Ridiculously Windy

Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 9:30 am HST

The last couple of days have been ridiculously windy here on Maui. I totally skipped even going to the beach at all on Thursday after seeing the average wind readings in the mid 30s and gusts over 40.

Yesterday held promise of slightly lighter winds and it turns out the morning and early afternoon sessions were reasonable, but still required small sails - 4.2 for guys and sub-4 for ladies.

The mid- and late-afternoon sessions however, got silly windy again. I got on the water around 2:00 with 4.2, completely wound out, even with max downhaul and outhaul. I'm certain I could have been well-powered on a 3.7. The water was a bumpy mess inside the reef, but I was pleasantly surprised to find some wind swell setting up in a decent direction for down the line at times. Would have been fantastic fun had it not been so gusty and bumpy. I toughed out about a half an hour overpowered just to try to take advantage of the swell. Then sanity and reason took charge and I headed in.

Winds are supposed to start mellowing out some time this weekend. Then on Monday or Tuesday winds will drop off to light and variable for a few days before returning late next week.

Summer Sailing Continues

Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 9:45 am HST

Summer-like conditions continue here on Maui with moderate to strong trade winds and no waves aside from small wind swell. Tuesday was another day of moderate wind with 5.0ish conditions for most guys and 4.0ish conditions for the ladies.

Yesterday we saw the wind ramp up into the nuclear range at times - overpowered 4.2 at times for me, and then at times mellow 4.2. Only backside riding stuff up at Camp One and some good ramps at times too.

Winds are supposed to be very strong today too, but so far they're pretty mellow. Looks like trades should hang around through the weekend and then next week it looks like we may get another period of light, stagnant conditions like we had a couple of weeks ago.

Summer Sailing

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 10:45 am HST

Predominantly summer sailing conditions the last few days. Saturday - powered up 4.7 under sunny skies and summer-like waves, only small windswell at Camp One. Sunday was another spectacular day weather-wise. Went to Sugar Cove to avoid the Kanaha crowds and conditionsand it looked fantastic. But, I just felt too lazy and was content to just sit and watch other people sail. That's a sure sign that you're getting enough sailing in your life, you go down to sail, it's a beautiful day, the wind is nice and steady and you decide you just don't need to go out. It's a great feeling.

Yesterday we had hazy, filtered sunshine again. Went to Kanaha and rigged 4.7. A bit too light so I came in and rigged the 5.0 instead. Much better. I found the wind to be a bit erratic - up and down and pretty shifty initially, but it settled down a bit. There were some occasional sets at Uppers, but pretty sporadic. Lots of people up there competing for them.

Looks like trade winds should continue through the the week and probably get back into the very strong range later this week. Not much to look forward to for waves this week. We're definitely transitioning to summer sailing with long periods of moderate to strong wind and rare north swells.

If you're coming to Maui for an extended stay and need some gear, check out the gear for sale section. I just put up my big wave board for sale the other day, a 2008 Tabou Da Curve 95 Liter prototype. This is basically a custom Matt Pritchard wave board - super light and super turny on a wave. It's got the 73 Da Curve graphics, but it's a 95 liter version that never made it into production. It's in fantastic shape. Check it out if you're looking for a big wave machine. $800 OBO.

There's also still some good deals on sails, including a 2005 Simmer 4.5 Vision that's only been used twice. Virtually new. This could be your go-to sail here in the summer time for most guys.

Hazy Hookipa Video

Friday, May 2, 2008 at 11:30 am HST

A hazy day at Hookipa, with cranking winds and moderate surf, featuring Ross Williams, Kevin Pritchard, Kai Katchadorian and a girl name Lee (Goya sail) who was stoked at the prospect of seeing herself on video at Hookipa.

Hazy Hookipa Video

Winds cranked again yesterday - 4.7 and some nice waves in the morning, then powered up 4.2 in the afternoon with the waves not quite as nice but still great ramps for orbital air.

Today, looks like the winds is already blowing in the 4.5 range for guys and sub-4.0 for the ladies. Winds are supposed to back down a bit this weekend, but then they were supposed to back down yesterday and today and they really haven't.

Hookipa Photos

Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 7:30 am HST

Here's a few photos from Hookipa yesterday. Sky was a bit overcast with high clouds so the lighting conditions weren't very good most of the time.