Crystal Ball... Kona Lanes Coming?

Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 10:35 am HST

What a contrast this morning from yesterday. It rained most of the day on Maui yesterday. Today we have sunny, blue skies, barely a cloud to be seen anywhere. Only a couple of tiny wisps of clouds near the West Maui Mountains. Winds are calm island-wide and will likely stay calm or light all day. Kanaha actually saw some big wind readings yesterday. They just happened to correspond with some thunderstorms on the north shore then they dropped down to very light again.

Looking into my Maui windsurfing crystal ball, I see lots of big surf in our future. A big northwest swell approaching the 25 foot warning threshold is due to arrive late Friday and peak on Saturday. Should be a Jaws day. Speaking of Jaws, it sounds like some people sailed it last Friday. Check out the article on the Hot Sails Maui site about it.

Returning back to the crystal ball, it also shows signs of some Kona winds this weekend. Kona winds along with big north shore swell means one thing - Kona Lanes! For those who don't know, Lanes is the break just downwind of the point at Hookipa. It gets some pretty meaty waves, but in normal wind conditions closes out quicker than Hookipa. But in Kona lanes riding on the opposite tack it sets up for beautiful, if not gnarly, port tack wave riding. Here's a video sample of Kona Lanes going off this last January for those of you who haven't seen its awe and fear-inspiring conditions (or for those wanting a preview of potential coming attractions):

Extreme Kona Lanes Video

As you can see, Kona Lanes is pretty extreme - only a few sailors have the balls to try it. This particular session saw Kevin Pritchard, Josh Stone and Baptiste Gossein holding on to 4.7 and 5.0s in raging 40 knot winds at the top of the waves and almost no wind at all in the troughs. Later on, the likes of Robby Naish and Jason Polakow joined in on the fun.

Most of the rest of us mere mortal Maui windsurfers head to Kihei on southwest winds. With the long stretch of light winds we're having right now, sailing Kihei on southwest winds will actually be kind of tempting for me. But, unless the Kihei graph is showing super strong winds at Kihei I think I'll opt for the spectacle of Kona Lanes. Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed that strong enough Kona wind materialize.

The First Unsponsored Aloha Classic

Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 10:00 am HST

Windsurfing Magazine's website recently published a story about the First Unsponsored Aloha Classic. Check it out.

We've got rain and calm conditions on Maui this morning ...

Light Wind

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 6:35 pm HST

It's a light wind pattern here on Maui the last couple of days. The overall flow across the state is predominantly southeast, but Maui has been able to work a little of its magic and somehow translate that to light east-northeast winds at Kanaha and Hookipa yesterday and today. Too light for me to be tempted but there have been a couple of brief periods of wind in the upper teens at times. Mostly its been around 14 mph or so. Saw a few sailors out today on the wind cam so those who are here on vacation and have big sails were probably able to get on the water for a bit.

We've got a pretty unsettled weather pattern and it looks to continue with the overall southeast flow, so I'm not expecting conditions to be any better than today through at least this week. Realistically it could actually go even lighter and there's also a potential for heavy rain. We're also expecting several big swells on the north shore over the next several days.

Wrong

Sunday, November 25, 2007 at 6:15 pm HST

Called it wrong again today. I really didn't think we'd get any better wind today than the last few days, since we're supposed to be transitioning to a light southeasterly weather pattern. Wrong! We got the strongest winds today that we've seen on the north shore this week - pretty powered up 5.3 for me mid-day into the early afternoon. The down side is that the waves were small and sloppy. Still it felt nice to be powered up finally. The forecast? Hmm. I still think it's going to go light, but I was wrong today so don't listen to me.

Slog-n-Surf Saturday

Sunday, November 25, 2007 at 8:50 am HST

Another day of light winds yesterday, about the same strength at Kanaha as Friday with the exception of a couple of periods of powered up 5.7. Except for those periods in the late afternoon, the dominant action was slogging around and catching waves. Waves had dropped considerably from their extra large size on Friday. Still lots of people out at Lowers. Judging from the numbers of Hookipa regulars at Kanaha yesterday, Hookipa must have still been too light and/or too closed-out.

