Mixed bag of sailing the last few days. Monday was good 5.0 and 4.5. Forecasters have been calling for moderate to strong winds all week, but yesterday winds averaged right around 20 most of the day. Similar conditions today except for some big dips and big bumps in wind speeds. Stopped by Kanaha this afternoon, during one of the dips. Looked marginal 5.8 at most. Decided not to bother even though there were some small-kine waves at Uppers.

For the rest of the week ... expect more of the same tomorrow, then Friday and Saturday we can expect the remnants of former hurricane Kenneth to make things a bit wet. Kenneth's path is going to go right over us, probably shutting off the trades, but definitely bringing some heavy showers. Per the National Weather Service forecast discussion:

A FLOOD POTENTIAL OUTLOOK REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE MAIN HAWAIIAN
ISLANDS FOR THE PERIOD FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. WITH COPIOUS
TROPICAL MOISTURE BEING SUPPLIED BY THE REMNANTS OF KENNETH IN THE
LOWER LEVELS AND STRONG UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS BEING INTRODUCED BY A
MID LEVEL LOW THAT IS DROPPING DOWN FROM THE NORTHEAST...HEAVY
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BECOME A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY FOR PARTS
OF THE STATE BEGINNING FRIDAY. 

Looks like next week we see a return to more normal trade wind weather.

Tacky Day of Sailing

Maui winds came back on line sooner than expected today. I wasn't expecting the winds until tomorrow, but checked iwindsurf anyway and was surprised to see winds around 20 at midday. Wasn't sure so I took my time but headed down after the winds seemed to be staying in the 2o - 22 range (average). Got there and it looked like marginal 5.o, but I thought it would build so I rigged 5.o anyway rather than 5.8. Mistake. The winds didn't build, they proceeded to drop down into the mid to upper teens for the rest of the afternoon. 5.8 would have been perfect but I decided to stay on the 5.0 and big board and milk it and practice tacks and heli-tacks. Planed occasionally when I could catch a gust but spent most of the time inside the reef being "tacky." Not epic, but still felt good to get wet and on the water, and I was stoked to hit 3 heli-tacks today!

Kihei South Swell Video

Unsettled weather here on Maui today, thanks to an upper level low. Rainy weather here upcountry and light winds on the north shore. Kanaha looks like it managed some mid- to upper-teens, but the wind cam never looked too appealing to me today. Not many whitecaps and gray skies whenever I looked.

Got a new video from Maui Windsurfing Blog correspondent Norm R. This video feature Norm and his son sailing at Kihei last week during the second day of the south swell, a much smaller swell than the first day.

Norm and his son sailing at Kihei on a south swell video: for those of you who aren't sure if Norm's son can sail or not. If you have already decided, DON"T CLICK ON THE LINK! ;-)

On to the hurricane report. Hurricane Jova has pretty much passed us without incident. The only effect we'll see from her is cutting off the trades even more this weekend. After she passes out of the trade track, winds should come back online - sometime early next week. After that, hurricane Kenneth has the potential to also block our trades, maybe a week from now according to the weather guys. You can check out the Pacific storm tracks here.

Teaser Wind

It wasn't supposed to be windy today. It was supposed to be rainy. Settled in for a long day at the computer, I just can't help keeping an eye on the Kanaha sensor and cam anyway. Sure enough, some time around lunch the wind spiked up into the 20s. What's up with that! A look at radar showed lots of showers along Maui's north coast, so I was sure it would hit Kanaha. So, I opted to stay upcountry and work, but keep an eye on it just in case it stayed good.

I'm sure the high readings suckered a few people down and I even got a call from one jonesin' local asking about the conditions. I remained dubious however and sure enough, around 1:30 the wind dropped back down into the low- to mid-teens. Down, but not yet out. Awhile later, a the wind got it's "second wind" and built up to 20ish for a short time before tanking a little after 3:00. Down and out for the count.

If you were down there at the right time, you probably got some. Otherwise, must have been an exercise in frustration. From my perspective, keeping my ass parked in front of the computer today was the right call.

Wind yesterday and today was on the light side still - mid-teens at best. There was some desparation windsurfing going on yesterday as sailors pulled out the big boards and sails.

Looks like the wind will drop a bit more and showers will increase as we head toward the weekend. Hurricane Jova is forecast to miss us and pass to our north, but cut off what little trade wind flow we currently have in the process. Then, following that, it looks like Kenneth will follow take a bite out of the trades next week.

