The smokin spring and summer Maliko report

[peterp]

Today was feast - 25knots+ and runs everywhere from start to finish. Aussie invasion, Saffa invasion, Japan, Germany, Brazil - guys and gals from everywhere.

It was epic! So stoked to be here, the 14' was heaps of fun, surfing off the tail and linking left and right - much better with wind on it - but I guess that's the same as at home......STOKED!!!!

I think Dave said Livio nearly beat his own course record....and tomorrow is supposed to get even better....yeah baby!

[covesurfer]

Peterp, that sounds awesome! I knew you'd be stoked when the wind came back!

I rode a 17 and a 16 for Maliko and love the glide of the longer boards but a 14 frankly feels like a big surf board to me and I kind of like that. I don't think I'd mind paddling just about anything on a windy Maliko run though.

Sounds like a really cool day with paddlers from everywhere! Hope to read your windy paddle reports in the upcoming days!

[peterp]

Here is vid of GPS data from my Mobii Motion - looks like I could straighten out line a bit. Red snake is run on the 7th and Blue snake is yesterdays run. Yesterdays run took 1hr24min from start to finish points in vid.

Frothing for today....

Mobii Malikoruns

[PonoBill]

It's a lake here today. Have fun.

[headmount]

House rattled all last night (it's a termite palace not a bunker) and at 6:30 am it was full white caps out there.  Southbay, I'm just waiting till 8 to call you (to be polite) but lets's go early.  Lighting is off the charts when it's this early.  Maliko is full-on today... like right now

[covesurfer]

peterp, that's a good time - you were 1:17 and change to the harbor entrance. It must have been a great run! The slow run is just about the exact time I had on the day that the wind quit off Baldwin Beach and the conditions turned to sloppy lumps that were difficult to catch with any consistency. Have fun out there today, I looked at the forecasts and it's gonna be smokin'!

[headmount]

So it blew hard all night and this morning was whitecapping at sunrise.  I was pumped.  Dave Kissane came by around 9 and we could see the ocean at the end of my street was already full blown.  Dave looked like he'd been training hard and was leaner than he was last year.  He went with Livio yesterday and that's a statement in itself.

Chatting with Dave got me really excited and set my head into doing two runs.  Connected up with Southbay, a Zoner I'd never met.  Turned out to be a local boy, that had just moved back here after being on the mainland since after high school.   Tom Wolf said you can't go home again but he has moved back and today he got to reap the rewards of being in top paddling shape from his time in California.  Plus he has a M2M under his belt from last year.

We launched our Bullets at just after 11am.  Wind had been gusting over 40 since 10am and continued to do so all afternoon.   First run with Southbay was incredible.  Hoped I was going to be able to keep up with a very fit  thirty-three old.  Right out of the gate he went out much farther than me and was gliding great.  Amazingly, in the time it took us to get to Hookipa, we had switched places and I was outside riding my comfort zone with rights on a east wind.  Glides were spectacular until Upper Kanaha which was a tad crossed up for about a mile, then lined up very well for the last few miles.  Felt better than I have in a long time, since before PBill left town.  Two high speed falls, one with a board grab and rapid redeployment, almost seemed like I knew what I was doing for a moment.  Been doing burpees on the beach and they paid off in that moment.  Southbay seemed stoked to be back home.

Second run was with my pal who used to be Southbay's baseball coach in high school.  He's a grandpa as well and it was good to know he has all the pains I have.  Tide was higher and less crossed up at Uppers.  Section to harbor entrance was as good as it gets.   The 4pm readout when we finished run number two was 45mph gust.   Stunning day and I'm not that wasted after two.

Tons of trucks loaded with SUBs traveling up and down Hana Hwy... as many as cars as with wndsrfrs.  It's kinda cool to see since there's absolutely no worry about the ocean getting crowded.  Great that so many have come from so far to do this.   M2M this weekend has a huge turn-out.  Wind is supposed to back off from current nuke levels but still be blowing plenty good enough.

