surfing and wave sailing

My friend Heidi is on Kauai, and was hiking west along the Napali Coast the other day in search of some bouldering- there's a cave a few miles up the trail from Ke'e beach that might have some potential. Hopefully I'll hear about it soon...

Let the summer games begin!
South shores - the strong impulse from the southern hemisphere will remain large enough to keep the high surf advisory going Thursday. A second south swell will arrive later in the day Thursday, peak on Friday, with waves keeping right up into the upcoming weekend…slowly dropping in size.

Surf first then work till dark seems to be the schedule around here this week.

South shores - A strong impulse from the southern hemisphere will remain large enough to keep the high surf advisory going Saturday…with waves slowly dropping in size Sunday. The surf will be dropping some, although remain nice Monday and Tuesday, then up again some Wednesday onwards.
tHAT'S WHAT i'M tALKIN' ABOUT!!!

This forecast pleases me a lot!
South shores - A strong impulse from the southern hemisphere will remain large enough to keep the high surf advisory going Saturday…with waves slowly dropping in size Sunday. The surf will be dropping some, although remain nice Monday and Tuesday, then up again some Wednesday onwards.
This dose too!

Ahhhhh...

LaPerouse !
Being a goofy stanced surfer I luuuurve LaPerouse and Dumps.
Some of the finest sessions I have ever had were at those two breaks.

Luuuurve that inside bowl at Dumps !

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When I first moved to Hawai'i (Maui) I of course heard all the usual 'war stories' of paddling out into 4' waves to see it build into a 10'/12' swell in under an hr or two.

Well, I was at Dumps one day. It was a nice 2'/4' day. Long intervals between sets but the timing was very consistant. My buddy and I were not getting in the water. Although it was super clean, it was small and somewhat crowded. As we sat there watching we saw a big set (maybe 6') roll around the point. That set had not even started to break inside when another, and another and another set rolled in right on the heels of the previous.

Surfers were scrathing like mad for the outside. The guys on longer boards made it out a ways. Most took off on the smaller sets knowing they could not make it far enough outside to be in position for a take off the larger set waves. Many of the short boarders just gave up and belly rode in.

One guy I knew from the 'Cannery' shops had a short board but managed to take off on an 6'/8' wave. He got a stand up barrel on the short but square chuck'n, inside section. He kicked out an sat up to watch guys ride the bigger waves behind. Once he sat up, not paddling, the amount of displaced water became very apparrent. He was moving down the shorline at about 3 knots in the temporary rip that developed. He started to paddle back to the get out on the rocks but was going backwards. He simply gave up trying to get out of the water and paddled out to deeper water, out of the break. Once the sets came and went and the temp rip subsided he came in.

It was one of the most amazing surf increases I have ever seen. It went from 15 min. intervals of 2'/4' sets, to back to back sets ending in a solid 12'- 4 wave set. All this came and went in about 10 - 15 mins.

This would not have amazed me so much had it been a mid winter, North/North west swell, but this was a summer south.

I'd believe most any wave increase, war story after thst day ;)

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The duck soup pic:
Reminds me of a time. I surfing...

Well yah remember Jane'y Hunt? and what she looked like in her mid/late twenties?
She ducked a wave in a thong, about 30' ahead of me. I was so flummuxed I did not even come close to ducking on time. I got worked... but with a huge smile on my face.

Another great trip report trundlebum
We are having a break in the swells at the moment and quite frankly I need it!
Prior to this last swell we had the swell that I mentioned in previous posts. During that one I had friends here from Colorado for wind surfing.
I was surfing on the west side in the mornings and windsurfing the north shore in the afternoons. Those double dip days were quite physically demanding.
During that period I blew my work off so when my friends left I had to get some work done and I made good progress on my repair project until this last south swell arrived.
Surfing come first but I still have to pay the bills, so, I would drive to the west side and paddle three + hours and then drive back to the north shore and work till dark. This went on for 5 days and it just kicked my ass.
The last two days I have been teaching windsurfing to a family from Denmark and the lessons lasted for six hours. The family made some good progress.But I still haven't gotten a break or much in the way of rest. Now it's back to work on my repair project.
Ahhh, Summer in the islands! All work and All play!

Here's several more images from LaPerouse last week

Olaf:

MSSA ? Near/at Ma'alaea ?

It almost looks like a great day at one of my fav', lesser known, south side break - 'Side walks' ;)

MSSA = More, South, Swell, Action
trundlebum where is "Side Walks"?

Olaf:

'Side walks' is at the bitter (south) end of S. Kehei rd.
Before you turn uphill/ where S. Kehei rd. becomes Okolani dr.
There is a beach access just a bit up the beach to the north of the break.
The beach access is probably just south of the area of Maui Mssnry Baptist Church.

The break itself is super fun (I think)...
It breaks on a large (pure)west swell or south's.
It's really fun to surf it when it is epic huge westerly and the upper west side breaks are packed with crowds. If you'd prefer uncrowded, clean, smaller to moderate size waves...
On that type of day, from early to mid morning, or maybe even all day, It depends on wind strength/wind wrap and how far south the wind line has made land.

The take off is a nice clean bowl. You can go left or right. Which is better depends on conditions. The left is generally better, with a nice take off into a bowl. Then the pit stays steep but the wave does not peel to much until reaching the inside. Then it gets faster and faster until finally closing out over the beach sand.

My rides there (on the lefts) actually got pretty routine but never boring. Take off, take the speed out of the bowl and do two or maybe three full (off the white water) round house cut backs. Then start speed pumping on the inside for one big move on the closing, inside section. You can fearlessly go for a big move inside because it is a pure sand bottom by then.

I have some pictures somewhere in storage, but not the time to dig them out...
(I am starting a summer/fall, climbing, road trip in a week from now)

Thanks for the bata!

South shores - The southwest swell will be dropping, becoming smaller through this work week.

We are in the middle of our summer surf and wind surf season here on Maui. I have had a lot of "Great Sessions" on both sides of the island!

I'm not complaining at all, in fact yesterday I had a delicious wind/wave session at upper Kanaha with some great folks.

BUT the average intensity level is much less than we experience in the winter months here on the north shore.

This a little video that my friend Sean Aiken put together and I feel that it projects the stoke of an average winter sailing session at the spot that I call home fairly accurately.

Sit back and Enjoy the ride!
vimeo.com/10425526

NIce!!! I climbed 30 routes this morn, than surfed till sundown.