It looks like the best conditions we can hope for today is a repeat of yesterday's wind strength - pretty marginal. According to the buoys, waves have dropped way down. The forecasters are saying that the wind should start clocking around to a more southeast direction today and even more so this coming week. That might mean that Hookipa actually gets better wind conditions today than it's seen the last few days. But southeast winds usually mean conditions get super light island-wide. Looking kind of bleak for sailing this week in my opinion.

Oh yea. Forgot to mention. The homeless encampments at Kanaha seem to be back.

T-Day & Black Friday

Friday, November 23, 2007 at 8:20 pm HST

Sorry about the lack of reports the last few days. There just hasn't been much to report on and I'm out of fresh video and photo content. Winter has definitely arrived here on Maui. That may not mean snow and freezing temperatures like elsewhere, but Maui does have its seasons. We're seeing longer stretches without trade winds, getting more rain, and big surf on the north shore.

Thanksgiving Day yesterday brought a return of wind and waves - waves on the north shore and wind on the south side. Most of us were really hoping for stronger trade winds to return to the north shore but the direction was very northerly and readings were in the low teens. By contrast, Kihei was reporting averages in the upper 20s but was absolutely flat. By 1:00 yesterday it seemed it wasn't going to happen on the north shore so we headed to Kihei. It was painful driving down the hill seeing the whole north shore from Kanaha to Paia with sweet breakers.

Kihei was Kihei. Strong, gusty wind and harsh chop, not a wave in sight anywhere. We sailed Maui Sunset, surprisingly few people there. I sailed 4.7, could've been on 4.5. It was a short session since we had T-Day dinner to get to at 5:00.

Of course driving back home after 4:00 I get a message from Jazz at Kanaha that the wind had come up to 19. Sounds like those who scored the 3:30 to sunset session there got the best of it yesterday.

Had high hopes for today, but the wind was again frustratingly light. Went to Kanaha when we saw averages hit 17. The anticipated large north swell was immediately evident when we arrived. Uppers especially was looking pretty massive. Lowers was surprisingly spotty early on. Mast-high sets would come through occasionally but it was often a lot smaller. Wind was super light. Not many people were willing to sail the combo of light wind and extra large waves, so there were a lot of people on the beach watching and waiting. From the beach it looked like there were about 4 or 5 guys at Uppers. Looked like the outer reef was breaking and from shore it looked like the sets had to be mast and half high.

Finally around 1:30 it looked like the wind had come up slightly and I couldn't take it anymore so I rigged up the 5.7/95L combo and headed out powered up through the channel between Weird Wave and Lowers. Unfortunately that was about the only time I planed aside from the two waves I got. Either that was a fluke gust or the wind dropped, but I just didn't have the juice to get going. I was able to slog onto a meaty mast-high wave at Lowers, but the bigger sets seemed to be closing out quickly and I only got one bottom turn before I was faced with a mast-high wall of foaming white water down the line for the next 100 meters. Worked my way upwind slogging on the inside to the channel and back out again. Still couldn't plane. Slogged into another wave and got lucky that it didn't start breaking on top of me before I got enough speed to drop in. Hmmm. Not really comfortable with so much slogging in the big surf zone, so I decided that was it. Back on shore and looking out at the water it was obvious that the wind had dropped about 3 or 4 knots from when I initially launched. Looking at the graph it looks like it was averaging maybe 17 or 18 when I launched, and maybe 14 or 15 when I came in.

So, bottom line, kind of a frustrating couple of days. Kihei was again pretty windy today. Even with the frustrating session on the north shore though I'm still glad I went to Kanaha instead of Kihei. Definitely more adrenaline and more challenging. One thing I can proudly say is that I didn't go anywhere near a shopping mall today! :-)

I had also wanted to get to Hookipa today to shoot some video and photos, but everyone I talked to who had stopped by said it was even lighter than Kanaha, with bigger messy surf. Apparently nobody was sailing or even surfing Hookipa today.

