Maui Race Series Kicks Off

The Maui Race Series kicked off yesterday here in Maui. Winds were pretty light, ~ 15 - 20 most of the time. The course was a downwind slalom around 5 marks. Several divisions raced in several heats throughout most of the day. In the open division, Matt Pritchard was the standout, but Alex Aguerra and Mark Nelson were close behind on a couple of races. In the Men's 40 - 49 division, Phil McGain flew around the course, outshining his competition. In the Juniors, freestylists Nick Warmuth battled it out for first and second while the 8 - 11 year old windsurfing generation with the likes of Conner Baxter and Kai Lenny battled for third.

The wind died in the afternoon, leaving many competitors bobbing around in the water waiting for a puff to get up. But the winds later returned for a continuation of the racing.

For photos of the action, check out http://www.aikimaui.com/gallery/photo.cfm?image=172

Early Start to Memorial Day Weekend

Light 5.0 wind and big RRD to start the day yesterday, from about 11:30 to a little after noon.Sailed up wind to Oli Oli Kai. Wind picked up and went out on CultWave. Sailed that for a bit, thought the wind might drop due to squall so came in and did lunch while squall passed. Went out again around 2:00 til 2:30, then took another short 15 minute break then out again around 2:45. Sailed powered up between Uppers and Camp One until about 4:45. Lots of fun. Some good jumps on the waist high waves. Fun sailing in the smooth water in the surf zone up at Camp One - waves weren't very rideable, not long enough, but good ramps.

Flukey Thursday Winds

Got on the water around 1:30 with baggy 5.0 and big RRD. This was fine for about 15 minutes then the wind kicked in. Came back in and got Cult Wave55 and flattened out the sail. Great, well-powered sailing for another 20 minutes or so, then the wind shifted and got a bit flukey. Came in to wait and see what would happen. Wind dropped to almost nothing. Wind came back after 30 -50 minutes. Went out again on CultWave, but that was too small. Came in and got big RRD which was fine for a few reaches then the wind dropped too much for that too. Very flukey, gusty, shift, frustrating wind today.

Lunchtime Session

Broke away from work mid-day today to get a short session in. Got on the water around 11:45 and sailed until 12:45 on 5.0 and 8'6" 94 liter RRD. Sailed mostly on the inside practicing tacks and duck jibes but also sailed up between Uppers and Camp One. Nicely powered up most of the time. Had the sail rigged pretty baggy. Wind picked up toward the end and I could have been on my 83 liter wave board and a flatter sail.

Looks like the wind picked up another notch to 4.5 conditions after I left. Trades are forecast to continue throughout the forecast period, though it looks like they might drop a notch on Friday through Sunday. The Maui Race Series is scheduled to start this weekend. I'm planning to try to get some photos and post them on a website somewhere.

Monday's Wind

Got a late start yesterday and didn't get on the water until around 2:00 with 4.5. Way OPd. Did a couple or reaches then rigged down to 4.0. Went out on 4.0 and was way UPd. Worked my way back in and took the still rigged 4.5 combo out. Much better. Had fun in the rolling swell at Uppers for an hour and half or so. Some small waves breaking today at Uppers but nothing really rideable. Lots of good ramps for jumping though. The wind swell outside the reef at Uppers was very nice though, reminiscent of rolling swells in the Gorge.

Work hasn't gotten in the way of sailing today. Winds look a little lighter today than they have been the last couple of days. Probably in the 5.0 range. I nice thing about living on Maui is knowing that you don't have to pounce on the wind every day it is windy. Aloha.

Windy Kanaha Weekend

Another windy day at Kanaha. Got on the water around 1:30 with 5.0. Very OPd. Downhauled and outhauled the sail. Sailed almost up to Camp One but was way OPd so came in. Rigged down to 4.5 and went out on that around 3:30. Wind was way offshore and I had to swim out a bit to get enough wind to waterstart and then had to slog to the windline. Once out, the 4.5 was ok, a little bit UPd since the wind had dropped. Managed to get some gusts and lifters and get up to Uppers and had some fun in some small wind-swell/waves, nothing rideable, but good for starboard jumping. Sailed until about 4:45 when the wind started backing off and getting holier.

A good weekend of sailing at Kanaha. The beach and water were pretty crowded with locals and visitors getting their fix.

This Is More Like It

Like a switch, the trade winds have turned on to their normal force. Kanaha was packed yesterday as windsurfers came out of the woodwork to get their fix.

I got on the water around 11:30 with 5.0 and CultWave 55, marginally powered for an hour. Took a break for an hour. Wind kicked in. Downhauled and outhauled the 5.0 and went out again and sailed until about 2:15, pretty OPd, but manageable. Took another break then went out on 4.5 and JP77. Sailed very powered up on that from about 3:30 to 4:30 . Took another break, during which the wind backed off. went out again around 5:00 on 5.0 and CultWave until about 5:30. Moderately powered in the beginnning, then marginally powered, then UPd at the end.