Jazz Glickenhaus looping at Sprecks on a windier day this summer. Photo by Dave Blyth.

Lighter Winds and Blog Guidelines

Lighter winds today, not even any whitecaps on the water from my vantage point. Lighter winds forecast through this week and also an increase and shower activity. Not a good time to be visiting Maui for a windsurfing vacation this week.

Now on to other matters. Got a comment complaining about some of the content on here. I'll repeat my basic reply to the comment here, and at the risk of alienating viewers, this applies to our anonymous commentor as well as anyone else who views this blog:

As owner of this blog, I generally want to try to grow the viewing audience. However, I gotta say, Mr. Anonymous's comment pretty much pissed me off. Here's some guidelines for you. If you don't like some of the content on the blog:

a) You don't HAVE to put up with anything. Feel free to browse elsewhere.
b) Create your own Maui windsurfing blog and come up with content on a regular basis.
c) If you see a video posted by someone you're tired of seeing or about something your tired of reading about, you don't HAVE to view it. I generally try to say who a photo or video or report is from. If you see that, and see a link to something by that person, here's a hint, don't download it.

I think taking anonymous, cheap pot shots at our contributors and their family is pretty weak. Personally, I'm grateful to everyone who sends me content. If a contributor sends me more video of his son sailing, I'll post it if I feel like it. After all, it's my blog and that's what blogs are about, posting whatever the hell you feel like posting. I'd love to get more people to send in contributions. Until they do, you can either put up with what's here, ignore it, or browse elsewhere. And, if you feel compelled to comment about the content, I might suggest a more constructive, positive approach.

Winds Wimping Out

We've had a good stretch of wind for nearly the last three weeks. Today however, the winds began what looks like a decent into meager Formula levels. Wind at Kanaha was limited to the mid-teens today. Report from Hookipa was nice waves, but pathetic wind.

Unfortunately it looks like this may be the trend for the next week or so. Our high pressure ridge is moving away and weakening. What's more, we've got hurricane Jova stumbling towards us, or at least our general direction. The weather guys are currently thinking that Jova will move in a northwesterly path, passing by to our north. That's good in that it would spare us the brunt of her winds. But, sounds like it will increase the rain quite a bit. Check out the satellite image of Jova and her siblings, Kenneth and Lidia.

You can also keep track of the latest path projections.

That's the bad news. Now the good news. Gas prices here on Maui have actually gone down!!! First time I've seen that since I've lived here. Hawaii recently passed a gas cap bill, that ties gas prices to mainland prices. The price for a gallon of regular at the Pukalani Shell on Tuesday morning was $3.97. Today it was $3.87! Hmmm, maybe I will go and buy that new Hummer after all.

Finally, check out the new batch of photos below, kindly donated by photographer Dave Blyth featuring Jazz Glickenhaus and his signature tabletops during a photoshoot at Sprecks this summer. More photos of loops coming soon.

Jazz G. ripping at Sprecks. Photo by Dave Blyth.

Maui ripper Jazz Glickenhaus launches a signature tabletop at Sprecks. Photo by Dave Blyth.

Hookipa Video

We had a request awhile ago for some video of Hookipa - a panning shot. I mentioned this to Norm and he sent the following video, probably not exactly what our viewer had in mind, but it does show a broader view of Hookipa in the beginning of the clip.

Hookipa Video

The star of this clip is Norm's 8 year old son. Yep, 8 years old and sailing Hookipa. How cool is that!

In case you missed Norm's comment, he sailed Kihei this week on the big south swell and has some video footage from that - he'll be sending that along once he's edited it.

Speaking of that south swell, it's being called the south swell of the decade here on Maui. Word is that Freight Trains had 15 foot faces. I may see one of the west side locals today to find out how the west side was. S-Turns was probably epic.

Back to windsurfing... winds yesterday once again were quite strong - 4.0 to 4.5 range for me. Weather was a bit unsettled, gray, showers and squalls passing through. Waves were back to just wind swell, but they were pretty fun at Uppers.

Today, the skies are clear. It's a sunny gorgeous day here in paradise. Winds are already in the mid-teens at Kanaha. Forecast is for good wind today. Should be a beautiful day to get out on the water.

