Monday 2-28-05

windy (5.0 sail) but messy waves. A couple of hours windsurfing at Kanaha just to keep the muscles greased for tomorrow’s new NW swell.

Sunday 2-27-05

damn strong wind, I don’t like that. I prefer to go check the south shore at sunset. A small out of season was supposed to arrive at dusk. I didn’t see it, but the sunset was pretty nice.
7 out of 7 in this week. Very high mark:8.75. Total percentage since the beginning of the year: 36 out of 42: 85.7%

Saturday 2-26-05

strong and gusty wind. At 5 pm it drops a notch and I can go out with the 5.0 sail. Not great, but still fun.

Friday 2-25-05

the swell drops and the waves get messy. Nevertheless, I surf Hookipa in the morning. Still better than nothing (or than working…)

Thursday 2-24-05

unreal. Mother nature went off. It was the sunset windsurfing session at Kanaha. I was on my 12.6 longboard with the sail and the wind got so light that it was only two of us windsurfers, 3 kitesurfers and 3 surfers. Around 5.30 the wind picked up again. Nice and steady, didn't bother the waves at all. Even the waves picked up. Haleakala went thru a series of colors that it's quite hard to describe. First it was super-green (sounds like something to clean the bathroom, I know..) creating a big contrast with the darkness of the ocean, that was already in the shade of the West Maui Mountain and its hat of clouds. Then it turned into a red that reminded me of Ayers Rock in Australia. Finally it became deep purple (sounds like a rock band, I know..). I even saw a breach 500 yards outside and went to check that out. It was three of them. Two adults and one little one (still bigger than me, though..). I didn't get closer than 50 yards, because I thought that the adults would be aggressively protective, but I was still close enough to be able to admire the beauty of a whale tail arch and submerge...
Wave after wave we got all stoked out there! Glenn, the other windsurfer, in a rare moment of close sailing action, shouted: "What is this?"
I don't know, my friend, but I'm happy to be here, right now! Actually I'm happy that you are here too, because it's nice to share this emotions with somebody else. Windsurfers, kitesurfer and surfers enjoying nature to its maximum (in my humble opinion) expression of beauty and harmony. And it felt like we were part of that harmony. I must have sailed quite well, I suppose...
We got out of the water at 7.05, in complete darkness. An idea arose in my mind. "Glenn, should we wait for the full moon to come out and go sailing again? It's still pretty windy!".
The answer wasn't a bit disappointing. "Yeah, let's do that!"
I knew the moon was supposed to rise around 8. One of those things that for some reason I know...
So we chatted for a while but when the moon came out, the wind had unfortunately dropped. But, the reason because my wonderful board is a wonderful board is that it's eclectic! I got rid of the sail, took my paddle and paddled alone to the reef. "Just a stand-up paddle to the reef in the moonlight. Nothing more." ... "Ok, maybe I'll catch a wave or two..."
The moon was covered by clouds and I wasn't sure where the channel was. Just for the non surfers: not knowing where the channel is is not a good thing.
When I thought I was at the reef, the moon come out of the clouds and it was like somebody turned on the light. Just in time to see a wave of such dimensions that an interesting reaction happened to my body: my ass hole suddenly wanted to show me how tight it can get. I had just the time to think:"Ops, I must have missed the channel..." and then I jumped in the water trying to dive as much as I could without hitting the reef (not an easy task in Kanaha). Roarrr... I must confess that I love the sound of a wave when it breaks over me. I got out the water, pulled my leash and quickly got back on the board with the paddle under my belly. Even though I am not scared of sharks during the day, I couldn't stop a stupid (or healthy) sense of discomfort being in the water at night (in a spot close to the Kahului harbor, by the way). So, I started paddling to try to catch the next wave. I didn't even look back to see if there was another wave. I know those big ones don't travel alone... I didn't even look back to check if I was in the right spot. I was gonna get worked anyway...
Lucky as I am, I was in the right spot. I caught that wave easily and surfed it for a while. Then it closed out and I was still riding the white water. The light of the fool moon makes the white water kind of phosphorescent and I was surrounded by it. I raised the paddle in the air and screamed with joy. Then, I paddled in. That was enough. That was one damn good moment. That was one damn good session.

Wednesday 2-23-05

another very good day. Stand up surf in the morning at Lowers. In the afternoon a light wind allows me to replace the paddle with the sail and to ride tens of more waves.

Photo: surf conditions at Hookipa

Tuesday 2-22-05

oh my… morning session still at Lowers. 2.5 hours, 25 waves: the average is still the same. In the afternoon I surf Hookipa with a little energy left… it’s just too good to just look. Two, three feet overhead, glassy and sunny… I catch 5 lefts and a right that was so steep that I only needed some offshore wind to get barreled…. maybe.

Monday 2-21-05

a new NW swell gets on the Hawaiian north shores and the wind dies as it often does in winter time (love that!). Fantastic conditions at lower Kanaha. Head high, sometimes overhead. With a 10 footer I catch 20 waves in 2 hours, one every 6 minutes. Considering that between ride and paddle out it takes about 3 minutes (it a quite long ride), that means 3 minutes average waiting time. More frequent than the London underground! A wave machine!! Too tired for the sunset session, I’ll surf tomorrow…

Sunday 2-20-05

super sunny day. I’m busy all day and I choose to get in the water at sunset at Hookipa (Lanes, actually) with the 12.6 and the sail. Not a good idea! Those waves are way too fast and powerful for my big board. I better keep for Kanaha, were the waves are more slow and gentle. Plus, now I know the reef over there like my pockets. Which is a pretty easy task, though, since in my board short pocket there’s essentially a bar of wax…
Total of the week: 6 out of 7. Mark:6 (too much windsurf , not enough surf). 29 out of 35 from the beginning of the year: 83%