Funky Saturday

Saturday we saw some funky light winds on Maui's north shore, according to our intrepid Maui Windsurfing reporter. Guys were on 6.0ish sails, women on 5.0s. Nevertheless, the weekend crowds were out in force to get whatever they could. The advertised north swell did materialize, bringing some shoulder-high sets at Uppers. The high surf, along with a high tide brought some surgy, funky chop inside of the reef however, making it difficult for beginners.

If you look at the iWindsurf graphs for yesterday, it looks pretty consistent and nice, but the truth isn't always accurately reflected by statistics and data.

Today we're in a super-light pattern with northerlies sea breezes. Trade winds are essentially nil and are forecast to be that way for the next couple of days. Current predictions are for trades to return on Wednesday.

Cruiser Day 2

After a period of light wind early in the day, Friday afternoon turned out to be another mellow cruising day, a bit like Thursday, perhaps a bit lighter wind and definitely cloudier. Not quite as pleasant conditions, but the 5.3/90L was pretty fun from about 3:00 to 4:00 which looks like it was probably the best sailing of the day. After about 4:00 the wind dropped substantially.

In the waves department there's really been nothing on the north shore the past few days. I drove past Hookipa on Friday and it was absolutely flat. Same for Uppers at Kanaha. Might explain why the pros are at Kanaha practicing slalom and Supercross. Team Maui Sails was out yesterday blasting around buoys, racing former The Team member Matt Pritchard and another Gaastra/Tabou guy practing for the upcoming supercross season. Watching guys race around buoys is pretty common site at Kanaha, especially this time of year as the racers start to come out of the woodwork and practice for the upcoming Maui Race Series. But, watching the guys duck jibe around the bouys and throw in the required spocks of supercross makes it a bit more interesting to watch. Too bad I left my camera at home yesterday.

Mellow Cruiser Day

After Tuesday's cloudy and somewhat gusty winds and yesterday's really light wind (one local characterized yesterday as "really sucky"), we saw a return to beautiful weather and moderate wind today. This despite a forecast of really light ESE winds today. Most of us were surprised to find the Kanaha sensor reporting readings of 20 by midday. By the time I got down to the beach at 1:30 it looked like marginal 5.3 so I went with 5.7. Turns out 5.3 would have been perfect. So, after a half hour or so of blasting up to Camp One and back on the 5.7, I downsized to the 5.3. The conditions were super-mellow - no waves to speak of, the wind was pretty steady and consistent until late in the afternoon, the often choppy inner reef zone was pretty smooth, the skies were sunny, the water was clear and beautiful - all in all, just a great day for either cruising around and/or practicing some new moves or tricks.

Wicked Wind

No doubt about it. It was windier today than yesterday on the north shore. In thinking about how to describe today's wind, I can't help but compare it to some wicked, evil arch villain in some dark comic strip. You know, one of those absolutely wacked-out sadistic characters that just loves to torment the happy citizens of windsurfville.

Today, our arch nemesis laid low in the morning, making all the innocent Maui windsurfers in windsurfville think it would just be a mellow day in paradise and at that at most, we might get some light cruising winds in the sunshine. Alas, Dr. Evilwind had other plans. At 10:00am he sprung, with winds that were once a very light 4 mph to a sudden spike of gusts over 30. Not to be intimidated, our intrepid Maui windsurfers ventured out on the water on their small gear, 4.0s and 4.5s. "Waaaahhaaaa haaaaa," cackled Dr. Evilwind, and promptly shut down the wind a little before 1:00pm, forcing many a Maui windsurfer to have to swim their tiny gear in.

In a sure sign of his psychotic behavior Dr. EvilWind then proceeded to crank up the wind dial on his wind machine into the 30 gusting to 40 range with an extra evil twist to make it especially gusty and shifty and loosing his nefarious bloodthirsty hellhound mascot - Chop From Hell.