Forecast is calling for slightly stronger wind tomorrow and the swell should decline a little but still be in the very large category. After Monday it looks like wind may turn light and variable just as another large swell hits. That's winter in Maui. Really epic windsurfing conditions at times but also epicly frustrating conditions at times. Hopefully it will be good enough to get out and get some good waves and also get some fresh photos and video.

Heavy Hookipa Video Carnage

Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 6:30 pm HST

Time for the blooper reel. Lots of wipeouts, broken gear, swimming and carnage at Hookipa last week. My hats off to Tatiana for being cool with me including her horrific smackdown in this segment. Next time I see her on the water at Hookipa I'll get some video of her with a more positive vibe. Other devastation here includes Baptiste Gossein and Jason Polakow. I've heard through the Coconut Telegraph that a friend was sailing Spartan's on Friday, went to bottom turn and discovered a nice JP windsurfing board in his path. He somehow managed to tow it back into Sugar Cove and called the Neil Pryde shop. Not long afterward he got a call from Jason Polakow himself. Seems it was JP's favorite custom board right now and he was stoked to find it after it got separated from him on Thursday.

Heavy Hookipa Video Carnage

And a couple of wipe-out photos included with today's photo set as well ...

Light wind ruled again today. I think there's a small chance the wind may pick up tomorrow, but a good chance that we'll see sailable conditions on Thursday and Friday along with some massive waves.

Heavy Hookipa Video - Girls Only

Monday, November 19, 2007 at 6:00 pm HST

Here's a look at the girls of Hookipa in action last Thursday, featuring Anne-Marie Reichman, Junko Nagoshi, Iballa Moreno, Tatiana Howard and more.

Heavy Hookipa Video Girls Only

Bonus coverage today; more photos as well...

Jason Polakow

Victor Fernandez

Manu Bouvet

Josh Stone

Conditions the last couple of days have been mostly on the light side, at least on the north shore. Kihei definitely had the strongest wind yesterday, but it was sailable for a time in the afternoon at Hookipa and Kanaha on bigger gear. Today has been very light, which is a shame since we've got a high surf advisory running for the north shore, meaning waves reaching 15 feet. We should see light wind through Wednesday then on Thanksgiving day wind should pick up a bit in time for a bump up in the swell again. Then on Friday, the wave forecast is for a massive surf episode, our first high surf warning this year - that's massive waves in the 25 foot range. If it really is that big, Jaws will probably be pumping and Hookipa may be closed out.

Comments:

Love the girl video! Makes me laugh knowing what happens on the last wave of the video!! ahah.. glad I can laugh about it know! :)
Tati

Hey Tati. Glad you can look back at it as a learning experience. You definitely get the award of the day for positive attitude plus much repsect for taking a hit like that and not letting it get you down. For those in the dark about what I'm talking about, here's a clip of Tati's wipeout. Warning! It's BRUTAL! It will be included in the wipeout clip that I post later today or tomorrow.
Makani

Heavy Hookipa Video Part 3

Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 8:20 pm HST

Here's Part 3 ...

Heavy Hookipa Video Part 3

Holiday Windsurfing Gift Ideas

Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 9:40 am HST

It's that time of year again where we're inundated with commercials and ads for the holidays. I'll try not to overdue it, but here's a few windsurfing gift ideas for the windsurfer on your list.

1. The Windsurfing Movie

The Windsurfing Movie Trailer

In my opinion this is the best windsurfing movie ever made. A must-have for every windsurfer. Check out their $39.95 holiday special at the end of the trailer - The Windsurfing Movie DVD, Video Evidence DVD, subscription to Windport, Poor Boyz Beenie and Naish Poster - all for $39.95

2. Maui Windsurfing 2008 Wall Calendar

The new year is coming so it's calendar-buying season as well. Get a daily dose of Maui on your wall with the Maui Windsurfing 2008 Wall Calendar featuring 12 months of windsurfing action photos from Hookipa and Kanaha.

3. Maui Windsurfing T-Shirts

It's also the time of year for considering those New Year's resolutions. Here's an easy resolution to remember - Work Less! Play More! With the Maui Windsurfing Work Less! Play More! T-shirt, you'll get a reminder of that resolution every time you put it on.

