Farroaming!

The Watchful Eye!  Whew! The last two days have been full throttle. Both mornings we've hit Ho'okipa early in the AM to try and score some smooth waves. Ho'okipa has had a tendency to get windy and choppy fairly early. This morning, Chris woke us up extra early because he had am early "spin-class" with the gym hottie. He's making the best of his knee rehab! Both days, Ho'okipa has just murdered me physically. The conditions weren't the best "wind" wise but we went for it anyways. I ended up getting stuck on the inside count it... 4 times today and by the end of it I was just beat. Catching a Ho'okipa wave, priceless! Boost of the Day! (click on it) Yesterday the wind was blowing on the south side (right in front of Quincy's house) so we decided to do a down-winder from upper Kihei to Quincy's house (a couple miles). We made Shane come with us and he had some great success. We kited for almost 4 hours straight as we had the

One Man Canoe - Pegasus The Argentinians Makena with the Boyz Artzy Pic of the Day Radio pick of the day was Christopher's favorite, "Firework" by Katy Perry. Today was super mellow as there wasn't any wind. Yesterday at the end of the day, my kite completely deflated when I was on the outside. I accepted the fact that I was going to have to swim in and drag my stuff with me but somehow the kite relaunched itself and I was able to make it in. When we were leaving the beach, Woody Harrelson pulled up in an eco-friendly Bug and asked if the wind was still good. I replied "nay". To fix my kite I spent a bunch more hours finding leaks. I think I've finally fixed it. After many frustrating hours slaving over my kite I decided to take Quincy's one man canoe "Pegasus" out for a paddle. The boat can catch any size wave so you get the longest rides on ripple sized waves. I saw some more turtles and tried to get close to take a picture

Shakas All Around!  Sunburn Prognosis - My Back=Semi-Lobster GoBro Kiting! Yesterday Chris showed up ready for some rays. We picked him up from the airport after surfing Ho'okipa early in the AM and went straight to the beach. We've been jamming to 90s radio everyday since we got Peekaboo who is lacking a CD player. Prince and Ace of Base " The Sign " have been the favorites of the trip thus far. The last two mornings Shane and I surfed some tasty waves at Ho'okipa. Ho'okipa consistently has the biggest surf and is a sea turtle feeding ground so you have to watch out for land mines when you're ripping down the line. Both mornings the wind has picked up before noon at Ho'okipa so we head to Kanaha Beach to get our kite on. So Fuerte!  The wind has been very strong the last two days and I've been logging hours on the water. The waves add a whole new element to kiting for me Back home we kite on a river and we don't have the luxury of p

Another Classic Maui Sunset "Peekaboo" Kite Repair Fiasco This is what Shane told me when I wiped out kiting which nearly claimed my shorts. Shane and I picked out our new rental ride. Officially dubbed "peekaboo" because the tint on the windows is out of control. Definitely a drug running car. Friday, Quincy and I finally got out kite gear all situated and ready. When I went to launch my kite, it was completely flat. So annoying as I know this is a really hard fix. I decided to deal with it later. I rushed to the Naish Dealer across the street where Coach (my ski coach when I was a wee tot) hooked it up with a brand new 2011 Naish Bolt. All I was told was to "be careful with it and don't crash it in the waves" as he doesn't demo these kites to just anyone. Famous last words! When I was launching my kite a friend on the beach told me to take it easy in the waves because they are really firing. I was so pumped to finally be on the water kit

Honolua Bay Our Hiking Trail Whew! Today we woke up super early and headed to the upper west side of Maui in search of perfect waves. Honolua Bay for me is the double black diamond of surfing and today it was firing. I didn't have too much luck with this wave as it was very crowded and the locals have the spot dialed.   There will always be another day... tomorrow! After Honolua, we hiked down this treacherous path (which we made) to the other side of the bay so Quincy could score a cool angle of the surfers for his portfolio. Also tomorrow, my buddy Shane arrives and we're getting a rental car which will be a blast. The wind forecast is looking solid tomorrow. Shane and I are hoping to get some kiting in at Kanaha Beach. We heard from local kiters that the waves are breaking 30+ ft on the outside Kanaha reefs. I'm hoping to check this out myself! Below are pictures from Quincy's house.  

Today Quincy and I started our day off with a stand-up paddle sesh at "Quincy's Beach" (beach right in front of his house). I managed to fall in about 15 times due to the chop and size of his little stand-up board. Quincy ran over a lazy turtle (no harm done) while shredding an ankle sized wave. While the wind continued to get stronger I was getting antzy to go kiting. Little did I know Quincy didn't own a kite so we rushed into town to fix this debacle. The wind and waves have been funky due to the weird weather this year in Maui so the wind died as quickly as it had picked up. We decided to end the day at our trusty Makena Beach with a skimboarding sesh. Almost forgot! Tomorrow, the swell of the year is supposed to smash the north-west beaches and everybody is PUMPED! My favorite thing about Maui and surf towns in general is the "buzz" you feel when there is a new swell coming. Not a physical buzz, I'm mean the buzz of others whispering about it, the r

I'm in the first leg of my very long journey. I'll be studying abroad in Brisbane Australia in March. I decided I should go to Maui before and get some kitesurfing and surfing in before I'm off to life "Down Under". I just arrived in Maui after a quick direct flight from Portland. After waiting at the wrong baggage claim for 30 minutes biting my fingernails I thought my travels were off to a bad start. My USC kite and surf buddy Quincy picked me up at the airport and brought me straight to Makena (Big Beach) for some skimming and swimming. For a cool down we went and ran the King's Trail to La Perouse Bay. Turns out running in DC sneakers is rough on the ankles! I brought my trusty GoPro (waterproof camera) along and these are some of the shots I took. This is my buddy Quincy shredding on his skimboard Makena (Big Beach) barrel shot on the GoPro