Maui Windsurfing Blog has Moved!

The new home for Maui Windsurfing Blog is:

http://www.mauiwindsurfing.net/

I'll probably keep this site active, just for the 2 1/2 years of archives, but all new content will now be on the new site.

Mahalo,

Makani

It's Windy

Maui winds have pumped up a couple of notches the last two days - just as forecasters predicted. Amazing! Yesterday I sailed 4.2 at Kanaha - pretty wound up quite often but there were some holes. We had a pseudo-north swell yesterday. At least I think it's trying to be a north swell. Maybe the waves are having tryouts or something. They were pretty unorganized and unreadable. Using the tryouts metaphor, if our waves were trying out for the varsity football team, yesterday's wannabe's were the kids in tryouts who were tripping up all over themselves, running the wrong way, shoulder pads on backwards, fumbling the ball ... you get the idea. Not exactly first string, starting line-up. What they were good for was some steep ramps for launching into orbit - if you happened to time it right.

Today was Sugar Cove day. Word was that we were going to get a small bump in the north swell. Didn't really materialize much. Sprecks had some mushy, unorganized stuff, but it had quite a bit of wind swell influence in it. Upwind at Spartan reef there were some irregular sets rolling in occasionally.

As for the wind today, it was a bit funky. At 11:00 at Sugar Cove, it looked like I'd want a 5.3. By 11:30 it looked 5.0. Another 10 minutes and it looked 4.7, so that was what I rigged. Wind was pretty easterly and very holey - until about 1:00 or so when it majorly kicked in - with averages in the low 30s. Oddly enough, Kanaha kicked in earlier than Sprecks and Sugar Cove today. Usually the upwind launches get a bit more wind than Kanaha, but some refugees from Kanaha reported than before noon, guys were debating rigging 3.7s and 4.0s. The forecast guys are calling for it to continue to be strongly windy tomorrow. And, since they seem to have gotten this forecast right, maybe I'll believe them. After that, things are supposed to settle down to normal levels.

Weekend Wind Report

Yesterday morning I was pretty dubious about the prospects for wind, but I was pleasantly surprised when the trades kicked in late in the morning. My wife was due to teach her 79-year old windsurfing student at Sugar Cove again so Sugar Cove was the default venue. When we arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see some small remnant north swell rolling in at Sprecks. It was infrequent and small, but a site for sore eyes. The wind was on the light side so 5.7/90L was my sail/board choice. Headed to Sprecks to try to get some of that action, but the sets just weren't coming in so I cruised up to Spartan reef where I had seen some waves coming in too. Got one or two rides on some small waves, but I think the waves must have been elsewhere. From what I hear, Hookipa was about shoulder high and offshore yesterday. Looking downwind, it looked like Kanaha had some good sets. I'll have to rely on a report from Speedy or someone else who sailed there yesterday to find out what I missed.

Today was an early session at Kanaha - 5.0 and big board again to get through the holes. A lot of guys chose 5.3 and smaller boards which I think was probably the better call. Up at Uppers and Camp One, there were some occasional north swell sets coming in, though most of them were pretty sloppy and unorganized. My best ride of the day I got three bottom turns in on one wave, but most of them mushed out after about one bottom turn. When it got a little crowded at Uppers, I headed up to Camp One to sail with some Team Gaastra folks - Matt, Erin and Jazz. The waves and water in general were much smoother - and there were only 5 us up there. Sweeet! Should have gone further upwind earlier.

Conditions are looking like winds will build a bit through the early part of the week - high presssure to our north looks to be establishing itself for a nice bout of trades for the next week or so.

Saturday Morning Surf Report

We're starting the weekend off with virtually calm conditions everywhere across Maui this morning. They say that hope springs eternal. With that in mind, I think there is some small hope for sailable wind today, but I think tomorrow is the day we'll likely see our trade wind return.

So, what's a Maui windsurfer to do on a Saturday morning when there's no wind? Surf the web for windsurfing-related stuff of course. Couple of items of interest this morning for my "surf report." According to Glenn James, Maui's unofficial weatherman, we're starting to see an El Nino pattern set up in the Pacific. What this means for Hawaii is "less than the normal amount of autumn and winter into spring rainfall amounts; lighter than normal winds; more than the normal amount of high surf events; and the possibility of late season tropical storm activity this autumn."