Once again now waves, but the wind swell is beginning to form some nice rolling swell outside the reefs. A fun day, and judging from the forecast, many more to come. Yesterday's sailing brought me up to 50 days of sailing so far this year.

Theeeeeey're Baaaaaaaack!!!

Yes the tradewinds are officially back. Yesterday I got out on my 5.8 at Kanaha and sailed very well powered for a couple of hours in the late afternoon. Nothing epic, but it sure felt good to get back on the water. That was pretty much the sentiment of everyone there.

Waves were non-existent yesterday, so it was all flat-water cruising, with a little bit of small wind swell outside the reef for some small bump and jump conditions.

Wind looks like it's going to be here for at least the next week. Forecast is for trades 15 - 25. At 8:00 in the morning Kanaha is already reporting 17. Time to rally and head over to the north shore.

Tradewind Transition

Looks like the tradewinds are trying to come back. As I write this Friday morning, there is very light wind at Kanaha, but at least it is from the right direction. The Maui zone forecast is calling for trades 10 - 20 today, but bumping them up to 15 - 20 starting tomorrow through the forecast period.

Maui Zone Forecast

15 - 20 is nothing epic, but I'm sure every windsurfer, resident or tourist will be crowding the beaches and waters this weekend if the forecast comes through.

May - 28% Tradewinds So Far

Accoring to the National Weather Service in Honolulu,

"IN A MONTH WHERE TRADE WINDS HISTORICALLY OCCUR 86 PERCENT OF THE TIME THIS MAY HAS BEEN AN EXCEPTION...ONLY 5 OF ITS 18 DAYS SO FAR..OR A MERE 28 PERCENT..HAVE SEEN TRADE WINDS. AND IT DOES NOT LOOK GOOD FOR AT LEAST THE REST OF THIS WEEK...PERSISTENT LATE SEASON LOW DEVELOPMENT TO OUR NORTHWEST
HAS KEPT THE MORE CUSTOMARY NORTHEAST PACIFIC HIGH FAR ENOUGH EAST TO KEEP LOCAL TRADE WINDS FROM HAPPENING. THE MODELS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT RETURNING TRADES THIS COMING WEEKEND."

Light Winds Yesterday - Trades Due Back This Weekend

More light wind yesterday and today so far. Wind yesterday never made it above the mid-teens. Wind looks to be even lighter today. Wednesday and Thursday could bring more showerey weather. High pressure is supposed to start building back on Friday for a return of the trades.

Teaser Wind - The Sequel

As with most sequels, today's teaser wind was even worse than yesterday's. A front moved through Maui last night and turned the winds back to a more northerly direction from yesterday's southerly direction.

At 9 this morning, the north winds were reading in the lower to mid teens. I decided today I would camp out at the beach and be ready for it when the wind arrived.

There were actually several people sailing in Kihei today, both at the Pavilion at Ohukai and Maui Sunset, but the average guy needed a mid-6 meter sail to even hope to get planing. Women needed 5.0 to 5.5 to get planing. Granted, that might be great sailing on the mainland, but that's pretty pathetic for Maui. Since my biggest sail is a 5.8, I didn't stand a chance. There were a few brief spurts of almost sailable winds at times, but nothing sustained enough to even tempt me to rig.

So, 6 hours spent at the beach waiting for wind and 0 time on the water. Sounds more like mainland sailing than Maui sailing. Forecast is for even lighter winds this week.

Teaser Session

Light winds the last couple of days. Kihei saw some light winds in the morning that suckered me down to the launch site. iWindsurf pager was showing averages around 20 at times, but it wasn't sailable for me and my 5.8. By late in the morning the wind backed off considerably into the low teens and lower.

Those who stuck around Kihei got lucky today though. In the mid- to late-afternoon the wind kicked in again into the low 20s. The direction was out of the south as opposed to the WSW earlier in the morning. I walked across the street to see dozens of sails on the water. I got on the water around 4:30 on my 5.8, barely powered until about 5:00 when the wind dropped a notch. Slogged around a bit more, but that was basically all she wrote. Nothing epic by any means but even a meager 45 minutes of marginally powered 5.8 sailing felt good after 10 days without sailing.

Best chance for wind over the next week looks like more of this kind of thing. Winds are forecasts to be SE somedays to light north other days.

Abandon All Hope

It's official. We're having a wind drought. No sub-6.0 meter sailable wind for over a week now and there looks to be no hope for wind through at least the weekend and probably into early next week. May is supposed to a fairly reliable windy month here in Maui, but it's shaping up to be a pretty poor wind month this year.

Teaser Winds Return

Light northerly teaser winds have returned to Maui. Winds and rainy weather on the north shore are making it pretty uninviting right now. The palm trees are blowing in the breeze in Kihei for the first time in days though. Winds are in the mid teens - great if you're a formula sailor. But my biggest sail is a 5.8 - not enough to get me going.

This makes a full week without windsurfing now. That's the longest stretch of no sailing I've had since January. This waiting around for the wind to show up is beginning to feel like the mainland!

