Aloha kakou,
We made it home on Friday evening. By Saturday I had the flu. I'll be posting more pictures and musings when I'm feeling a little better. Thanks for reading along all this time!
Malama pono,
Chris
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Ua he`e nalu hou `o Sue
I know most of you aren't interested in the surf stories, so this is for Chris, and Bruce, and Terri. And, in a way, for myself - telling them allows me to relive the waves. And isn't that why we tell surf stories?
As predicted, the swell picked up on Thursday. The outer reef at Tonggs started breaking regularly enough that folks were tempted to sit outside and try to catch a few out there; but they weren't quite big enough to ride them into the second reef. Rice Bowls, a right-handed wave just Ewa of Tonggs also started to break and that pulled quite a few surfers over to there that might otherwise have been surfing Tonggs.
I have been thinking since I've been here that I should take the board into town and surf Pops or Threes sometime. But Tonggs is right there. I can watch it from the condo and head out when it's at its best. I've surfed it enough that I know exactly where to line up to get the best waves that come through. It's not a great wave, but it's been really good to me this trip.
Thursday I paddled out just as the tide was starting to come in. The winds had died down, so the conditions were very clean. The first wave I caught was a right that swung wide into the channel. I was only partway out to the lineup and this wave was head-high, so I knew there were some decent sets rolling in.
When I had been out on the previous day, there was quite a crowd. Mostly sitting on the inside; when the sets came through the three or four of us taking off outside had to dodge boards and bodies floating in the whitewater. Today the sets were bigger, and the same group was sitting outside, but there was no one on the inside. It made for a very nice session since there were more waves than surfers.
Later in the day, Sue and I went out for another surf lesson. The tide had come way up and the waves were battering the seawall and rushing back out to sea. This made just getting down the ladder into the ocean a bit of a challenge. Sue got onto the board just as a wave was coming in, and managed to ride the backwash a good ways out. We didn't need to go too far out to find an area where we could practice. She caught a couple of nice ones and got to her feet briefly.
Even this far on the inside the waves were chest-high and the backwash from the wall would occasionally jack them straight up just as they were about to break. Sue took off on one of those and had a spectacular wipe out with the board sailing six feet up in the air. She came paddling back out, though, and was ready for more.
On Friday I went out and the same folks were out again. But the swell was definitely dropping.
As predicted, the swell picked up on Thursday. The outer reef at Tonggs started breaking regularly enough that folks were tempted to sit outside and try to catch a few out there; but they weren't quite big enough to ride them into the second reef. Rice Bowls, a right-handed wave just Ewa of Tonggs also started to break and that pulled quite a few surfers over to there that might otherwise have been surfing Tonggs.
I have been thinking since I've been here that I should take the board into town and surf Pops or Threes sometime. But Tonggs is right there. I can watch it from the condo and head out when it's at its best. I've surfed it enough that I know exactly where to line up to get the best waves that come through. It's not a great wave, but it's been really good to me this trip.
Thursday I paddled out just as the tide was starting to come in. The winds had died down, so the conditions were very clean. The first wave I caught was a right that swung wide into the channel. I was only partway out to the lineup and this wave was head-high, so I knew there were some decent sets rolling in.
When I had been out on the previous day, there was quite a crowd. Mostly sitting on the inside; when the sets came through the three or four of us taking off outside had to dodge boards and bodies floating in the whitewater. Today the sets were bigger, and the same group was sitting outside, but there was no one on the inside. It made for a very nice session since there were more waves than surfers.
Later in the day, Sue and I went out for another surf lesson. The tide had come way up and the waves were battering the seawall and rushing back out to sea. This made just getting down the ladder into the ocean a bit of a challenge. Sue got onto the board just as a wave was coming in, and managed to ride the backwash a good ways out. We didn't need to go too far out to find an area where we could practice. She caught a couple of nice ones and got to her feet briefly.
Even this far on the inside the waves were chest-high and the backwash from the wall would occasionally jack them straight up just as they were about to break. Sue took off on one of those and had a spectacular wipe out with the board sailing six feet up in the air. She came paddling back out, though, and was ready for more.
