Trade Winds Getting LighterSaturday, June 28, 2007 at 8:20 am HSTYesterday at Kanaha we saw a bit of a decrease in trade winds. Had to break out my 5.0. Wind was a bit gusty and funky, possibly due to squalls and showers offshore. After sailing Kanaha I stopped by Sugar Cove to check things out. Only 2 or 3 miles upwind and it was blowing much stronger up there. The weather forecast is predicting the trades will continue lightening up through the weekend. It doesn't sound like they'll completely go away but it sounds like we have a few days of light wind ahead of us with normal wind strengths returning mid week next week. |
Still WindyThursday, June 28, 2007 at 6:30 pm HSTNo end in sight to the summer trades. Yesterday we saw some pretty nuclear conditions at Kanaha, at least outside the reef. I sailed way powered 4.2 and know some guys bigger than me were actually sailing powered on 3.7. I missed sailing today, but got report that Sugar Cove was cranking in the 4.0 range. The Kanaha sensor is up and working again, but either the sensor is reporting really low or Kanaha was a lot less windy than Sugar Cove. Anyone visiting Maui right now is getting their money's worth of wind, that's for sure. Got another press release from the Maui speed sailing competition reporting on yesterday's results: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Maui, HI -- Speeds were down an average 2 knots as the forecast winds never showed today,but some fast times were posted.A few racers opting to sit out the day as the forecast winds are now due to show up tomorrow. Karla Aguera , Running for the first time was the first woman to break into the 30 knot club, smoking the lower reef at 30.5 kts,Karla:"I was stuck all last year at 29 kts and here at Spreck's I go 30.5 right away",she will be back for more. Erik Beale went out early to to post a 35.6 kts on the upper reef, it would remain the fastest time all day - at least until sunset. Erik:"The wind came in really Easterly,so the fastest place was the upper reef for most of the day,I tried the lower reef at around 2.30 P.M. but it was 2 kts slower".The forecasted N.E. wind direction showed up at sunset with Anders Bringdal jumping on the puff to lay down a 38.5 kts run on the lower reef bumping the challenge organizer to 2nd place.Anders:"It got really good at sunset, the water was dead flat,now if only we had 10 kts more wind and some 6 ft waves we could go really fast". Even though Anders ran at 6.30 P.M. past the timing cutoff point, in the spirit of the challenge, his time stands, as rules and records are made to be broken in speed sailing. We will run again tomorrow as it looks like really good forecast. RESULTS: OVERVIEW: The location of the speed sessions are not pre-planned but are announced with "The goal is to break 40 knots open ocean, so we are looking for the fastest 10 For the latest news and results, visit our website at: http://www.mauispeed.com/ |
Anders Bringdal at 40.2 knots Breaks Maui Open Ocean Speed Sailing Record AGAINSaturday, June 23, 2007 at 6:00 pm HSTHere's the press release of Anders' record-breaking run from yesterday: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Anders Bringdal at 40.2 Knots breaks Maui Open Ocean Speed Sailing Record Again Maui, HI -- With steady winds in the 30-35 knot range Anders Bringdal became After setting a new mark of 39.6 kts the previous day Anders was perfectly Anders:"I hit 40.00kts even on my 3rd run down the lower reef at around 2.30 Alex Aguera was 2nd at 38.7 kts upping his own personal best speed by .1 kts Robby Naish was back for more speed, setting 3rd fastest speed of 37.7 again The fastest Amateur wave rider was Patrick Bergeron at an impressive 32.7 hot All in all the 3rd session was a great success with records broken, many RESULTS: OVERVIEW: The location of the speed sessions are not pre-planned but are announced with "The goal is to break 40 knots open ocean, so we are looking for the fastest 10 For the latest news and results, visit our website at: http://www.mauispeed.com/ |
