The smokin spring and summer Maliko report

[PonoBill]

I think that's one of my challenges in getting a higher average speed (besides my fat butt)--I love the big drops. I know that when you fall out of one you pretty much stop unless you manage to find something new just as you are slowing. I'll chase a big drop and let three easy glides go. A little discipline might be in order. I'm into the smaller bumps but only as a way to increase speed to get the big ones. Jeremy says "chase the little bumps and the big ones take care of themselves."

[PonoBill]

Good one today. Unexpected. As we pulled out of Maliko in light wind Boyum said "damn, I should have taken that guy today instead of yesterday." Microseconds later King Neptune took offense and stuck his trident into the water. I went across camp one without really paddling. Just dragging a paddle, hanging on and steering. Pretty sure that any newby would have been pooping their pants (you have to read that with an Arnold Schwarzenegger accent). I had a good run going with only one fall right up to Kanaha, and then I fell five hundred times.

[headmount]

Grey day so it fooled us before the launch. Big water once we all got out there.  Very technical.  Amazing for me, almost fell many times but didn't fall once.

Gung ho group.  LPB snuck up behind me like one of those new electric cars and spooked me.

[LaPerouseBay]

Whoops, it wasn't intentional.  Fun run for sure.  Nice glides all the way.   

[XLR8]

We had a few good DW days last week,  then the wind died again when a low caused light south winds that brought only VOG from the BI and very little surf  on saturday. 

These south winds (Called Kona winds around here) are really a KO.  JUst hanging around the house I felt like crap... no energy, congested, and a achy.  Visibility, which is usually to the horizon, was limited to a mile or two.  Landmarks like Haleakala and West Maui disappeared. 

With these conditions there was a Maui to Molokai race put on by the MCKC  this last saturday.  From what I heard there were two participants from the SUP category.  Young Travis and not so young Ron. (50+) Head winds and side chop conditions were described as brutal and their efforts were awesome in my book. 

Ron is already a hero.  He teaches speech at MCC for the last 20 yrs and deserves some kind of medal.  "Was one complete sentence.  Put da big letter at the beginning and da kine period at da end.  Subject, verb.  Wassthat?" 

Anyway Ron finished in over 6 hrs. which is remarkable given the conditions.  He had tried to draft PBill and me into doing it when we saw him last week when the conditions were great.  But we knew the forecast and just shook our heads.

Today the breeze is already beginning to blow in my window and I'm hopeful for a DW run.  At the very least my headache has gone away.

I was enjoying following Ron's paddle that day.  He comes to the Midwest and takes us to school each summer, paddling with the BlkBox race team.  We call him Coach Ron.  His sister Mary has won the women's division of the Midwest WPA series two years in a row with two perfect seasons (6 wins, 6000 pts)

Our friend Dave from Detroit Surf kept us in the loop on Ron's progress, though he said it was very difficult to keep track of the paddlers from land.  It did not sound like the type of downwind run I am hoping for when I might finally get to visit at the end of this year.

We were stoked and feeling much respect for Ron for his paddling accomplishment that day.

[headmount]

I respect Ron for what he did but a run that long, in those conditions is like marching into Russia in the winter.  Aside from the danger of bonking from any number of reasons, it's very possible to kill the most important thing you have.... your stoke.

[PonoBill]

Looking at your video, Larry, brings home how different the experience is from what it looks like through a camera lens. It appears like a nice, easy, safe, low effort run. I think that's the reason relatively inexperienced folks get to Maui and want to do a Maliko run. The video makes it look easy. Then you paddle out of the gulch and it's a whole different thing. Yesterday was pretty insane, and in the video it looks like a walk in the park.

Its a good thing most get someone like Bill Boyum to guide them and keep them from smashing up a board or getting swept onto a reef. We might have lost a few folks by now if they didn't.

[headmount]

Today another low has settled in and we're back in the doldrums.  VOG is slowly moving in and the ocean looks like a mill pond. 

Startling contrast to yesterday.

[PonoBill]

Actually, I'm seeing whitecaps and swell moving from my house, but that might die off. I'm going to load up the Hobie tandem and take Diane for a beach day. We'll see how that works out. In other news, the autopilot version of the radio rudder is ready to be installed, and I built a chamber inside my F16 to hold everything. The servo wire now travels inside the board and everything is well sealed. I'll probably have most of the bugs out juest in time to head for Hood River and start over.

[Fitzsup]

I've been following this thread for a while now, we will be moving to Kihei in early July and I get so pumped up about it when I watch the videos posted here. (It's 34 degrees outside at my house today) Anyway, just wanted to drop in and say I look forward to potentially meeting, and learning from some of the folks that contribute and read this regularly. 