4. Maui Windsurfing Coffee Mug

Daydream about smacking the lip of a perfect Hookipa wave as you savor your favor cup of coffee or tea with the Maui Windsurfing Lip-smacking Good Coffee Mug.

Ok. Enough blatant marketing for now. Winds yesterday were fairly light, but still sailable with big gear for awhile in the afternoon before dropping to about 12 later in the afternoon. Today's forecast is calling for stronger winds so we may see slightly better conditions today. The upcoming week however is looking less promising for wind as our weather pattern gets complicated by a bunch of messy low pressure troughs. Could be some big wave events this week though.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the Heavy Hookipa video segments coming soon, plus later in the week, another all girl video from Wednesday's Hookipa action plus a wipeout clip showing some of the carnage from the day.

Heavy Hookipa Video Part 2

Saturday, November 17, 2007 at 10:40 am HST

Here's Part 2 and still at least 1 or two more parts to come...

Heavy Hookipa Video Part 2

Someone asked about the transient vacation rental issue a week or so ago. Here's what I've heard over the coconut telegraph. A lot of owners of vacation rentals are running scared, shutting down their operations. The County of Maui has apparently been cracking down but also has granted a short grace period allowing people to figure things out. The Maui Time Weekly ran a pretty good article last week covering what's going on recently with the issue. I think the advice to visitors coming to Maui and wanting to stay on the north shore is to research carefully your accommations to make sure where you're planning to stay will still be around when you come here.

Other recent Maui news affecting windsurfers: This last week we've seen a marked improvement in the homeless situation at Kanaha Beach Park. I'm not sure what happened but one day all the homeless vehicles that had been camping and squatting in the parking lot at Uppers were gone. The result has been a definite improvement in the ambience and atmosphere at the park. Let's just hope the County can keep the situation under control, especially now that the stupid Hawaii Superferry has been cleard to return to Maui, no doubt bringing many of Oahu's homeless over here.

Another promising bit of news is the recent advent of Maui Park Watch. Maui parks recently received a grant to clean up and improve Maui's parks. Those of you who come here regularly, check out their site to get involved. They're looking for input on improving the parks. Got an idea for improving Kanaha? Here's your chance to provide some input.

Wind & Waves Drop

Friday, November 16, 2007 at 6:30 pm HST

Both wind and waves dropped today, the wind about a notch, the waves about two notches from what I hear. After a couple of days of blowing off responsibilities for some epic wave sailing I decided the lighter winds and subsiding swell weren't enough to coax me out on the water today. So I opted to stay home, get some work done and also edit some more video. From what I hear, conditions were still pretty good today, though not up to standards of the last couple of days. My wife sailed 5.0, average weight guys were on 5.7s and 5.8s.

Next video installment coming tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's some more photos from Wednesday including a few from guest photographer and Hookipa wave hound, Jazz.

Heavy Hookipa Video Part 1

Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 9:30 pm HST

First of several videos to come of Hookipa on Wednesday.

Heavy Hookipa Video Part 1

Epic Uppers Encore

Thursday, November 13, 2007 at 7:30 pm HST

Wow! Two days in a row of awesome wave sailing conditions on Maui's north shore. Today's conditions at Uppers were just as good, maybe even better than yesterday. Still lots of big logo high sets, even mast high sets up at Camp One. Super clean long rides were the norm, with 6 or more bottom turns on a given wave - at least while I was out before it got crowded. After a little over an hour of wave after wave, bottom turn, cutback, bottom turn, repeat, my arms were already feeling like jello. By 1:00 the hordes were starting to arrive and by 2:00 some of the most consistently egregious violators of right of way rules were hitting the water and the wind was dropping. Time to call it a day - a really excellent day.

Heard from Matt P. who caught the early session at Hookipa that it was an epic session there as well with him, Robby Swift and Ross Williams scoring Hookipa for themselves for 45 minutes of epic wave riding conditions. Speaking of Hookipa, here's a first set of photos from there yesterday. More to come. I'm hoping to get the first video from yesterday posted some time tomorrow, ready for everyone to watch over the weekend.