Anders Bringdal Breaks 40 knot BarrierSaturday, June 23, 2007 at 4:45 pm HSTI heard today from Capt. Greg who stopped at Sprecks yesterday to watch the Maui GPS V-Max Speed Challenge Series that Anders Bringdal clocked a blistering 40.3 knots in open waters off of Sprecks. Just thinking about going that fast in yesterday's conditions makes me cringe. I sailed 4.2 wound yesterday afternoon - felt like I could easily have half a meter less sail and be plenty powered. I'm guessing Anders was on something like a 5.9 or something ridiculous like that. It'll be interesting to read the press release when it comes out. I'll post it here when I get it. Today's winds were actually pretty mellow until later in the afternoon. I got on the water at the opening bell at 11:00 on my 5.0, initially underpowered for about 5 minutes, then pretty much nicely powered until noon. Towards the end I could have been on 4.7 but the 5.0 handled it fine. Tomorrow is forecast to be a little lighter than today, then Monday-ish winds should crank back up to nuclear insanity levels. |
Anders Bringdal at 39.6 knots Breaks Maui Open Ocean Speed RecordFriday, June 22, 2007 at 11:00 am HSTPress Release from the Maui Windsurfing Association: Maui, HI -- The second speed session of the Maui GPS V-Max Speed Challenge Series took place Thursday June 21 off of Sprecklesville beach. The N.E. trade winds built steadily through the day peaking at around 35 knots. This wind direction allowed the speed crew to explore the potential of sprec's lower reef. Anders Bringdal set off with a mission, posting 39.3kts within a few runs with a 6.4 M sail in around 30 kts of wind. Switching to a 5.4M as the wind picked up, he then hit 39.6 kts on his first run for a new Maui open ocean speed record. Anders, "I switched down a couple of sail sizes to get rid of some drag which worked but it was extreme jumping 1 to 2 ft waves at full speed." Indeed there was glassy water to be found over the extremely shallow reef but with small waves crossing randomly in all directions, these were not conditions for the faint of heart. Alex Aguera sailed all day consistantly in the 38 kt range with a best of 38.5 for 2nd place. Alex, "I hit a turtle or the reef and it sheared my fin in half and did so many jumps at full speed it was nuts." Jaques was 3rd at 38.0 kts but his day was done all too soon. After a massive crash on the lower reef, he put his foot down on a sea urchin getting around 50 spines in his foot, talking after being released from hospital he said, "I'm totally bummed I'll be out for 2 - 3 weeks". We all wish him a speedy recovery. 4th was challenge organizer Erik Beale at 37.4 "All of us over 37kts 10 sec average were hitting over 40 kts peak speed, I don't know how I made it through some of those sections at that speed." In the am wave class and first wave board rider in to the 30 kt range was Matthew Kovar at 30.6 kts and First in the am women Stephanie Mischler at 21.9 kts. Patrick Bergeron, a wave sailor from Canada said, "This was my best speed on a Revo 4.4 and Hardcore Wave XS 66 litres. Doesn't look fast when you hear all the 40+ records, but felt scary fast in the conditions!!" Normally a competitor in the ALoha Classic and writer for Windsport Magazine, a group of sailors from Hookipa heard about the speed sessions going on and wanted to give it a go. "It all felt like that sequence in an old Pryde video from the late '80's (Fast Forward!?) where Laird Hamilton speeds through wave peaks until one just comes at him. This makes you want to tune a few things and give it another run ...for me, gotta break that 30!..... A 4.2 Hucker would probably have done it, but only have a 3.7 at the moment and it wasn't quite strong enough ...only a matter of time, will try again tomorrow as they said they'd probably be back". RESULTS: OVERVIEW:
The location of the speed sessions are not pre-planned but are announced with 24-hour notice, and there is a SPEED HOTLINE that you call to find out WHEN and WHERE it is happening (808-283-3588). The spees sessions will last from noon time till 6pm to give people a chance to get off work and make it down to the beach to put in some speed times. "The goal is to break 40 knots open ocean, so we are looking for the fastest 10 second stretch of water off of Maui. We will be using gps set to 10 sec interval as in the Navman series last year." says Beale. Sailors who are expected to participate include the fastest from the last two years of the Navman series : Anders Bringdal, Erik Beale, Alex Aguera, Jaques Pauvert and Robby