Maui report

[Chuck]

First trip to Maui of the season!

Got collected by nice friends who chauffeured me around for the day. Picked up gear and checked out Kanaha. BIG! No wind tho and rain showers streaming through. Small window of opportunity so down we went to Kihei for flat water blasting/freestyle fun. Wrong tool for the job but fun to try the new Starboard Black Box (Alton insert witty euphemism here). Lit 5.0, was 4.0 in the gusts.
Lure of the waves on the N side proved too strong so we decamped to Kanaha. Wind finally coming through but squally/gusty man did I mention the waves were BIG!!??
Swapped out for a traditional waveboard on the way back through town and much better!
Crazy swell running from two directions made for some massive double-ups as they hit Lowers...there was no discernible channel from lowers up through Triangles (aka crazy wave) into Uppers, just a charging mass of white the entire way
Charged out after my buddy Dan and the gods were kind, made it out ok. Sailors disappearing into troughs on the outside, these we're moving mountains of water. Sphincter was tightly clenched as the wind would die on the outside as the rain moved through.
Had three waves that were un-f'in-believeable. Had to be careful as close outs were the norm, something that I've never seen@Lowers, it normally holds a large swell quite well. Wishing I hadn't wasted energy@Kihei as my forearms were cramping from charging through the break! Only minimal douching/washings in the break, others not so lucky, lots of equipment carnage! Welcomed Tony's sis and bro-in law to the Island, they just got in and came straight to the beach!

Awesome balls out session! Made for a long night home but man, that place is awesome.

[Michael]

Hey Chuck sounds epic. One of the guys from BWD was writing about it also, he was out kiting. I've been thinking about coming over there as well, might try to go for a week soon.
Would you be interested in getting some gear there and a storage locker? I was thinking about it my last trip, would make things cheaper.

[Alton]

Chuck - Holy cow! You know what they say ... once you go ... you can't go back



Tony - John and Christine are in Maui again? Do they live there?

[Chuck]

Hey Chuck sounds epic. One of the guys from BWD was writing about it also, he was out kiting. I've been thinking about coming over there as well, might try to go for a week soon.
Would you be interested in getting some gear there and a storage locker? I was thinking about it my last trip, would make things cheaper.

I've thought about that as well and have looked into it briefly...looks like a unit large enough for a couple of boards (surfboard would be good to have) and other gear would be at least $100/month, if not more. The numbers start to make sense if you're looking at weekly gear rental fees but I'm usually just doing one off day rentals, and that's only if the forecast is decent. I've had many layovers where it's just been surfing and snorkelling as the wind hasn't cooperated. $60-80/day can be steep and add up if it's multiple days but twice a month isn't too bad on the pocketbook. I'm also paying for the luxury of having the right gear for the conditions....although that doesn't usually stray too much in !aui from a waveboard and 4.7/5.5....might revisit this idea in the coming months tho, esp if I get there more often. I had such an awesome session I am keen to pop over for a few days when the conditions line up!!

[Chuck]

Back from Maui, had a great 3 hr SUP session at Kanaha yesterday. Pretty small waves, knee to waist high but fun fun fun! Just myself and my buddy Dan, amazed we had Lowers all to ourselves for over an hour, then others paddled out.

First trip with no wind, apparently November has been even more marginal than usual, wind wise, though there have been some decent swell come through.

Sad to hear about the fatal shark attack that occurred South Side this morning. Closed the Kihei/Wailea beaches for a few days. Who knows, maybe the sharks are acquiring a taste for that sweet Haole meat Maybe that's why it was so uncrowded@Kanaha

[LeopardSkin]

Second shark attack in just a few days. There seem to be lots of attacks in the last couple of years.

[Chuck]

Wednesday was a great day. Waves not so big, waist to shoulder high with occasional head high set rolling through. Gusty E winds made for little wind by the shoreline (kiters had a hell of a time getting off the beach) but SWEEEET side-off conditions for powering down the line for ultimate lip smackage! Even got a few aerials off the pitching lips! Woot woot! Finally got the right tools for the job, a new 2014 Starboard Kode 103 to help float me out and a 5.5 NP Zone. Larger gear but soooo much fun. Great 2 hr session worth every penny of gear&car rental charges!

Saw Martin from the Spit too! Great to see familiar faces!

[Chuck]

Yesterday was a pleasant surprise! After little wind through the Holidays my only trip this month coincided with a 2 star Windguru forecast. Really on shore tho, almost felt like Bbay (albeit with bigger waves and Turtles ) with some backside rides and couple of solid rinsings as I tried to get around frontside on the wave. 3 great hrs on the water, a little gusty but well lit on a 5.8. Most people on 4.7-5.3. Opted for larger single fin Freestyle Wave to help with the lulls and to punch out through the break and stay upwind. Some gusts felt like I was going almost parallel with the shore.

Bumped into more familiar faces from Ontario days! Kanaha really is like our Mecca, isn't it? Everyone winds up there someday...

No sign of any buoys or diminished launching/landing areas, everyone was pretty chill.

[Michael]

Big 4.4 M swell and Kona winds for next Wednesday Chuck. Hope you score some of that. Let us know what happens.

[Chuck]

Holy Shit! You're not kidding

Just checked out the Windguru forecast for Kanaha for Wednesday, looks Massive!! How do you embed a screen shot here? Can someone?

Crazy light Kona winds forecast, should be some pretty gnarly conditions! Unfortunately (Fortunately? Dunno if I have the cojones to sail if I was there) training week with my Annual Retraining exams, how to serve coffee, etc so no Maui.

Might be bad news (for me) coming down the pipe vis-a-vis my Hawaii trips as word on the street that all the flights are going to be transferred away from Mainline to the new 'low cost' option that is expanding into YVR. Think it'll make your travel to OGG cheaper? Hope so! (..but doubt it )