The magic depth for downwind runs

[Seattle-Wind]

The M2M line.  The straight line from Honolua to Kamalo is 94 degrees via the map and then 107 degrees for the remaining.  The wind gets funneled  and bent a fair bit so that stretch remains tangent to the coast... most of the time.  I'll take a pic sometime looking straight down that line next time I'm over there. 

The MCKC M2M race is in April.  Right now I don't feel ready

Very interesting topic HM - last year the glides were very difficult to come-by mid channel, as you described once we passed the Kamalo Buoy it was like someone flipped a switch...you couldn't keep the board from becoming a runaway freight train. One after another the glides were non-stop.

Imagine living on Molokai and having that 10 mile stretch as your training ground, that has to be the finest downwind spot in the world. What could be better? Consistency, wind speed, direction, depth. And it's beautiful too.

Are you doing the M2M this April? I am, let the training begin  I might switch to the Bullet this year if the winds not too crazy

[PonoBill]

There's a lot of depth variation on the south side, and when the waves hit shallower water they peak up initially as the front of the wave goes slower than the back. For these short period waves the effect is not all that large, but it's there. The waves also slow down and become a lot easier to catch.

Those are very cool charts, Pierre, I pasted them into my wave notebook.

[headmount]

I wish I knew how to stitch pics together but you get the idea here.  A view of two very different runs on north and south sides of the island..  Kahoolawe lit up on the left... from up in Kula, which after these recent rains looks pretty magical.  The mystery tour on Maui.

[LaPerouseBay]

The wind was good on the south shore this evening.  Perfect direction to my destination. 

I experimented with a line more inside, closer to the reef.  The tide had been rising, which usually sets up contrary currents.  The current was there, but not strong enough to kill the glide. 

It was a fun run.  Plenty of glides, a bit steeper, requiring more changes of direction to keep going.  Average speed was about 1mph slower.  The speed chart clearly showed more peaks and valleys than usual.     

Big boats like the outside for a couple reasons.  The wind is always better out there, and the swells just work better for boats.  Also, I like the wider width of the run, rather than being pinned up against a reef.  Boats like very long, drawn out glides.  The elite boats do crazy wide zigs and zags.   

As for the magic depth, I think it depends a lot on the equipment.  The south shore is a great place to see how shorter equipment works in shorter wavelengths. 17-4 Bullets zip around my ski early in a run.  And my ski zips around an oc2.  But later on if it gets big, the 2 man has the advantage.         

[Pierre]

Thanks, All of you are lucky , guys.. I'm out at sea looking at waves and swell  without possibility to paddle and experience wavelength/fetch/depth magic combinations... so just dreaming about magic runs... and about runs in warm and windy Hawaiian waters...  quite different from my beautiful but  versatile rough and tough,  and cold home Brittany...I guess I'll have to pay a flight t your awesome island ASAP...
meantime before home and Maui I just check charts and try to find different tracks to fit each local conditions...