Maui 2011, day 9

Today the wind was supposed be quite light so we decided to take a trip to the south of the island and do some surfing. First we went to the Hi-Tech store to rent a longboard from swedish guy Alex. We also brought one of Yasu´s SUP's and the boogieboards. Rasmus wanted to go to baby beach instead - he is always a bit conservative. Anyway we ended up at Launiupoko after a 30 minute drive and of course the kids loved this place too; nice little beach surrounded bu green areas and shading trees and small clean waves up to thigh high. The fact that there was almost no wind makes this place a lot hotter than the north shore.

Lukas went out on the 9'2" longboard and I swam out with him and helped him catch his first waves. He actually managed to stand up pretty much right away and after a while he was out paddling aTERl by himself. Unfortunately I managed to step on a samll sea urchin that went right through my wetshoe and into my foot. It must have had a lot of poison because it hurt a lot more than usual but it faded away after 10-15 minutes.

Karin and Rasmus also went out on the longboard. Karin turned out to be a natural, standing up almost directly and surfed the small waves all the wai into shore. Myself, still feeling a bit slow from my cold, went out on the 9'6" SUP. Very wonky but after a while I managed to actually SUP it. Saw a small turtle too (I was glad it was a turtle) and could paddle right up to it before ir gave med the turtle look and gently swam down underneath my board.

While most other familys had brought big trunks with food we sat there with four bananas and an apple so after a couple of hours we had to go for some food. We drove int the small village of lahaina and had a go on the local golden gull.

After some necessary shopping at Safeway we went home, changed, and went to Paia for some trick or treat. In every corner and every shop the shopowners gave away candy to the kids. This was the best Halloween ever said Rasmus 30 minutes and half a kilo of candy later.

Maui 2011, day 8

After six days sailing in a row my body felt like taking a break so this day no sailing for me. Actually I decided to stay out of the water and in the shade as much as possible to prevent a beginning cold from getting any worse. To start off easy we went to Baby beach, a perfect beach for kids with its protecting reef creating a natural 100m swimming pool but full of aquarium fish instead of clorine.

One thing we didn't expect to find there was a 40 foot sailing yacht right on the reef. The boat had been abandoned at sea some 600 miles east of Hawaii and hit Maui on Thursday!! After a couple of hours at baby beach we drove into Paia and had a late lunch at Cafe Mambo for the second time this week.

After that we drove down to Sprecks where Karin went out with 4,7 in the afternoon breeze while the kids surfed the shorebreak with their boogieboard and I stayed on the dunes with the camera.

Maui 2011, day 7

This morning we did some laundry and relaxed in the house. The weather was a bit up and down with showers followed by sunshine. We went to Hookipa at noon to watch the competition and perhaps go for a boogie board session with the kids again. Lukas went out in the waves with Karin this time (I didn't feel 100% - hope it's not a cold coming...) so me and Rasmus stayed on the beach to relax, take a swin in the natural pool and spot turtles. Actually a big turtle went up on the beach to take some sun before it went back into the turqoise water again. Lukas patiently explained to Karin the nature and secrets of being out in waves, how to catch theem and so on and actually Karin did get a few rides. Good work there, Lukas! In the afternoon the wind picked up and a few logo high sets rolled into the bay. We went to Kuau and I swimmed out the channel for the first time with 5.3. I didn't really get any nice rides though. It was a high tide and extremely choppy. Did get a couple of wipe-outs though so made me feel more familiar with the new spot. At sunset there was more rain as we went into Paia town to buy saturday candy on our way bacak to the house, dinner and a good night sleep.

Maui 2011, day 6

Friday is game day! This morning the boys woke us up asking if they could do their homework!!??? "...so that we can play more later..." When it became clear to Lukas that the LEGO StarWars game AND the game pads AND daddy's laptop were left at home he cried for half an hour while Rasmus was playing minecraft. Luckily enough fridays only happens once a week :-)

After brakfast I had to go into town to pick up the new car, a Dodge caravan Minivan with a bit more space than our Subary Forester. A also found the AT&T store and bought a sim card for local calls.

This was probably the coolest day so far, "only" 80F and a bit cloudy. In the afternoon wewent down to Kanaha with the windsurfing gear, the boogoie boards and one of Yasu's SUPs just in case. When we arrived after the ten minute drive, the wind had picked up and some swell had started to build. Karin went out with 5.3 but had to change to 4.7 and even this was too big so I went out instead. Then the wind dropped and i rigged the 5.3 again. Had a couple of nice rides and the last half hour before sunset was magic with glassy waves and only a few of us out.

Back at the house at around 6:30 for some school work and late supper. Tomorrow looks promising with more wind and a north swell coming in. Aloha!