The other item of interest related to Maui windsurfing that I came across is, The Windsurfing Movie. If you haven't hear of this, John Decesare and Jace Panebianco are in the process of making a full-length windsurfing motion picture - for release in movie theaters next spring. Check out their website, - they've got a trailer for the movie, which, if you can get past the first minute or two of credits and setting shots, has some killer action shots of sailing on Maui, mostly Hookipa. The film looks like it will tell the stories of four windsurfers, Robby Naish, Kai Lenny, Jason Polakow and Levi Siver. Definitely some big names and big talent. Looking forward to seeing that on the big screen here on Maui. So, if it doesn't look like you're going to get on the water and sail today, check out the trailer and get stoked for the next time you can get out.

Disappointing Winds This Week

This week has been rather a disappointment in the wind category for Maui's north shore. Winds have been predominantly out of the north, making Kihei the windiest sailing venue on the island. Wednesday was the best shot at sailing north shore winds. I sailed 5.0 well-powered at Uppers with some pretty steady and consistent wind - playing around in the little backside wave garden near Camp One. Yesterday and today have only managed to get into the mid-teens on the north shore.

The forecast is calling for winds to be fairly light again tomorrow then pick up on Sunday and next week, with the potential to get pretty windy according to the latest forecast discussion.

Lively Up Yourself!

Much has been written over the last few years of the new windsurfing generation, the crop of teens and pre-teens that are shaking up and revitalizing the windsurfing world. But what about the other end of the spectrum? Despite some mention of Team Advil in some of the magazines, I think the older generation isn't getting it's fair share of publicity. After all, they are also reshaping our notions of an active lifestyle, pushing the boundaries, shunning the rocking chair, knitting needles, cards and bingo for the latest boards and sails. Here on Maui I've had the pleasure to know many very active windsurfers who are redefining what we can do in our 70s and 80s. One was Bob Peck, a 77-year old inspiration and now legend among Kanaha regulars.

Recently I've had the pleasure of getting to know Barb Guild, a 79-year-old-going-on-29 year old local Maui windsurfer. Barb sails out of Sugar Cove here on Maui and is as anxious and eager to improve her sailing as the 9 year olds are eager to learn the latest freestyle moves. Click the image to the left to see some video of Barb sailing with her instructor at Sugar Cove (QuickTime, 2.1 MB).

Last winter, she was thrilled to experience great improvements in her skiing, thanks to a smart boot-fitter helping her optimize her equipment to work for her, and to working regularly with an instructor on her technique. She decided to see if she could make the same kinds of changes in her windsurfing this summer. She works with a personal trainer 3 days a week to build her strength and endurance (being already blessed with remarkable flexibility) so she can windsurf 3 days a week, wind permitting! At this point, those sessions are with an instructor, gradually improving her efficiency and technique, but her goal is to feel confident and competent enough to sail independently. She's lived most of her life near the beach in California and Hawaii, and loves being in the water. One day, when the wind wasn't cooperating, she taught her inland-raised instructor the basics of body-surfing!

Over the past 10 years, she's combined her passion for the beach with her UCBerkeley engineering background to lead successful "beach nourishment" projects to rebuild the eroded beach at Sugar Cove, not only protecting the homes there from harm, but also providing a much-used and -loved beach for fishers, divers, boogey-boarders, surfers, kitesurfers, and windsurfers.

At any age, a person like Barb is an inspiration. At 79 years young, she is living proof that age needn't be a handicap or deterrent to doing anything you want. As boomers contemplate their next move, they needn't look far to see people like Barb showing the way.

Barb has a personal attitude she shared that we would all do well to adopt;

"Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear, -- this disposition helps to facilitate the ultimate harmony."

Maui "Real World Conditons"

Many people have the mistaken impresssion that Maui windsurfing is only about radical wave sailing. Not true. As this video (3 MB, Real Media Player), sent in by Steve R., shows, Maui can also get some pretty mellow cruising conditions. This video shows Canadian Kanaha regulars Ted and Nora freesailing around on their slalom gear, eh. Pretty ideal conditions for what a lot of people are looking for.

More Summer Sailing

We've seen a continuation of summer sailing season over this last weekend. Saturday I sailed Sugar Cove which got a bit gusty and funky, in large part, I believe, due to the cane fire just upwind of us. I think Kanaha was a bit better with the ladies on 5.0s and the guys on 5.5s.

Yesterday was a backloop-a-thon at Uppers. Wind swell rolling in made for some steep waist- to shoulder-high ramps rolling in at the perfect angle for backloops. Lots of the local guys were out throwing backloops and pushloops so much it was hard to tell which way was up. Even tried one myself and got further around than I ever had and didn't even break an eardrum this time. Stoke!