It says a lot about our citizens of windsurfville that despite Dr. Evilwind's best efforts, the windsurfers toughed it out and continued to sail. Some, including world champ Kevin Pritchard and fellow Maui Sails super sailor Phil McGain, along with a few Neil Pryde test guys, mocked the wind by blasting around a couple of slalom buoys on 6m+ race sails. I'm quite sure that this only enraged the evil wind doctor even more as he cranked up his wind dial even higher, into the perilous zone, ushering in average wind speeds around 35mph. But never fear citizens of windsurfville. We will overcome. We know that Dr. Evilwind is, pardon the pun, a blowhard. He won't last. He may have a few more tricks up his sleeve tomorrow, but rest assured, he will have blown his sorry self out within another day or so. And once again our pleasant, sunny, Maui windsurfing paradise will return.

Winds Lighten Up

Trade winds on the Maui's north shore have lightened up significantly over the past 3 days. Friday, Saturday and today brought light, barely sailable conditions on the north shore. Sails bigger the 6m and boards bigger than 100 liters were probably required by most guys to have any hope of planing.

Looks like Kihei was the place to be today, according to the iwindsurf charts. Readings look like they yo-yo'd between the low- to mid-20s to near 30, which in Kihei terms for me, means anywhere from 5.0 to 5.7 most likely. I just couldn't get too excited about driving over to Kihei for the typically gusty winds there. With gas prices here on Maui at $3.52/gallon this week, you start having to question whether the sailing will be worth the price of the trip. With the mileage I get, that's a $12 - $14 admission ticket to sail Kihei.

So far in April we've been pretty lucky with only a couple of non-sailable days. Looks like that may be changing this week. Winds tomorrow and Tuesday are supposed to be about like today then get even lighter for the rest of this week into the weekend.

April Swell, Day 1

The eagerly anticipated north swell arrived on Maui today, and oh how sweet it was! Sure there's been some smallish waves over the past couple of weeks, occasionally, but today brought genuine, heart pumping, adrenaline surging north swell to Maui. Eager to get on it, I was on the water at 11:01 am. Conditions that early were kind of light so I had to go out on my 5.3 and 90L. Hardly anyone out at Uppers except a handful of other windsurfers and 3 pesky kiters. The morning session featured super clean, glassy head- to logo-high waves at Uppers. Wind was kind of light at times even on the 5.3, but that made the waves super clean.

After about an hour or so the wind seemed to fill in a little more and the waves grew. By 12:30 the sets were regularly logo-high with a few mast-high + sets. These were absolutely beautiful clean blue gems, but the 90L board was a bit big to really maximize the fun on these. By 2:00 the wind had built to 4.7 - 5.0 range and I could have easily been on my 5.0 and smaller board, but by then I was toast and decided to call it a day. From what I hear, the wind got a bit gusty and the water got a bit choppier so I think the morning session was the score of the day. I also heard that Hookipa was pretty much junk, at least in the morning, with huge junky waves and onshore wind. Uppers was definitely the place to be today. Days like these are what windsurfing fantasies are made of! Hopefully we'll still have a little bit of the swell left over for tomorrow.

Another fun, windy day here in paradise. The last couple of days have been characterized by moderate to strong trades with some occasional light squalls that squelch the wind for a bit. 4.5 - 5.0 has been the call for most guys. 5.0 was a tad much for me today, 4.5 or 4.7 would have been perfect in the mid-afternoon that I sailed. There were a few surprising small waves coming in occasionally at Uppers, perhaps forerunners of the north swell we're supposed to get tonight and tomorrow.

That swell was pretty much the talk of Kanaha today as everyone speculated when exactly it would hit. To be sure, lots of Maui windsurfers are carbing up and getting to bed early tonight in eager anticipation for the rare late-season north swell. Can't wait!

Yesterday's sailing at Kanaha was almost like a summer day - fairly strong winds, 4.5 and 5.0 for me, bright sunny skies, not much waves except wind swell. Only difference was temps still feel a bit cold, both air and temp. Talking with several of the locals and they concurred. Other than that, a pretty fun day of sailing. From what I heard about the crowded, cloudy, gusty, cold weekend, yesterday was a vast improvement over the previous two days.

Winds are currently blowing in the low 20s, so it looks like today may be another good day.