South Side Report

Business took me to the south side of Maui today where I got a firsthand look at the the high surf on the south side. A big storm 3500 miles south of us generated a big south swell that hit Maui today, prompting high surf warnings. The normal Kihei windsurfing launches were mostly devoid of windsurfers when I stopped by. I saw one guy out at Maui Sunset. Surf looked to be about head high from my vantage point. The park at Ohukai had really sloppy, brown shoulder-high sets rolling in. Didn't look to inviting to me so I wasn't missing my gear. Looked like a couple of guys were showing up when I left to check it out.

If you're a surfer, the most noteable event however was taking place in Maalaea Harbor. Maalaea Harbor is the home of "Freight Trains," considered the fastest rideable right in the world. It's a rare event when Freight Trains goes off, and standing at the park in Kihei looking across the bay, I could see the incredibly fast wave breaking from the backside. Impressive even from the backside and miles away. I heard through the Manao Radio grapevine that there was no parking to be had in Maalaea. No doubt every local surfer on the island was there. Later in the day, looking out from my home weather tower, I could look out to Maalaea through the binocs and still see it going off. Should have been epic. Watch for photos in the surf magazines and websites.

Back to windsurfing ... On big south swells, some guys will head to La Perouse to sail that break. I heard the road to get there was flooded so it might have been tough to get there, but I'm willing to bet guys like Josh Stone and Levi Siver converged over there to score some epic southside wave sailing.

South swell will continue tomorrow with mast high faces at some places. Winds will also continue through the next several days. Diamond Head should be rocking! Secret spots on the west side will probably be epic for those who know where to go (I'm not one of those people). Sounds like maybe another small north swell next week some time. So far we got a killa' September rocking Maui. Sailable winds every day so far this month, and now the arrival of waves.

They're Back

I knew they were out there, lurking, unseen, gathering strength. I couldn't see them or hear them, but out on the water, I could sense them. I knew they would come - a force of incredible magnitude. I could sense the potential energy, gathering, growing. "Some time, very soon," I thought, "they'll begin their long journey from the north, traveling thousands of miles, destined for Maui's northern coastline.

Today, they arrived. They were small, by most Maui standards, but after sailing so long without them around, it was a treat to have the waves back. I had a short amount of time midday to catch a session. The wind looked light initially, but showed signs of building. I took out my 5.0 and CultWave and headed to Lowers where the crowds were still light and the waves were head-high. Perfectly powered on the 5.0, it felt soooooo good to ride some down-the-line surf. Lots of shoulder- to head-high sets. Lots of rides. Lots of massive airtime.

After awhile the crowds picked up at Lowers so I headed to Uppers. Amazingly, hardly anyone was there. No one was sailing inside the reef at Uppers. No one! Only a few people were sailing the break directly out from Oli Olie Kai. Personally, I thought the wave at Lowers was much better today - about the same size, but much cleaner and better-formed, but still good fun at Uppers too.

Looks like the wind picked up after I left, probably 4.2 to 4.5 range for guys. I heard Ho'okipa was mast and half today. That's probably why Uppers was so deserted.

This will probably be a short-lived swell. Supposed to die down by late tomorrow. Wind looks like it will hang around for awhile still. Been windy every day so far this month and it looks like it will stay that way through the next week.

Weekend Winds

Strong winds again this weekend. Sailed 4.5 both days late morning/early afternoon sessions. Both days, by 2:00 or so, I was pretty OP'd on the 4.5. 4.0 or smaller would have been the call if I had gone back out.

Sailed almost up to Sprecks today from Kanaha. Some fun backside riding up at Camp One. Some decent size swell on the outside between Camp One and Sprecks. Good fun!

Rumor has it that a small northwest swell is due to arrive Monday night and hang around Tuesday and Wednesday. Wooo Hoooo!

Funky Winds

Wind has been kinda funky this week, at least in my opinion. Kinda gusty and offshore. Didn't sail yesterday, but took the afternoon off today. 5.0 and 4.5 were the sails of choice. First session was way easterly, really wind-shadowed inside. The break was a raving lunatic of psycho-chop for the most part. Washing-maching waves. They pop up out of nowhere, and last about 5 seconds then self-destruct. Great for jumping if you're in the right place at the right time, but pretty much unrideable. There were a few nice head-high wind swells that would come in occasionally though, making for some fun.

Got a fresh batch of videos from our two Maui Windsurfing video correspondents. Steve R. sends in this video reminding us of what's lurking below the surface while we're sailing and shredding. Steve writes:
"This appears to be a 7-8 foot specimen, but I didn't stick around long enough to make sure. Note the horizontal banding on the dorsal fin. That information might be useful some day."