On Friday I went out and the same folks were out again. But the swell was definitely dropping.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
A Day in Pictures
For Jamie on her Birthday.
We rode TheBus to Makapu`u Beach Park.
We were making our way to Makapu`u Point to find the lighthouse.
We walked up the road to the lookout and trailhead.
The trail wrapped around the point on its climb.
It was very hot...
...and a long way down.
I searched for the Lighthouse...
...but didn't see it on Moloka`i.
Sue suggested looking a little closer to shore, where Lighthouses are wont to sit.
And there it was!
As we hiked down to the shoreline the lighthouse followed us a little ways; but we sent it back.
The shoreline was a cliff face in front of a series of tidepools...
...fed by the surging waves.
Hiking was mostly a matter of walking across the tidepools.
While avoiding the surging waves.
Which occasionally hid behind a rock.
The only other people out here were some fishermen.
We rode TheBus to Makapu`u Beach Park.
We were making our way to Makapu`u Point to find the lighthouse.
We walked up the road to the lookout and trailhead.
The trail wrapped around the point on its climb.
It was very hot...
...and a long way down.
I searched for the Lighthouse...
...but didn't see it on Moloka`i.
Sue suggested looking a little closer to shore, where Lighthouses are wont to sit.
And there it was!
As we hiked down to the shoreline the lighthouse followed us a little ways; but we sent it back.
The shoreline was a cliff face in front of a series of tidepools...
...fed by the surging waves.
Hiking was mostly a matter of walking across the tidepools.
While avoiding the surging waves.
Which occasionally hid behind a rock.
The only other people out here were some fishermen.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Ua he`e nalu `o Sue
No new pictures to post, so I'll consolidate all the boring surf stuff into one article.
MondayMonday morning I was scheduled to meet Ken and Greg for dawn patrol down at Canoes. For the first time in my life I missed a scheduled DP session. I woke up around 7:30 or so, way past time.
I still wanted to get out in the water, so after Sue was done working we put her on the surfboard and I took my boogie board and we paddled out to Inside Tonggs. We found a fairly secluded area and Sue caught the very first wave that came along! Okay, I gave her a little push, but I think she would have caught it anyway. It was a nice little left and she rode it a good ways. Hootah. We gradually worked our way out to the outside. Sue didn't catch anymore waves like the first one, but she paddled into a couple that were a bit bigger. It was a great morning to just be out in the surf and splashing around.
After our session we wandered into town, found some platelunch, and then made our way back along the beach. Sue collected some shells and bits of seaglass. By the evening we were both tired and sun-burnt, so we cooked up some marlin and had a quiet night at home.
Tuesday
Tuesday morning I was scheduled to meet Bruce and Greg for dawn patrol. I didn't oversleep this time. I got up and waxed the board while watching the grey outline of surf roll into Publics. I knew a swell was due today, but it obviously hadn't arrived. I climbed back into bed thinking I'd rather paddle out when the waves come up.
And come up they did. I watched Tonggs most of the day. Around 1:00 the first sets started arriving. They became more consistent as the afternoon wore on, but they were competing with a rising tide which worked against them. By 2:30 I decided it would be better to cope with the high tide and a lineup full of tourists, than to wait for better conditions and the pau hana crowd. It was a pretty good session. I was able to find a decent lineup marker and keep from drifting in between sets. I pooched one takeoff, but caught my fair share of waves. A good session, and a long one; I was out for about two hours.
Clay picked us up in the evening and we went downtown to Greg and Janice's condo for dinner and lots of geek conversation.
Wednesday
The swell is still holding, and is supposed to get bigger tomorrow. I'll probably paddle out in the next hour or so. And maybe we'll get Sue out for another surf lesson later on.
On edit: I paddled out for a two-hour session. The sets were nice, but inconsistent. I don't think Tonggs is catching the swell as well as some other breaks.
On Surf Heights
In one of the first posts I mentioned that wave heights here in Hawai`i now use 'Mainland' measurements. I've always thought that while having some standard measurement size is probably good for surf-forecasts, it would be better to have a different nomenclature for surf stories. If I say to someone that it was 6' that doesn't capture my mindset while I was out there. For some people 6' would be terrifying, for others not worth paddling out. I suggest we should use...
