The smokin spring and summer Maliko report

[headmount]

Call me spoiled but light winds will find me on the coach, watching Meet the Press.  No interest in hot muggy slogs.  I've done it and 10 miles turns into a long haul.  One hydration pack isn't enough. 

If I want to paddle in flat water, I'd like to be in Lake Tahoe where a cool-off is right below your feet.

But if there is a little wind (there might be enough for a glide or two) I would think the inside line to be the best, right on top of the reef, although today there was a little N swell but it should be gone by sunday.

[LaPerouseBay]

Since light winds are expected at sundays' race, will your line be closer to shore or outside???

I think your wind will be good.  It won't be 'paddling optional' conditions, but still strong enough for good glides and big fun. 

If I were racing, I'd follow the early leaders.  They pull away pretty fast, but a sharp eye can spot them a mile or so ahead.  They have great knowledge of the tide.  It may be worth asking around before the race.  The paddleboard and oc veterans are wizards.  As this chart shows, the tide will be rising during your race.



The big dogs may head outside or zoom around on the inside.  It all depends on the day.  They also take different lines into the harbor based on the tide.  If the tide is draining the harbor, a current flows against some lines.  You may want to ask them about their line at the entrance.

Personally, in medium wind and a rising tide I seek the shallowest water I can find.  It's not the fastest line.  But I like it.

     

[808sup]

Inside or outside line; I think it will be a day best suited for a bullet. Too bad for me 

[PonoBill]

First you should understand that all lines of a Maliki run are "shallow" as far as waves are concerned, and the water depth is highly variable. Camp one and kanaha are reef fingers that extend ten miles to the north. We are really dealing with waves that are stacking up in both directions--from the north and from the east. The wave is not the water, it's the energy pulse, and as Larry said, it can extend down a thousand feet, though most of the waves we're dealing with are more like 3-400.

Long period swells are absolutely flatter than short period for the same height-a natural result of the profile. It's why our super short period Columbia river waves make my f18 into a lawn dart and turn the over- rockered Naish glide into the weapon of choice. 

Yeah, I like this stuff and it's the kind of thing that sticks in my geeky head. Like this morning when I was cutting a avocado and said 6.0221415 times 10 to the 23rd to Diane. Girls love that geeky humor, though she diid a good job of disguising how much it turned her on.

[pdxmike]

Hey, that's Avocado's Number!

My girlfriend would be a lot more excited if she heard me with a knife in the kitchen, and I was saying 3.14159265 instead.

[pdxmike]

6.0221415 times 10 to the 23rd is funny the first time, but most people use it constantly.

[LaPerouseBay]

Here is a link to a noa chart.  Numbers x 6 gives depth in feet.  Click the arrows at the bottom to navigate the reef.

http://www.nauticalchartsonline.com/n.c/Charts/chartViewer.html?viewChart=19342  

I would find it interesting to overlay some winter and summer gps lines on this chart.  Google earth kinda shows the reef, but I'd prefer to see the actual numbers with the red line.  The blue shading seems to follow about 30 feet in depth.  It's cool to see the numbers drop at Pauwela point.  It helps me understand the monsters during the Keanae race.  



South shore is looking good.  NE winds have been steady and fun.  
    

[headmount]

We're in the mist of a great roll of great conditions... as evidenced by the great race over the weekend.  This shot was taken by Jeremy yesterday, I'm in the white shirt and the head you can just barely see behind the same wind swell where it's capping is my friend Jimmy Lewis.  We were both on 14's and doing fine... two old geezers out for a stroll.  Also cool taking a break from the radical edge of the Bullet and just cruise on my Cadillac.  Jeremy's new 14' board looked fast and he's offered to let me take her for a spin.

[headmount]

All the new arrivals and on-island contestants are enjoying epic downwind conditions this whole week for their warm-ups for the Naish race on sunday.  The wind is forecast to lighten starting tomorrow but we'll keep our fingers crossed....

[LaPerouseBay]

Call me spoiled but light winds will find me on the couch/

Congrats to all that raced the Naish maliko today, sounds like it was a great time.  Cool to see that Dave K. won again.  

I was leery of less than ideal winds at maliko, so I stayed home on the south shore and sat on my couch (oc-1).  Mother nature switched the fan on high for a smoking run to the ManaKai.  Recorded a personal best for this run.  Average speed of 9 mph matched all but a handful of maliko runs.  8+ mph is what I look for on my graphs.  This one has some good runs for an intermediate paddler like myself.  Great fun.  NE winds have been favorable for the south shore recently.  

Today was not what I'd call a 'true' NE wind - where the pressure gradients on the map are truly pointing NE.  The wind is less likely to switch on 'true' NE days.  Lately the pressure gradient lines have been E but weird thermals wrap a  NE down the south shore.  The drawback is that they can switch direction.  

A few days ago it switched direction mid-run.  It was so bad we headed back to the start. Then it switched again so we paddled toward the finish.  Then it switched again, but we pressed on.  Took 1:25 at max effort to finish that one.  Today was 0:45, paddling optional.  

A word to the wise on south shore runs - if you are on a standup, be careful.  Oc-1's are more forgiving.  Standups can be a handful in contrary winds.
  


 

[LaPerouseBay]

Please be careful on the south shore if the wind may switch.  Here's what I meant by pressure gradient lines not pointing NE.  In the map below, the line is SE.  Local conditions may blow NE and the map can say SE.  Safest bet is when the map lines are NE.  That's what I call a 'true' NE wind.        

Wind goes clockwise around high pressure, counter clockwise around lows.  The lines are pressure gradients and indicate general wind direction.  As you can see below, the line pointing at Hawaii is SE.  Little blue arrows are also wind direction.  

http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/graphics/npac.gif

[LaPerouseBay]

Fun maliko today, came within a whisker of breaking the hour.  Wind was nice and steady, perfect for running down SUP's in my boat. 

Travis paddled Jeremy's 24" Foote maliko 14 today, no trouble at all.  They will use the skinny board in the channel this weekend. 

Maui teens are shredding maliko.  The next few years should be interesting.  Here are a few pics Jeremy took of Riggs Napoleon in/on oc-1. 

[headmount]

Hot damn... that was cool.

[LaPerouseBay]

Riggs is pretty amazing.  Top 20 in the Naish race at age 12. 

I got smacked in the shoulder by one of these goofballs today.  It was so quick I had to sniff my shoulder to make sure it happened.  Sniff sniff, yep, that was a fish.



One of the guys in our group was paddling 6 man when 4 mullets bounced off their boat.  A big one landed in Dave K's lap.  He was startled and tossed it back in the ocean.  Hawaii is so amazing. 

[Argosi]

Hit in the shoulder- lucky it wasn't your head. People have gone blind from flying fish injuries. One of the hazards of paddling in paradise.