started to blow from the south……then the north…..it couldn’t  decide!  I came in and my friend paddled back to Kam II.  By the time I got my board in,  the wind was full force!  Once again, I needed help to get my board up onto my racks.  The ocean was still choppy when I went swimming and definitely not very clear the farther south I swam……so I turned around and swam back.  Right after I showered off, the wind backed off again and it was nice.  Twenty minutes later, the wind roared in again!  What a crazy day.  I sure am glad I didn’t bail out and go home though…….I would have missed an exceptional hour of perfect paddling…..and a dozen turtles!

Gotcha!

Yesterday it was windy and blown out early…….but this morning was perfect!  I got out a bit earlier and headed down to the boat ramp in glassy conditions.  I couldn’t believe how perfect it was!  When I arrived at the boat ramp, no one else was there.  Immediately three turtles surfaced!  Then two more so I was on a roll with five turtles already!  The turtles kept popping up all around me and I had them all to myself!  Twice I was sitting with five or six turtles floating all around me!  I saw Torpedo head, Bumpy and Spot…….all of them just this morning.  It was good to see some turtles I recognized again.  The turtles were floating and then swimming under my board so many times!  A paddling friend joined me at the boat ramp and there were more turtles.  I stayed down there quite a while until I had counted at least twenty turtles so I quite counting!  Another couple came to the boat ramp so we chatted for a while and then we headed back.  Just as we were paddling by Kam II, white caps appeared out farther  so my friend headed in.  I paddled back and made it just in time for the wind to come in.  Once again, the wind didn’t back off so I needed help getting my board up onto my racks.  Then I visited with a friend for a while and then went for my swim.  It was so choppy, but pretty clear so I headed south.  Just before I made it to the reef, a big turtle came swimming under me going north!  I turned around and swam with it almost back to Kam I.  The turtle was the only sea creature I saw out swimming today.  The wind was relentless and blowing sand around, so I headed home.  The wind has been so unpredictable lately so I guess the best plan is to get out as early as possible.  I will keep trying to get out earlier!  It was a beautiful day though……

Hi there!

After three days of windy conditions…..this morning looked perfect!  I hurried down to the beach and got out on my board about 9 a.m.  It was beautiful and glassy!  I paddled down to the boat ramp and on my way I saw several people paragliding and landing on the grass at Kam III.  I would never be brave enough to do that!  Down at the boat ramp an outrigger canoe was there and the people on the canoe were out in the water snorkeling.  I could hear them saying how many turtles were down on the bottom, so I knew I was going to have turtles today!  Sure enough, almost immediately three turtles surfaced!  Then a paddling friend paddled up and there were nine more turtles after that.  At one point there were five turtles surrounding me and also a turtle triangle!  The water was so clear…..we could see Trumpet fish swimming around down by the coral!  We stayed for quite a while and then paddled back.  Just about the time my husband and I were commenting on how perfect the day was……the wind blew in.  It didn’t let up so I needed help loading my board onto my racks safely.  Oh well, I was wishing for a good paddling day….. and I got my wish!

Just wow!!!!   It was a spectacularly beautiful day here on Maui today!  I paddled down to my favorite spot and was immediately sitting between two turtles!  Some other paddlers were there too and we watched the turtle in the photo shooting it’s head in and out of the water!  I told one guy that the turtle was “Torpedo head”…… And just as the words left my mouth……. The turtle jutted it’s head out of the water and stunned the guy who was watching.  He looked at me and said,”well I can see why you named it that!”  Torpedo head put on quite a show!   Then I sat in a turtle triangle and then was surrounded by four turtles…….. And then two more joined us!   There were about thirteen turtles in all!  Paddling back was really nice too and it stayed so glassy!  My swim was great too.  What a spectacular day!

Go Torpedo head!

It was 9:30 a.m. before I got out on my board this morning…… But it was so gorgeous out on the water, I headed to the boat ramp!  I was hoping the wind would cooperate and not come roaring in when I was all the way down there.  After I passed Kam III….. I caught up with a paddling friend and we started looking for turtles.   By the time six turtles had surfaced, my friend needed to leave but I stayed.  The turtles started coming up all over! I sat between turtles, was in the middle of two turtle triangles,  and was surrounded multiple times by several turtles at once!  Even the snorkel boat came in to drop off snorkelers and the turtles were all over the place.  I was snapping photos like crazy and I got some good ones!  I saw the turtle “Lizard” and was visited by “Bumpy” too!  I stayed for awhile and the conditions stayed nice all the way through my swim.  The water is so warm right now!  It sure was a nice day!

Yay turtles!

After yesterday’s big turtle day……. Today was just quiet!  The conditions were perfect and glassy and I headed straight down to the boat ramp.  As I was passing Kam III, I ran into a couple of paddling friends paddling north, but I kept paddling on!  One of them turned and paddled down to the boat ramp where I was headed.  I paddled right up in between two turtles!  This photo is of one of them.  Then a boat roared in and scared the turtles away!  One more surfaced farther north near my friend and I but it didn’t stay long.  Only three turtles today!  Oh well, it was a beautiful day and my swim was nice too.  The ocean water is so warm right now!  Maybe more turtles will come out to play tomorrow………..

I see you!

Since we returned from our trip……the turtles have been scarce…..until today!!!!!   It was perfect paddling conditions and I headed straight to the boat ramp.  Just as I was passing Kam III, the first turtle popped up!  Down at the boat ramp I got 18 turtles!  They were popping up all over!  I sat between turtles, was in a turtle triangle, and was sitting surrounded by five and then six turtles!  It was a great turtle day and the wind cooperated.  Just as I was paddling in……. I spotted one more turtle swimming under me!  Luckily the wind started to come in after I paddled.   It was tricky hoisting my board onto my racks but I managed!  My swim was a bumpy one but the water was so clear and I saw a school of five Unicorn fish too.  What a nice day!

Oh hello!

One turtle!

The wind was already up this morning…..blowing from the south…..but I headed to the boat ramp anyway.  I ran into a paddling friend so we paddled together.  By the time we arrived at the boat ramp, the wind backed off and it was perfect!  We sat at the boat ramp for a while but no turtles were showing up……..and just as we were getting ready to head back, I spotted a turtle swimming under the water right next to me!  I followed it for a while and it just  kept swimming back and forth under my board.  Before I knew it, I was out in front of Kam III and it finally surfaced!  I snapped a quick photo and the turtle dove down again.  So far since I’ve been back from our trip, the turtles have not been coming up to visit.  Oh well, the day just ended up being perfect for paddling and swimming anyway!  Maybe that turtle will pass the word on that I’m back!  The wind didn’t really come up again while I was at the beach but it got really hot…..like Summer just hit!  I guess it is June!  I hope the turtles come back soon…..maybe tomorrow…….