Naish. There are no set heats or anything, people can do as many runs as they want and stay as long or as little as they like. For the latest news and results, visit our website at: http://www.mauispeed.com/ Comments: Speedy wrote: Stopped by Sprecks early in the afternoon on Thursday to check out the speed challenge and talk to Eric about the event. I had to get back to work, but if I had extra time, it would sure have been fun to "compete". Most of the sailors were just out having a good time and seeing how fast they were really going. It's very casual, with no entrance fees, no banners, no event insurance or permits required since Eric just hands the sailors one of the Navman units left over from last year's speed series that weren't being used anymore. Didn't get to see the "big boys" going for it but I bet it was something to watch. Speedy |
Funky WindThursday, June 21, 2007 at 7:00 pm HSTThe wind yesterday at Kanaha was pretty funky. I got to the beach and a friend told me he had had an awesome, mellow session on his 5.7 with beautiful, consistent wind. Indeed, it looked pretty nice from the beach. I went with 5.3, but I found that the wind was very erratic with huge puffs and holes and very directionally challenged. Blasting 5.3 almost dead onshore one second then no wind, then a shift to side-offshore. Weird. Aside from the wind, there was some fun, smooth wind swell up at Camp One & Uppers with some fun backside riding. I didn't sail today, but just got the report that it was somewhat similar to yesterday though a bit stronger in magnitude and not quite as shifty. Wind really kicked in late in the afternoon with averages over 30 and gusts near 40. I think that was what was predicted to arrive last night. Might have been tough sailing for those trying to go as fast as possible in the Maui GPS V-Max Speed Challenge Series which was scheduled to be held today between 1:00 and 5:00pm. |
Epic HookipaWednesday, June 20, 2007 at 10:30 am HSTEpicly small and mellow that is. Hit up Hookipa early yesterday. My wife and I had the place to ourselves from about 11:00 to 11:30. 5.3 and small, knee- to thigh-high waves. Kinda fun, waves weren't quite the right direction, but still a better direction than Kanaha gets from the wind swell. By noon another 4 sailors had shown up. Half a dozen sailors at Hookipa. Gotta like that. After the session we hit up the Paia fish market for some ono grinds and enjoyed lunch at Baldwin Beach Park looking out at the blue Pacific. Pretty awesome lunch break. Looks like the trade winds have been blowing so hard they've broken the iWindsurf Kanaha sensor again, but based on other north shore readings and beach cams it looks like it's setting up to be another nice day of sailing. Trades will amp up a notch later today or tomorrow for a few days and the forecast is calling for continued trades for the foreseeable future with some potentially very strong winds coming in early next week. Get that small gear ready. |
Trades Mellow SlightlyTuesday, June 19, 2007 at 7:45 am HSTAfter several days in a row of gusty 30 knot trade winds blasting, the winds eased slightly yesterday into the mid-20s and offered some comparably mellow fun sailing on the north shore - 4.7 was about perfect for me in the early afternoon session. Still a bit of leftover wind swell breaking at Uppers - mostly backside riding but still a fun little watery playground. Forgot to mention that the Maui GPS V-Max Speed Challenge was held last Friday in those 30knot winds I mentioned. Lots of folks out blasting around at Sprecks trying to break 40knots; including Robby Naish and Anders Bringdall. More details here. Today looks like it should be similar to yesterday. Winds are forecast to pick up again midweek. |
Maui Race Series VideoSunday, June 17, 2007 at 3:30 pm HSTKinda getting tired of the gusty conditions the last few days so, I'm opting to stay away from the beach today. So, here's a bit of the slalom action from yesterday's Maui Race Series (Flash Player, 5 MB). This is the pro fleet in the morning heats with Matt Pritchard and Phil McGain duking it out. Take note of the first jibe mark in the video how everyone blazes into the turn but there was no wind on the inside so there was a pumping and kerplunking frenzy. Then at the outer marks it was blowing over 30.