Nearly Perfect Uppers + Hookipa Video Teaser

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 8:30 pm HST

We almost got our first high surf advisory today, which would mean 15 foot wave faces on the north shore. Eager with anticipation, I got on the water a little after 11:00 with 5.7. The immediate dilemma was whether to go to Lowers or Uppers. Lowers looked pretty sweet, but there were already a dozen guys on it. Uppers was deserted so that got the call today.

Uppers was almost perfect in my opinion while I was up there. I had it to myself for the first 15 minutes. Picture it. Clean, logo-high waves and no one else to snake them. After 15 minutes a few others started arriving but for the next hour or so there were only a handful us and I never had to share a wave. Awesome! By 12:15 I was getting overpowered and tired. Thought about going in and downsizing, but I figured by 1:00 even Uppers would be a zoo, so I decided a short but very sweet session was the way to go today. End on positive note and head up to Hookipa to check it out.

Got to Hookipa a little after 1:00 and it was firing! Big meaty, beefy mast-high + heavy sets interpersed with smaller head-high sets.

Heavy Hookipa Video Teaser

Lots of great action out on the water for all the windsurfing paparazzi on the bluff to shoot. I was a little surprised that there weren't more big name pros out, but there were a few like Jason Polakow, Baptiste Gossein, Levi Siver and Matt Pritchard.

The carnage today was pretty severe. Lots of sets that cleaned everyone out. Lots of people on the rocks. At one point I looked downwind after a big set and counted at least 8 guys in the water swimming for their gear as it headed towards Lanes. Saw quite a few spectacular wipe outs and broken gear including JP himself and Baptiste Gossein too. I heard even a few people got washed down to Mama's Fish House. Stay tuned for lots of video and photos of the action over the next few days.

Missing Board Found!

Just got this from a reader. "I recovered a board lost by someone at Ho'okipa - it ended up way downwind. Broken universal. It is a custom board with production graphics." If you think this board might be yours, send me a description and your contact info and I'll pass it on to hook up the two parties.
Makani

Comments:

WoooHooo!!! Ku'au was epic too!!!
Wave

Wind's Back, More Hookipa Photos

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 8:00 pm HST

Sometimes it's good to be wrong. I was dubious that the wind would be back today. Got to Kanaha around 2:00 to find solid 5.3 conditions. 5.3/85 was about perfect. We were forecast to get a new north swell that was expected to arrive late this afternoon, but as of 4:30 when I got off the water it was pretty sloppy, occasionally head-high but pretty unorganized stuff still. Fun, but not a really nice smooth swell. Maybe tomorrow. Looks like the bouys hit 12.8 feet around noon, so the biggest swell will hit tonight. Hopefully we'll still have some tomorrow. Here's the last of the photo from Hookipa on Saturday. Hopefully it will be good at Hookipa tomorrow for some fresh video and photos.

Andres, mid-backlook

Levi Siver

Levi Siver close-up

Andres launching another backloop

More Hookipa Photos

Monday, November 12, 2007 at 4:00 pm HST

Yesterday's wind turned out to be pretty sketchy. Got lured down to Kanaha by some mid-teen readings. Looked pretty light but the waves, though not that big, were clean and enticing. Rigged 5.7/95 and attempted to slog up to Uppers. Finally made it up there after tacking back and forth inside the reef for a half an hour and there were some gorgeous, smooth, head-high glassy waves. Sadly, by the time I got there the wind had dropped even more and I just didn't have the juice to get into them. The wind had dropped enough that I didn't think there was enough to even waterstart and I realized that I forgot to put on my uphaul. Thought it might be a good idea to get back while I was still on top of the board.

Today has been even lighter, low- to mid-teens at best. Wind may pick up a notch again tomorrow according to the forecasters, but I'm not sure it will be enough to sail on anything but formula gear.

Here's a few more shots from Hookipa on Saturday.