Maui 2011, day 5

Went to Kahului in the morning to have a look in the surfshops and to by new fins for Rasmus. In the afternoon we went to Pavillions to catch some waves. Rasmus got a bit washed and decided to stay out of the breaking waves and look for turtles instead. Lukas, on the other hand, got several rides and didn't mind the washing at all. In the evening the plan was to go to the contest release party at the Quatro shop but the kids was too tired and I felt a little warm so we decided to stay home, relax and watch a film instead.

Maui 2011, day 4

This morning we stod up early and went to Hookipa beach park to snorkle with the turtles. Rasmus, Lukas and I paddled out on our boogieboards in the shelterd bay at Pavillions - and there they were, sticking their heads up just a few meters away. After a while the waves took over the interest and both Rasmus and Lukas were drawn to the small waves breaking on the inside. With a little helping push they both got nice rides all the way in. After lunch we went down the small dirt road to Sprecks and found the wind had picked up. Karin rigged 4,7 and went out sailing for the first time on Maui. Since she is till on penicillin she only sailed for 30 minutes and with loads of sunscreen on. I got to sail fully powered up with 4,7 as well. Unfortunately zero swell and a high tide made Sprecks totally flat so no riding today.

Maui 2011, day 3

Mornings on Maui is the best time of the day. Calm, fresh and no hot sun burning your skin. After breakfast and the mandatory morning school session, I went to town to get a new Laptop cable and Karin and the kids went down to the beach by the house. Found a universal cable at Walmart for $62 = 420 SEK - for a cable!!

Lunch in Paia (they do know how to make burgers in this country) and then off to Hookipa. Kids in the pool. A nice litte NE swell and slightly off shore 5.0 winds made the place look pretty nice. Unfortunately it was really over crowded and very choppy and difficult to find the right waves. In the end though, it was nice to have that first Hookipa session, but I must say Kanaha yesterday was more fun and a lot cleaner with glassier faces.

Maui 2011, day 2

Woke up at stupid oclock this morning. The kids started doing thieir school work at 4 am!!! We can not find the battery charge cable for the laptop so now I am blogging on my Nokia. Have to keep it short until we have found a new cable...Went to Hookipa beach park in the morning and the kids went swimming in the natural pool. Went back to the house for lunch. In the afternoon the wind picked up and I got a nice three hour 5,3 session at Kanaha in beautiful boom to headhigh looong lines. The kids had a nice three hour boogie board session in the shorebreak and Karin had a three hour session in the shade of the high pine trees. Also met Tormod and Sigurd. When we were about to leave Kanaha the car refused to start. Batter totally dead after five minutes playing the radio with the engine turned off. Luckily we got help to jump start the car. Have to check in at Kimo's tomorrow morning...

Maui 2011, day 1

Woke up surprisingly late and actually had to wake up the kids at 8:30. Breakfast on the balcony with a reaally nice view over the calm see with some small waves breaking on the outside reef. Ramus and Lukas were of course very keen on going for a swim so right after breakfast we all went down the small path to the white sandy beach and turqoise water. Really hot now, probably over 30C. Me and Lukas went in first while Rasmus - as always - was a bit more cautious respecting the shore break. After the swim we went back to the house for a little jet-lag mid-day nap. No wind for sailing today so after the nap we went into town and did some shopping; hallowen costumes at K-mart and then food shopping at Safeway. After that back to the house for a nice pasta bolognese in the shade of the lanai. In the late afternoon we took the car to Kanaha to see if we could find Tormod and to go for another swim while the sun set behind the cloudy mountains. Some windsurfers swimming back in told tales that there had been some sailng after all, no matter the light wind. There was still a decent swell creating head high to logo waves at uppers. Tomorrow...

Maui 2011, day 0

Arrived in Maui last night after a long and a bit stressful journey. Everything turned out fine but there is always some stress between flights and also the stress over your equipment - will everything turn up or will something be missing? Well, at last we touched down at Kahului internationa airport on Maui´s north shore, found the car after takling to Kimo over the phone, and there it was in the pitch dark parking with the keys in the secret place. No gas in the tank so we had to find a place to fill up our golden Subaru Forester. We had been promised a mini-van but unfortunately there weren´t any available at the moment. "-come in monday and we´ll see what we can do-". After a quick stop at a supermarket tah turned out to ave almost anything, except a lot of food, we arrived at the house at Camp One. The darkness is so much more intense than what we are used to at home. Here you can see a million stars, but on the other hand that´s about the only thing you can see. Our japanese landlord Yasu (a former professional windsurfer) met at the gate and showed us the apartment that was bigger than we had first imagined and really cosy too. After a couple of bowls of Cherrios and milk and half an hour of sugar high kids playing in their new bedroom, we all finally fell asleep.