Good Times Friday

Good Friday = good sailing this year. Mostly sunny skies and strong winds again along with some pretty nice waves at Uppers combined for a fun Friday. Early part of the day was 4.5 - 5.0 conditions and as is often the case, wind built later in the day to 4.2 - 4.5 conditions for guys.

I decided my body needed a day to recuperate yesterday so I didn't sail, but Maui Windsurf blog correspondent, Speedy, reported that "it was REALLY wind..... and cold!" Winds were apparently clocking in around 30ish for averages yesterday afternoon. Windchill factor and a few clouds probably contributed to the cool feeling. Indeed the last few days I've sailed have seemed a bit cool. I'm guessing a lot of that is windchill factor, but even the water still feels kind of cool - at least to those of us who live here year round. I'm sure to visitors from colder areas feel like it's plenty toasty.

Today looks like more wind so far. As I write this, the iWindsurf Kanaha sensor is reporting 24 and radar shows a rain squall marching down the north shore, but mostly sunny skies elsewhere and temperature at the airport already at 73 degrees. Probably similar day as we had yesterday. Long range forecast for the next week or so is promising for trade winds to continue. And, and extra bonus, we're tracking a late season north swell which may arrive Wednesday/Thursday time frame.

Thursday's sailing was a windy one. Averages in the afternoon were in the 30s, with gusts hitting 40. Not many people on the water as you can see in the photo. Surprisingly some of the waves were pretty nice - surprising because inside the reef was ginormous hell chop. Got a couple of good shoulder- to head-high waves at Uppers, before my forehead had an altercation with my mast. Doh! Nevertheless, good to get out and sail in the sunshine.

This Afternoon's Tune

Got down to Kanaha this afternoon and got a half hour in on my 4.5/85L before ....

Here comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion
I want to sail in the open wind
I want to loop like pros do
I want to jibe out on the ocean
Is it raining with you?

Ok folks, name the tune, the artist and the album, that the above lyrics are adapted from. For extra credit, name the color of the lead singer's hair.

Cloudy Monday

They call it cloudy Monday. Thank god Tuesday's not quite as bad (yet). I guess we can't complain too much, after all it isn't dumping rain on us anymore. But Maui was covered in a layer of clouds yesterday. I sailed very briefly, 5.3/90L, though in my opinion it wasn't worth the price of gas to drive down. Cool, gray, gusty conditions. Amazing to see the Kanaha parking lot so jammed full of cars for such a mediocre day of sailing. Lots and lots of windsurfers visiting Maui on vacation right now.

Sky conditions are looking a little better than yesterday so far. Winds are supposed to be strong today. Not much if anything happening in the swell today except wind swell.

Weekend Report

Perhaps I got a little too optimistic about the forecast for this weekend. That might explain my disappointment with the sailing. I was eager to get to the beach early yesterday for the predicted swell, predicted sunny skies and strong trades. I got to Kanaha shortly after 11am to see sunny skies and mellow wind. I probably could have done 5.7/90L at that point, but there were no waves yet and I was confident the wind would build. Why rig my 5.7 when it will be 4.7 within an hour, I thought. Mistake. By 12:30 the first of several squalls began their assault on the north shore. In essence, this shut down the wind except for brief periods of 5 - 6.0 ish wind that would last for 20 minutes until the next squall ambled onshore. By 2:00, word was getting out that Kihei was windy and sunny and the full parking lot began to thin out as the hordes began their trek across the island. I held out hope that the skies would clear, the wind would build and the waves would appear. Visions of head-high waves all to myself on my 5.0 played through my head. Alas, it just wasn't going to happen. Turns out, if you wanted to sail sunny and windy conditions, you had to be in Kihei yesterday. I hear it was pretty strong and gusty, 4.2 - 4.5 for guys.

Today on the north shore started off where yesterday ended, light winds, clouds and rain showers on the radar map. By noon, it looked like this was going to be the pattern all day. So, tired of being a slave to the fickle wind, I decided to not even bother with it today. I think that may have been a mistake. I'll have to rely on comments from Norm or Speedy to hear how it was, but the graphs showed some pretty steady 4.5ish wind at Kanaha in the afternoon.