Yesterday at Hookipa Video

Sunday, November 11, 2007 at 10:30 am HST

Not a particularly exciting video clip here, but it'll give you an idea of the conditions there yesterday. A few pros out including Kevin Pritchard, Antoine Albeau, Baptiste Gossein (the guy with the red camera mount on the front of his board), Manu Bouvet.

Yesterday at Hookipa Video

Conditions so far this morning are looking light on the north shore. Forecasters had been calling for moderate trades this week, but now they've backed off of that and are calling for light trades. Doesn't look like they'll be going away completely, but it does look like it's time for the big gear.

Violent, Ridiculous Wind

Saturday, November 10, 2007 at 8:00 pm HST

What a difference from yesterday's mellow sailing. Got to Kanaha around noon and the first report we heard was that it was "violent." Not to be deterred, I went out on 4.5/85. The wind was pretty strong, could have been on 4.2. The gnarliness wasn't so much the wind though as the raging, churning water - like sailing in a washing machine. Just not much fun. Back on the beach there weren't any glowing reviews. Board shaper Peter Thommen called it "ridiculous."

Figuring that Hookipa would be a jump fest we bailed on sailing Kanaha and headed up the coast to Hookipa. Super crowded on the water at Hookipa, pretty small waves and super gusty. Got a few minutes of video that I'll edit tomorrow and post soon. Meanwhile, here's a few photos. This set heavily features Dioni Guadanino on fire.

Mellow Friday

Saturday, November 10, 2007 at 9:20 am HST

Really mellow day of sailing yesterday. It was another beautiful sunny day on the north shore of Maui. Got to the beach in the early afternoon and it looked a lot lighter than I had expected. After seeing wind readings hit the mid-20s gusting into the upper 20s in the morning I had expected strong winds and had even put my small board in the van. On arriving at Kanaha though, it looked like I would need 5.7 and I was regretting pulling out my big 95 liter board. Put the 5.7 on the 85 liter board though and managed to make that work. Didn't have enough juice to get upwind and check out the wave situation at Uppers, but from what I could tell they looked about the same as yesterday. For those who had big gear though it was a great afternoon for blasting around. Quite a few slalom guys out drag racing each other.

Today's looking like a rerun of yesterday. Looks like the waves might be slightly bigger, the surf forecast is calling for a bit of an increase. Winds look like they may back off a bit tomorrow and Monday, but at least they shouldn't completely go away. It looks like we should have at least light to moderate trade winds through the upcoming week. I'm planning to get to Hookipa in the next few days and get some new video and photos, so stay tuned.

Wind Returns

Thursday, November 8, 2007 at 8:20 pm HST

Not exactly an epic day but a good day of mellow trade winds nonetheless. After 6 days of no wind, can't really complain. After all, no dry suits or even wet suits required. I gave into the wind tease temptation early today after seeing late morning readings in the upper teens. Arrived to the beach a bit before noon. Looked a bit light - 5.7 for sure, maybe 5.3 if I squinted real hard. I opted for rigging optimistically and went with the 5.3 but put it on my giant 95 liter wave board. Turns out I should have had the 5.7 for the first half an hour. Finally got up to Uppers and the wind picked up a bit. Waves were pretty meager today. An occasional chest-high sloppy set, but other than that it was pretty flat or sloppy.

Wind came up to the point for awhile where 5.3 and my 85 liter were mostly good, but then it backed off later in the afternoon. I hear through the coconut telegraph that Hookipa was super crowded and chest to head high. Hopefully we'll get a bump up in wind strength and swell both tomorrow and Saturday.

Wind Tease

Wednesday, November 7, 2007 at 9:00 pm HST

Trade winds took the stage today around noon but were still light enough that they really didn't get my attention. A little before 1:00 though, the bump and grind music started and Little Miss Trade Winds started a tantalizing dance revealing some titillating double digits in the mid-teens. I've been on Maui long enough now to recognize the trade wind tease, so, while I was intrigued by this little dance, I really didn't expect to see anything more interesting. So many times returning trades will tease you with brief glimpses of the goods, getting you all worked up, rushing down to the beach in eager anticipation, only to arrive to find Little Miss Tease has packed up and gone home.