MondayMonday morning I was scheduled to meet Ken and Greg for dawn patrol down at Canoes. For the first time in my life I missed a scheduled DP session. I woke up around 7:30 or so, way past time.
I still wanted to get out in the water, so after Sue was done working we put her on the surfboard and I took my boogie board and we paddled out to Inside Tonggs. We found a fairly secluded area and Sue caught the very first wave that came along! Okay, I gave her a little push, but I think she would have caught it anyway. It was a nice little left and she rode it a good ways. Hootah. We gradually worked our way out to the outside. Sue didn't catch anymore waves like the first one, but she paddled into a couple that were a bit bigger. It was a great morning to just be out in the surf and splashing around.
After our session we wandered into town, found some platelunch, and then made our way back along the beach. Sue collected some shells and bits of seaglass. By the evening we were both tired and sun-burnt, so we cooked up some marlin and had a quiet night at home.
Tuesday
Tuesday morning I was scheduled to meet Bruce and Greg for dawn patrol. I didn't oversleep this time. I got up and waxed the board while watching the grey outline of surf roll into Publics. I knew a swell was due today, but it obviously hadn't arrived. I climbed back into bed thinking I'd rather paddle out when the waves come up.
And come up they did. I watched Tonggs most of the day. Around 1:00 the first sets started arriving. They became more consistent as the afternoon wore on, but they were competing with a rising tide which worked against them. By 2:30 I decided it would be better to cope with the high tide and a lineup full of tourists, than to wait for better conditions and the pau hana crowd. It was a pretty good session. I was able to find a decent lineup marker and keep from drifting in between sets. I pooched one takeoff, but caught my fair share of waves. A good session, and a long one; I was out for about two hours.
Clay picked us up in the evening and we went downtown to Greg and Janice's condo for dinner and lots of geek conversation.
Wednesday
The swell is still holding, and is supposed to get bigger tomorrow. I'll probably paddle out in the next hour or so. And maybe we'll get Sue out for another surf lesson later on.
On edit: I paddled out for a two-hour session. The sets were nice, but inconsistent. I don't think Tonggs is catching the swell as well as some other breaks.
On Surf Heights
In one of the first posts I mentioned that wave heights here in Hawai`i now use 'Mainland' measurements. I've always thought that while having some standard measurement size is probably good for surf-forecasts, it would be better to have a different nomenclature for surf stories. If I say to someone that it was 6' that doesn't capture my mindset while I was out there. For some people 6' would be terrifying, for others not worth paddling out. I suggest we should use...
Chrispy's Subjective Wave Heights
- Flat - Not worth paddling out
- Small - Flat but I paddled out anyway
- Fun - Just below my comfort zone
- Perfect - Exactly the right size
- Big - Above my comfort zone.
- Huge - I really shouldn't have paddled out.
- Out of Control - I didn't paddle out.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Kani Ki Ho`alu
As mentioned in an earlier post, August is a month of various festivals around the island. This past Sunday they held the Ki Ho`alu (Slack Key) Festival. Although the festival was not a reason for coming here in August, it was certainly an added bonus once we selected that month for travel. This is the fourth slack key fest I've attended, at various locations, over the past couple of decades. This year it was held at the Bandstand at Kapiolani Park.
The performers were up in the shade of the bandstand, surrounded by bright sunlight, so the only way to get a good picture was to practically climb into their lap and use a flash. I decided against that. Instead I'm offering a couple of pictures to show the setting. 
And even a picture to show the company. From left to right is Sue, Janice, Greg, Bruce, Irene, and Clay. Not pictured is all of the ono food everyone brought, including Sue's cream puffs.
For the first time, the show was carried live on a webcast at Lava.net. It's worth listening to Taimane Gardner, a 17 year-old ukulele player who was just amazing. Actually the whole show is worth a listen. At one point Led Ka`apana brought out all of the students from a slack key workshop which was held last week. I had considered signing up for it,and if I had I would have been up on stage with Led, playing Slack Key Lullabye. Oh well.
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