Ahhhhhh!!!

It feels sooooo good to have our trade winds back, combined with warm sunshine. Kanaha today was like classic summer sailing, strong winds, warm temps, small waves. My 4.5/85L was about as perfect as you can get today. Uppers had some sloppy, unorganized wind swell, great for launching into orbit, not that great for down the line riding except for a couple of occasional sets where you could get a bottom turn, ride backside while the wave formed a bit better then go down the line and smack the lip again. Not epic waves, but really, really fun. Today was also photo-shoot day for team Fanatic. Had to have been at least a dozen Fanatic team riders out playing around for the helicopter at Uppers. Forecast is still predicting lots of wind and sunshine for the next several days.

Aside from a couple of squalls that put a damper on things for a bit, yesterday turned out to be a pretty nice day of sailing. We had to put up with a nasty squall between about 11:30 and 12:30. Once that cleared away, it was 5.3 conditions. Too bad I went out on 5.0. Still had fun, but just wanted that extra bit of power a 5.3 would have given me. Lowers still had some occasional waist-high sets, pretty clean and not that crowded. Uppers was a bit sloppier. Conditions stayed in the 5.3 range for me throughout the day, aside from another couple of brief wind-killing squalls. More wind on tap today, tomorrow and the next several days.

Light Wednesday

Today turned out to be pretty light tradewinds. Kind of frustrating since we had a nice late-season swell today with mast-high conditions at Uppers and Hookipa. Hookipa was very crowded as every pro and pro-wannabe was out to score some wave rides. Kanaha by contrast was pretty uncrowded today as most of the rental shops didn't have big enough gear to rent out. I tried my 5.7/90L combo and was able to plane a few times, but had to bear off and pump like a mother to plane. The racer guys were out blasting around on big gear however. Team Neil Pryde seems to be in town testing and photo shooting. Winds should pick up a notch or two tomorrow. Hopefully we'll still have a bit of swell around too.

Trades Continue

Looks like we're finally on track with trade winds - several days in a row of solid trades now and looks like several more on tap. Monday turned out to be a nuclear days with guys on 4.0 - 4.2 and the wahine on smaller stuff. I found myself with power to spare on the 4.0/78L. Feels so good to be back on the water with blue skies and sunshine.

Didn't make it down to sail yesterday, but my reporter tells me that it was a bit gustier than Monday. The weather was a tad cloudier yesterday as the remains of an old shear line passed over us. No doubt that affected things a bit.

Today is dawning clear and sunny. Lighter winds are forecast but I think it should be sailable. There's also a northwest swell forecast so we may see some wave action today and tomorrow. Long term forecast is promising trades and favorable weather for the next week or so.

Trade Winds Return!

After what seemed like endless days of rain and no trade winds, Maui's beloved NE trade winds returned this weekend. I didn't make it down to the north shore yesterday so I'm not sure if it was sailable, might have been at times. But today was definitely a return to trades. I didn't think it was going to happen when I read the forecast this morning, but figured I should keep an eye on it just in case. That paid off. By midday, the wind had hit the upper teens then the low 20s. I got to Kanaha in time to see the wind back off from the mid 20s to barely sailable 5.7. Rigged it anyway and went out. Slogged a bit for the first few minutes then the wind kicked in to nicely powered 5.7 and I motored up to Uppers where a bunch of people were vying for the small wind swell - mostly backside riding. After a bit the wind kicked in even more and soon I was pretty OPd on the 5.7. Toughed it out for another hour until the wind started backing off. There was a mass exodus from the water at that point. I decided to tune my sail a bit and head out again. Very glad I did. Well powered 5,7 again with hardly anyone out. The wind built again to the 5.0 range, but by 5:00ish I was spent and a very big nasty squall could be seen marching downwind. Got derigged and out of there before the thunderstorm with its 35 - 45 mph winds hit. Over all a great day back on the water. Really sweet sailing outside Uppers and looking up at Haleakala, where the sun was spotlighting all the green that our recent rains have brought. Spectacular view!