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More High Wind SailingSunday, June 17, 2007 at 8:00 am HSTTrade winds have ramped up again the last few days. Friday we saw some pretty insanenly gusty conditions. I actually went to the beach but didn't bother to sail. Time after time I saw people rig, head out, and come back within a few minutes. Inevitably their comments were something like, "don't even bother." It was pretty light inside then a wall of wind outside and super gusty. Yesterday saw similar conditions for the Dakine Classic Maui Race Series. Winds averaged 30 all day and along with that a largish wind swell made for a challenging day of racing. Here's a photo of early morning action as Matt Pritchard, who won the pro division, rounds the second inside mark. Full results of the race are at the Maui Slalom Series website.
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Gray TradesThursday, June 14, 2007 at 5:45 pm HSTHigh clouds dominated the islands today making for a gray day of sailing. Winds were mostly in the moderate range. I didn't make it the beach but my wife reported sailing on 4.5 and guys mostly sailing on 5.0s to 5.3s. Yesterday was a bit better. We opted for a change in venue and sailed Hookipa in the afternoon. Just us and 3 or 4 friends out. Hardly any waves to speak of. Wind swell generated waves was breaking about knee high, but that's the best the north shore has to offer right now. Last night was the US premiere of The Windsurfing Movie at the Maui Film Festival. Showtime was at 10:30pm, a bit inconvenient for me, but a friend reported a good turn out with several big names including Josh Angulo and Fransisco Goya. He reported that though it didn't quite live up to his 10 out of 10 expectations it was "pretty f***ing awesome." |
Typical Summer SailingTuesday, June 12, 2007 at 8:00 pm HSTQuintessential summer sailing today on the north shore - moderate trade winds and no waves at all. Maui tends to have a reputation for wave sailing, but summer brings strong winds and the waves take a vacation, resulting in perfect freeride, bump and jump and slalom conditions. Today was a day that most windsurfers dream of - unless your a hardcore wave guru. Bright sunny skies, warm air, warm blue water and steady trade winds. I started out on 5.0 and sailed up to Camp One and almost to Sprecks looking for some breaking wind swell. The best I could find was knee high up at Camp One. The best option was outside the reef between Sprecks and Camp One where some nice rolling swell make for some fun downwind swell riding. Back at Kanaha, the freestylers were out flinging themselves about, while the slalom racers went head to head practicing for this Saturday's next race. I actually brought my camera to the beach today and snapped a few photos of the action:
By 2:00 the wind kicked in another half meter bigger and I surfed the swell back down to Kanaha to rig a 4.5. The afternoon session wasn't quite as nice as the midday session - the wind went a little bit more offshore, but still good fun. Winds tomorrow should pick up a notch or two. Looks like trade winds will hang around for the foreseeable future, just a matter of how strong they are. |
Wacky WeekendMonday, June 11, 2007 at 9:15 am HSTPretty wacked weekend of sailing here on Maui. Saturday we saw some very gusty conditions on the north shore for the first of the Maui Slalom Series. I avoided the weekend crowds on Saturday, but polling the sailors at Kanaha yesterday about Saturday's conditions yielded adjectives such as; "brutal, ferocious, and challenging". The wind was very, very light inside the reef and nuclear outside the reef. Very tough day to be racing apparently. Full results of the races are available at the Maui Slalom Series website. Yesterday was apparently better than Saturday, but again things were extremely erratic. I got on the water shortly after 11:00 on my 5.0 and things were pretty nice for about 20 minutes. Then the wind dropped about 10 knots. I slogged in, but 10 