End of Doldrums in Sight

Sunday and Monday were both light wind days, but as of late this afternoon the winds are starting to come back slightly. A low pressure system and its shear line have cut off the trades for the last several days. But the shear line is moving away and high pressure is rebuilding. Forecast is for winds to return tomorrow. Often when the winds return after a hiatus like this they're pretty northerly - too onshore for the north shore, so Kihei is usually seems better the first day.

The winds will only stick around for a couple of days probably. Another low is forecast to interfere with the trade winds. This might however set up Kona winds.

As far as waves go, the forecast for the north shores is 4 - 8 feet tomorrow.

Continued Light Winds

It happens even on Maui. No wind yesterday (Friday) and looks to be dead calm today. The upside is that it's sunny and warm, at least on the south side - good snorkeling weather.

A small north swell is due to arrive this weekend and a smaller south swell as well so there may be some surfing.

The National Weather Service is calling for light and variable winds through Monday and Tuesday should be a transition day back to the trades.

Light wind

The trades are slowly backing off as we're headed into a wind-drought for a few days. Winds were light on both the north shore and Kihei. I didn't make it out, but according to the wind graphs it was probably a little lighter than yesterday at Kanaha.

Winds are supposed to be light and variable through early next week when the trades are forecast to return.

Wednesday Wind

Work kept me from getting out sailing today, though from second-hand reports, I didn't miss much on the north shore. Kihei was again windier than Kanaha, but a friend's drive-by in the morning reported that the wind line was pretty far offshore.

Second-hand sailing reports from the north shore sound like Kanaha was in the 6.0 range for most average guys. iWindsurf was reporting averages in the upper teens. Probably pretty good formula conditions as the waves were also pretty small.

The forecast is for winds to continue dropping tomorrow and to stay light through the weekend and the early part of next week. May is considered by many to be the start of the tradewind weather pattern, but it sounds like it's not quite ready to kick in yet. All in all, still can't complain when you compare it to most mainland locations.

Dying Kanaha wind

The wind howled all night Monday night in Kihei, portending strong wind on Tuesday. After a morning of work, I headed over to Kanaha - Kihei was hella-windy but it was way offshore. The wind line was at least a half mile or more away.

Kanaha looked promising on arrival. I rigged 4.5 and headed out. Either I called it wrong or the wind dropped once I got out past the break. I sailed around a bit at Lowers, marginally powered, but the wind kept dropping. Waves were about waist high mostly. I finally got tired of being underpowered and decided to go in and slogged back in, downwind past the lifeguard station.

The wind continued to drop through the afternoon and some tradewind showers arrived late afternoon and pretty much dampened any further thoughts of sailing.

Kanaha - 4.5

Another glorious day of sun and wind on Maui. Worked in the morning then went over to Kanaha in the afternoon to catch a session. Wind was a little bit lighter than yesterday. 4.5 and Cult Wave 55 powered up most of the time. Still some decent sized waves rolling in at both Uppers and Lowers, mostly waist to head high at Lowers.

Wind backed off in the late afternoon. Wind was cranking in Kihei all day today. Drove by on the way home, nobody out, only one guy rigging. Probably blowing in the mid-30s when I drove by.

Trade winds return

The trade winds made a strong return today here on Maui. I was itching to get out at Kanaha into some three dimensional terrain and the north shore delivered.

Out of the gate at 11:30 on a 5.0 and my RRD Cult Wave 55. Waaaaay too much sail. Came back in and rigged 4.5 and went right back out. Even this was a tad too much initially, but the winds slacked off just a bit around 12:30 for some perfectly powered 4.5.

Kanaha was a zoo today, and there were tons of people vying for the smallish waves at Lowers. Meanwhile, there was very nice large swell upwind at Uppers and some very nice waves to boot and a much smaller crowd competing for these.

After lunch the wind kicked in another notch and cranked up to well-powered 4.0 and my 77 liter wave board. Just a short session on this though since I was pretty tired from the sailing earlier.

All in all, a very nice day of sailing at Kanaha today. Strong wind, some decent swell, and hot, sunny weather. Once again Maui delivers.

Transitional Day

It was a transitional day for wind today on Maui. The trades that had been forecast to return are now forecast to return tomorrow. So it was a fairly light wind day. Kanaha saw winds in the upper teens and occasionally low 20s. This coupled with a strong north swell no doubt drew out the crowds to Kanaha.

I opted to wait for stronger winds, but was pleasantly surprised when the wind came up here in Kihei in the afternoon. I drove the half mile to the launch at Ohukai and sailed a pretty overpowered 5.8 in the late afternoon for an hour and half. Nothing epic, but you can't complain about only driving half mile to get in some powered up sailing time. Kihei was pretty uncrowded today - I'm sure most people were at Kanaha fighting for the waves.

The weather geeks are still saying that the trades should build tomorrow and then even more on Monday, so I may head to Kanaha tomorrow and brave the crowds.