[LaPerouseBay]

Its a good thing most get someone like Bill Boyum to guide them and keep them from smashing up a board or getting swept onto a reef. We might have lost a few folks by now if they didn't.
 

Yes, It's about time for the safety lecture.  First time maliko paddlers beware (south shore too).  

It's not like the video.  

First timers need some tips, I don't care how strong you are.  

I escorted Anabelle Anderson on her first maliko run, years ago.  For those of you that don't recognize the name - she's a seasoned pro.  She won the BOP last year.  Anyhow, she jumped the shuttle at the last minute - just arrived for the big races.  It was her first time on a 17-4 bullet -steering was on the wrong side.  

The wind was cranking.  

When we heard it was her first maliko, the experienced paddlers glanced around to see who could tag along with her.  I had the time (and she's beautiful), so off we went.  Long story short, she did fine, only fell a few times.  She never got the feel of the board, it was too windy.  The entrance to the harbor was tough to see.  The worst part of the story was how she launched.  

It's important to stay right as you go out, the wind pushes hard to the left and it's shallow over there -  often breaking on some nasty rocks.  Well, she got on her board and immediately dashed straight to the left.  I yelled to her as early as I could, she almost got worked on the rocks.  Then we had a nice chat about what to avoid, should we get separated.  Fun day.  She's a pistol.  I remember her yelling at me in the harbor as I was paddling on my knees (the side wind was brutal)  "Get up on your feet!  Stand up like a man!"  Very bright young lady, excellent ambassador for the sport.   

A few weeks ago our group included a very talented ski paddler (a tourist). Super strong paddler - like Anabelle - far better than me.  We did a maliko in light wind, everything was fine, no falls.  Then another in higher wind.  The wind got him the second day.  He couldn't get back in the boat without assistance.  Lucky he only fell 5 times.  The other paddler in our group was strong enough to help him.  If it had been up to me, we may have lost the boat.  Big NW swell that day.  

  

[Fitzsup]

Perhaps I'm the cautious exception, but it looks far from easy to me on the video's.  Experts frequently have the ability to make something extraordinary look somewhat effortless - but I'm pretty sure my video would look disastrous if I were to show up and paddle into that.

My plan is to get plenty of mentorship and instruction in safer waters and humbly work my way...as long as it may take... into a Maliko DW. 

[PonoBill]

Fitz, you really won't recognize the place from the videos. It's really quite safe with a guide, and any strong paddler that can handle big chop and can deal with fear without panicking can do it--with a guide.

Of course when most of us started there were no guides, and we paid a price in busted boards, afternoon-long swims, and moments that we really can't remember because terror pushes the reset button.

What you're never seeing in the videos because of wide angle foreshortening is that a lot of the wind swells are steady ramps, perhaps 20 feet or more from trough to peak, and the groundswells in the winter can be more than that. They really aren't any big deal, but when people see them they freeze up and can't do anything.

My first time was on Gumby, a 12 foot downwind board Bill Foote made, and I was pretty certain my "friends" had decided to kill me. I did half the run or more on my knees, and I really thought there was a good chance I was going to die. Now I would consider the conditions we were in to be a pretty good run, but 6that time it seemed simply impossible to stand on a board or even to kneel on it sometimes. It's 99 percent mental. Once you loosen up it's doable. and it's so much easier to stay on the board when it's hauling ass than when it's a cork in a very big, very angry ocean.

You're gonna love it. It's worse than crack.

[LaPerouseBay]

From the wayback machine, page 1 of my posts.  I'd been on standup for a year, but only flat water.  Maliko #1 was my first day on the north shore.  I almost drowned, but was hooked.

chan and randy were kind enough to let me tag along on a maliko run today.

/ it was a real blast, and i can't wait to do it again.  

lots to learn in that downwind stuff.  fell off at least 30 times.  

Tide was low and we finished at kanaha.  Randy and Bill Foote were chatting just before the reef, probably switching boards.  (Undoubtedly waiting for the new guy).  I eventually caught up and they made sure I got through ok.  

Jeremy was there on his 12-6 x 24 Footie.  When I got to the finish he was changed, calm, relaxed.  I felt, and looked, as though I'd just been over Niagara Falls.  I asked Randy "who is that guy? and how did he get cleaned up so fast? And how does he stand on that tiny board?"  "Oh, that's Jeremy, he's good."  Fun day.  Great memories.

[covesurfer]

Great stories! Love reading about your early runs and your memories of those experiences. This past Fall/Winter were my first experiences with downwinding on Maui. I look forward to getting more experience and competence but also recognize how special those early experiences are, especially when you go from absolutely stoked to pretty much terrified and back over and over again. It is truly addictive.