minutes later the wind was blasting. That kind of set the pattern throughout the day. Blasting wind for a few minutes. Five minutes later almost nothing. Also very shifty, with what seemed like 90 degree shifts in directions. If you look at the Kanaha graph, which is working again, between 2:00 and 3:00 you'll see that the lulls were about 8 or 9 mph and it was gusting to 31mph. Pretty ugly. I suspect that all this gustiness is the result of an upper level low hanging out to our southwest. The upper level lows tend to make the atomosphere a bit unstable, i.e. gusty. The forecast is for trade winds to continue throughout this week and actually strengthen midweek. But, that upper level low is forecast to hang around here for a couple more days, so I'm forecasting more gusty, shifty conditions for the next couple of days like we saw today. |
Coming to Maui on vacation? Need gear?Saturday, June 9, 2007 at 12:20 pm HSTWant to save money? Why rent when you can buy gear for cheaper. Check out these deals. Note: Mine are all only for sale locally here on Maui. No shipping. 2005 Simmer Vision 4.5 Wave Sail 2005 Simmer XFlex 5.0 Wave Sail 2005 Ezzy 5.0 Wave Sail 2005 Ezzy 4.0 Wave Sail 2006 Ezzy 4.5 Wave Sail 2004 Ezzy 5.8 Wave Sail 2004 Ezzy 5.0 Wave Sail 2004 Ezzy 4.5 Wave Sail 2004 Ezzy 4.0 Wave Sail 2003 Ezzy 4.0 Wave Sail 2003 Ezzy 3.5 Wave Sail 2001 96L AvanteMove 65 2006 Hawaiian ProLine Carbon Wave Boom FiberSpar Tidal Wave 460 Mast (not a skinny) If you're interested contact me. Also, lots of other gear for sale in the For Sale section, including lots of Kevin Pritchard's boards. Or, if you don't see what you're looking for, drop me a line. I know a lot of other guys who have gear for sale and might be able to hook you up with. |
Saturday Morning ReportSaturday, June 9, 2007 at 11:20 am HSTTrade winds are still blowing on Maui, though a bit less consistent than normal for this time of year. I got a late afternoon session at Kanaha yesterday - 4.5, which was about the right size, but the wind was pretty punchy and a bit shifty. Wasn't that great so it was a short session for me. Saturday morning now and looking at the Kanaha Cam it looks windy. The iWindsurf Kanaha sensor is down yet again, but judging from readings up the coast at Hookipa and from the camera it looks pretty windy. Today is the first race of the Maui Race Series. They should have the course set by now, and if things are operating normally, they're probably chasing after a wayward buoy that has escaped and resetting the course. Looks like it should be a windy and possibly, gusty day of racing. Not sure I'll get down there today to capture the action, but I will get some photos and videos of one or more of the upcoming races and get that up here on the website. |
I jinxed itThursday, June 7, 2007 at 5:50 pm HSTJust when I go and say that we're in full summer sailing mode, the weather decides to throw a wrench into things. As opposed to summer-like winds today, what we got resembled winds in winter. The north shore was assualted today by clouds and showers which wreaked havoc with the wind. Kihei side of things looked to be the place to sail today with sunny skies and strong winds until late in the afternoon when it resumed its normal spastic nature. I'm not sure, but all of this could have been a result of that TUTT I mentioned a few days ago. Hopefully thing will improve tomorrow. |
Broken Record SeasonThursday, June 7, 2007 at 6:40 am HSTI think we're officially into the broken record/Groundhog's Day time of year here - moderate wind 4.2 - 4.5 range for most guys, day in and day out for the next month or two. Not much variation usually. That's great news for windsurfers, but it sure makes it difficult to come up with new ways to describe the conditions each day. Forgot to mention a few days ago that the opening race of the Maui Race Series which was scheduled last Saturday was canceled due to lack of wind. That race is scheduled for this Saturday at Kanaha. |