Norm R. just sent in this video of he and his son sailing Hookipa. Norm writes:
"School is back in session now but that doesn't mean the funs over! Here are some of Bernd's after school activities. So far I am giving him a passing grade but I am biased."

Got a video request comment awhile back, requesting a 2 minute pan of Hookipa. I mentioned this to Norm at the beach the other day. He mentioned he might have something to fit the bill. Steve and Norm, if you guys have anything like that, send it my way and I'll post it.

BTW, Steve mentioned to me today that he just got a new helmet-cam! Cool! Looking forward to getting some on-the-water action footage from Steve.

A big Mahalo to Norm and Steve for supplying 99% of the video footage for this blog and the Maui Windsurfing website. One of these days I may go out and get my own video cam, but until then I rely on these guys.

Wind Eases Off A Bit

After a few days in a row of winds averaging at or above 30 mph, winds backed off into the low- to mid-20s today, despite the weather nerds predicting that the winds would peak today. Wind was a bit up and down today when I sailed - 5.0 was the call for me on my lunch-time session. Pretty gusty and offshore.

Still not much in the waves at Kanaha. Uppers and Camp One have some waist-high wind swell breaking, but it's all backside riding. Hookipa, from what I hear, has some occasional should-high sets coming in at a little bit better angle, enough for some down the line riding. The weekend saw lots of the little grommet windsurfers at Hookipa. No doubt practicing for the upcoming Aloha Classic in November.

Price for a gallon of gas at the Tesoro station on Dairy Road near the aiport today was $3.51/gallon. A couple of days ago it was only $3.24.

It's a Nuker Weekend

The forecast for the weekend has been for building winds. Got on the water early yesterday, 5.0, to get some mellow sailing in before the madness hit. Perfect for half an hour then the wind went kaput. Had to swim in from Uppers. Ten minutes after making it back to shore, the wind kicked in again. Rehydrated and downed a slice of Costco pizza and back out on the 5.0. Too much sail. Held on for awhile, too stubborn to go in and rig my 4.5, until my arms and shoulders screamed mercy from too many backside cutbacks at Uppers. 'Nuf already. By the time I had some lunch in me, sand and small dogs were being blown down the beach. When I see small dogs being blown down the beach I know it's 4.0. 'Nuf already.

This morning I checked out iWindsurf. It was already blowing in the mid-20s by 9:00am. Around 11 it was already hitting 30. I've found that when the iWindsurf Kanaha sensor is reporting 30 I can be well-powered on a 3.5. Executive decision time. With gas at $3.25/gallon, too many chores to do at home and a tired body screaming for a break, I decided to invoke the whimp clause a and not sail. Nice thing about living on Maui - you don't have to feel guilty about not windsurfing every day it's windy.

Looks like the wind stayed around 30 all day, with an annoying dip into the low 20s for a brief spell. NOAA is saying that the pressure gradient is still building and that winds won't peak until Monday or Tuesday. Might be time to go demo some smaller sails and boards.

Windy Labor Day Weekend Begins

Winds kicked up another notch today here on Maui. Wind has been in the 4.5 range for guys the last few days. My 4.5 was perfect for the first half of my afternoon windsurfing session, but once I got up to Uppers, it kicked in another notch. 4.0 would have been the call. Some small-kine wind swell and waves coming in at Uppers making for fun backside riding. I hear Hookipa got a little cleaner rideable swell coming in but probably only waist-high at best.

Crowds were light today. Weather was sunny and warm. A beautiful day to be out on the water.

Moderate Trades Return

Yesterday saw the return of moderate trade winds to Maui. Due to a combination of light winds and heavy workload , it had been almost two weeks of not sailing for me. Got to the beach midday to 4.5 conditions. Nothing epic, but if felt SO good to get out on the water again. It was a hot day and getting out on the water was just the ticket to cool off and unwind. Not much in the waves yesterday department yesterday. Matt Pritchard was out with his Gaastra and Tabou team riders doing a helicopter photo shoot. Windsurfing with a helicopter hovering 50 feet above your head almost seems normal anymore.

Today was pretty much the same conditions. I think we got a little bump in some swell as some micro waves were rolling in at Uppers and Middles. I rigged 5.0 since it looked a bit lighter, but as it turned out, 4.5 would have been plenty.

Seems like the summertime crowds have gone home. It was amazingly uncrowded today, both on shore and out on the water. Looks like more wind is on tap for the next several days and may even bump into the "breezy" category as our pressure gradient is forecast to tighten.