So, I kept my eye on the virtual show every now and then, but resumed working. Around 3:00 I thought I'd check in on our windy Salome and see what she was up to. To my amazement the dance of the seven veils was in full progress with five of the seven veils lying on the stage, wind reading 20. Surely this can't last, I thought. I'll rush down there, eager to get a piece of the action, arrive at the beach and find that the show is over. So, unable to believe that our wind teasing dancer would really take it all off and leave it all off long enough for me to enjoy, I stubbornly refused to take the bait.

For those who were eagerly huddled around the stage waiting for the show, it looks like they scored, getting about an hour and half of action before the tease returned around 4:30. If I had left right away when I saw the full monty was nigh, I probably would have gotten about a half hour of 5.3 to 5.7 (the gusts were pretty low) before having to slog back off stage and take a seat.

Oddly enough it looks like the best show started at dusk when everything came off and the wind averaged about 23 gusting into the high 20s. Anybody willing to dance on the water with the sharks arriving for dinner at dusk would have scored the best conditions of the day.

So, sometimes you get the tease, sometimes you get the real deal. Sometimes maybe it actually does pay to jump at a tantalizing bit of enticement. But I'll console myself with the notion that the return of teasing trade winds this afternoon holds promise for several days of full monty trade winds, accompanied by some small to moderate north swells. Encore! Hana Hou!

Comments:

Hey Makani.. thanks for helping us mainland bound windsurfers get thru the winter. Sigh... anyway, any updates on the transient accomodation crackdown issue in the north shore?
Windfanatic

I haven't heard much about the transient rental issue. I should ask around and see what's going on.
Makani

MAKANI KEEP UP THE ROCKIN' BLOG. DON'T EXPECT US TO FEEL SORRY FOR YOUR "WIND TEASE" AS WE STRUGGLE TO SQUEEZE INTO OUR DRY SUITS AND BOOTIES IN CHILLY NEW ENGLAND.
Cape Jerry

Still No Wind

Tuesday, November 6, 2007 at 8:30 pm HST

Day 5 of no wind today. Not raining now, but wind is still super light. The good news is that trades should start transitioning back tomorrow. Not sure if it will be strong enough to sail tomorrow, but I think by Thursday we'll be back in business with the wind and maybe even a small to moderate north swell too.

Hookipa Video Highlights - September & October

Sunday, November 4, 2007 at 8:00 pm HST

What to do on a rainy windless weekend on Maui? Make a compilation highlights video of the wavesailing action at Hookipa the last two months. A lot of it is rehash that's been in the other recent videos here but there are a few new scenes as well. Think of it as a Director's Cut version - remixed, uncut, deleted scenes, longer, uncensored. So, it's Monday morning. You just got into work. You don't really feel like diving into work mode yet. Click the video. Sit back and start your day off with a little virtual windsurfing fix.

Hookipa Highlights Video

No Wind, Plenty of Rain

Sunday, November 4, 2007 at 2:50 pm HST

The radar image below sums up Maui weather today - rain.

Yesterday on Maui we escaped the rain, but there was no wind either. Today, no wind and plenty of rain. A cut-off low in our vicinity is responsible for both shutting down the trade winds and sucking up all this moisture from the wet tropics to our south. The forecasters are saying that this low will dominate our weather for 2 or 3 more days - trade winds returning by Wednesday.

Light Wind and Rain

Friday, November 2, 2007 at 8:30 am HST

Looks like yesterday might have been the last day of trade winds we see here for a few days. I'll get to that in a minute. First, yesterday's sailing report. Winds were pretty mellow yesterday, with 5.3ish conditions dominating for most guys, 4.5ish for the ladies. Not much to get excited about in the waves department at Kanaha, with just small sloppy stuff at Uppers allowing for one or two turns at most on a wave.

Predominant wind flow has already turned light and out of the south east this morning. The winds are shifting direction thanks to a Kona low that's setting up camp north of Kauai. That low should drag up some moisture from our south and provide the potential for some heavy rain at times. Chances of sailing in this scenario are pretty slim. Looks like trades should start making a comeback early next week.