Moderate TradesWednesday, June 6, 2007 at 8:20 am HSTTrade winds picked up another notch yesterday to moderate levels. Venue of choice for me yesterday was Sugar Cove, wound out on my 4.7 - 4.2 woulda been plenty I think. The forecast wasn't really calling for it to be that windy, but Maui's wind turbo boosters are working hard this spring. So far things look pretty light this morning, but they did yesterday morning as well. No doubt wind will pick up soon. Lots of wind and sailing in the forecast for those planning to arrive on vacation soon. |
2007 MauiWindsurfing Video Viewers Choice Award Best/Worst Wipeout WinnerMonday, June 4, 2007 at 7:40 pm HSTIn the most tightly contested battle of the viewers choice awards, it was a bone-crunching wave smack-down vs. a stylish Kauli Seadi dismount in the middle of what appears to be a goiter attempt. In the end, viewers chose pain and agony over stylish body flinging. Our winners in the final contest of the 2007 Maui Windsurfing Video Viewers Choice Awards are: First place: Clip #1 Wave smack-down of unkown NP rider- 43% of the votes Thanks to everyone who participated in the voting. No prizes and no glory but it was interesting to see what you the viewers chose. Who knows, maybe we'll have prizes and sponsors for next year's awards. Trades officially kicked back in today. I think yesterday was probably sailable in Kihei, but definitely not on the north shore. But the north shore saw a return of sailable wind today. Though the graph was reading just under 20 all afternoon, I was able to make my 5.0 work pretty well. Pretty fun day of sailing really. Got some small, late season north swell coming in - waist high at Uppers, which probably meant head high at Hookipa. Nothing epic, but it's a special bonus to get any down the line conditions on Maui this time of year. Looks like trade winds should stick around through this week and into the weekend. The only fly in the ointment is that I'm seeing mention of "tropical upper troposheric trough" aka a TUTT in the forecast discussion. While I can't really explain what that is, my experience is that they usually make for gustier than normal conditions. So, there may be that to deal with later in the week. |
2007 MauiWindsurfing Video Viewers 2007 MauiWindsurfing Video Viewers Choice Awards - Best/Worst WipeoutSunday, June 3, 2007 at 9:40 am HSTOur last category in the 2007 MauiWindsurfing Video Viewers Choice Awards is best/worst wipeout (Flash Player 1.5 MB). From bone-jarring, gear-breaking wipeouts to bodies flinging about, some of these wipeouts make me cringe for the poor sailor, like the first one. Some like Josh Angulo's (#4) and Kauli Seadi's (#5) almost look cool and stylish. Here's your chance to vote on your choice of best/worst wipeout. It would have been cool to run the Venture's song "Wipeout" but I don't have it. So, if you have it, put it on, otherwise just imagine it in the stereo of your mind. Voting is now closed for this category.It's Sunday morning and it looks like another light wind day on Maui. Yesterday was fairly light, as predicted. Possibly enough wind for Maui Race Series to kick off yesterday, since winds got into the low- to mid-teens at Kanaha yesterday. Looks like trade winds should return tomorrow, or possibly even begin filling in a bit late in the day today (though I doubt it, I'll keep my eye on the things just in case). |
2007 MauiWindsurfing Video Viewers Choice Award Best Wave 360WinnerFriday, June 1, 2007 at 4:40 pm HSTResults are in for the best wave 360: First place: Clip #2 Graham Ezzy- 68% of the votes One more vote to go, best/worst wipeout. Wind today did what I had thought it would do yesterday. It managed to hit 20 for about an hour just before noon, then turned onshore and slowly declined. Not enough to tempt me down. Kihei looks like it might have been marginally windier. The trend is for continued slacking of the trade winds through Saturday and most of Sunday. A new high pressure should start building late Sunday, hopefully ushering in stronger trades starting on Monday. |
