But then I swung by Hookipa and ran into this kind of lineup...
And I even missed the group shower shot! I sincerely apologize for that.
In the meantime, french sailor Jean-Claude tried to sail, but the wind was way too light.
Forget about windsurfing, you guys. Maui these days is ALL about surfing. And what surfing!
Gosh, now I have again the problem of where to start from...
Let me use the usual chronological order.
December 25th, yet another gorgeous day. Yet another massive NW swell hit the islands. Blog reader Paolo went to Jaws and sent me these two pics. An unknown tow surfer and Kai Lenny. I'm sure there's plenty more pics on the net...
I instead, went the opposite way and scored a couple of fun surf sessions.
First one at 1000 peaks on the standup. I finally put the GoPro mount on the board and tried the "photo every 2 seconds" feature. The result was way beyond my expectations. I just have to figure out a way of keeping the droplets off the lens. So far, I tried Rain-x and sunscreen and neither one really seem to work.
Any water-photographer secrets to share out there?
It might be particularly hard for the ladies, but if you can actually take you eyes off my spectacular 47 years old body, please admire also the beauty of the sky and of the West Maui Mountain. It might not be the most high performance wave in Maui, but the background is classic Hawaii.
Just a few seconds later, such a display of strength, power, self confidence and balance is put into ridicule by the relentless shutter of the camera...
A photo every two seconds means no privacy whatsoever.
And now a few shots on the wave.
After that, I had a lovely two hour shortboard session in Lahaina. Clean belly to chest high and two people out. Me included.
After a lovely lunch, the plan was to go take photos at Honolua Bay, but a couple of excited windsurfers called me saying that it was kind of windy and people were getting ready to go sail.
Plans are done to be changed and I drove from Lahaina to Kanaha to find out that it was too light.
Mildly disappointed, I got back in my car and said:"oh well, it's only 3pm. I'll be at Honolua at 4 and shoot till sunset". One of the excited (not so much anymore) windsurfers joined me and between a chat and some good music, the drive went by pretty quickly.
But I have to interrupt the story now. Today I surfed 3.5 hours in the morning and worked 4 in the afternoon. I need rest.
Also because the buoy readings from 12 seconds just went back to 17 seconds. Yet another NW swell is on the way. Yet another sunny, no wind, glassy, surfing day... I'm loving it.
I'll try to finish the post tomorrow, don't forget to come back and check the pictures from Maui's most famous surfing spot.
8 comments:
I have been hanging out for your next post... well worth the wait!
Keep the photos coming!
Rick
why were all those ladies down there? where do they hide the rest of the year?
GP, any tips on great spots for SUP-surfing for beginners. Me and Ninni`s been to Kanaha for two days and I`ve finally managed to surf a few waves at Lowers. But there must be several as beginner-friendly spots as Kanaha right? Where and what are their names? :) We wanna see more of the island.
oh, if you hear of wind coming, please shout it out loud because I have no contact whatsoever with people here. I´m beginning to get a bit stressed that I`m not going to be able to wavesail at all while here...
Niclas,
I just finished posting the next post, when I received your comment to this... how apropos!
Kanaha is NOT a beginner friendly spot. Maybe when it's thigh high. But not when it's shoulder high or more, like it's been lately!
On the south shore of Maui there's plenty spots. Look on the map for Kalama Park in Kihei, but the best are towards Lahaina: Ukumehame (1000 peaks), Launiupoko, Puamana.
Wear booties, because it can be shallow and it's reefy.
Go there and let me know if I was right or not.
I don't see any sailable wind for at least 10 more days (today it's the 28th).
But... how's the temperature in Sweden?
Man you live in paradise, definitely :-)
All the best
Tah GP,
we were down at Lahaina the other day to non-catch waves ;)
We`re going there tomorrow too, after some snorkeling. Loving it here bro, not whining, just wanted to do the things I´m best at, and it´s not surfing ;) But I´m taking the opportunity to learn SUP-surfing now, beside visiting all the must-see-places and generally taking it slow and enjoying being here. I´ll start saving for next trip as soon as I get home...
niclas, wednesday kanah will be very small, perfect for beginners
the south shore will have onshore winds, so not so good...
My husband and i visited Costa Rica last week and ended up taking surf lesson for the first time ever with north pacific surf . Eugene was so patient and enthusiastic with us both that we actually ended up standing up more than once. Beautiful beach Beautiful waves and an all around excellent day. I would recommend north pacific surf to anyone and are definitely going again next year
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