[covesurfer]

Great report. Lots of energy happening over there. You can feel it through the story in the post.

[DavidJohn]

Less words and more vid... Please.. 

DJ

[Southbay]

That was the best run I have ever done!  Thanks HM for waiting for me.  We have to do that again soon!  The wind was so insane today...dropped into one and had a full on surfing bottom turn going left. I could have probably dragged my hand on the face it was so big. Also, I did a couple full speed pearl dives that sent me over the handle bars big time!  Every time I thought I may be able to be able to catch HM, I fell, and he just sailed on. He ended up smoking me....well done!  Can't wait to get a few more under my belt before the race this weekend.

Near the end of the run, maybe after that big bottom turn, I felt like I was always turning left, and had to hold the rudder to the right.  Finished the run, and briefly looked at it, but didn't notice much.  When I got home I noticed that the right cable on the A.S.S. system was completely detached!  I am lucky that I made it back before it completely stopped working. Looks like a pretty minor fix (on land).  Hoping I can get to SIC in the morning. 

All in all, Awesome, and thanks again to Headmount for showing me the line! 

Southbay

[Kissa]

Was good to catch up Bill and glad you got out there.
I did a couple of runs today. The first was a certainly my best maliko ever.
Everyone was absolutely smoking. There were SUPs everywhere. Must of been 20 paddlers representing about 10 different nations - v cool.
I mainly paddled the course with Kelly Margetts and Marcus Tardrew (sp?) from oz. Was so much fun mucking around on the runs together. It was kinda like skiing a times - just big slopes that you could do anything on. Lots of stalling on the back of the boards...just waiting for that little opening that would allow you to accelerate through to the next trough. We just don't this sort of stuff in oz so it was very cool to share it with a couple of mates.
Ran into Livio in Paia after. He did a mid-arvo run. Livio times all his runs and lets just say it was very fast - in excess if averaging 10mph. It is a shame we will not have smoking conditions for M2M. He is just so awesome when it is nuking.
As for photos / video DJ - good ole Iron Phil had the headcam out again today so you never know.

[PonoBill]

Southbay, see if Mark has any of the plastic nuts instead of metal. I like them a lot better, they stay put and don't get corroded into place.

Good to hear you guys are having fun. Hot and still in the gorge today, I did a little flatwater stuff, but we're waiting for wind now.

[peterp]

Here is video of GPS track from yesterdays run compared to day before that - much tighter line, so much so, that I had to pinch a little to get back out. You can see me changing course in line with airport runway.

We went straight through Kanaha and all the Poleboarders and if there had been any kind of swell it would have been trouble as the tiny windswells were breaking meters to the left of us.

Not sure if this is too tight? I felt the pinching bit did slow us down a bit.

You can also see wind was stronger in harbor as I was seeking any refuge I could find - having no steering sucks in there.....

No-one overtook us yesterday - helps when you take a 20minute head start....

TighterLine Maliko 9 July 2013 - 30knots East

[LaPerouseBay]

Not sure if this is too tight? I felt the pinching bit did slow us down a bit.

Less than 1k offshore at the airport is close by my standards.  It's all a matter of how you feel in there - whether or not you can make use of the bombs before they push you in to the breakers. 

The tide is high, so you should have plenty of water.  Be careful if the tide is low, it can dredge in there.  Some days shooting the reef has a slow section for me.  Next day, same time, same wind - zip right through.  It's a mystery to me.  I just relax and go with the flow.  I can feel if the tide is working on the south shore, but not maliko.  The experienced north shore guys can feel it.  They know when they are supposed to get glides.  If they don't get 'em, it's the ocean.     

The tide will be about the same on the 20th.  I hope it blasts again for you all.     

No-one overtook us yesterday - helps when you take a 20minute head start....

You did about 1:11 to the entrance.  Very impressive on a 14.  You guys must have had some great runs.  If you had time to stick around and learn the run, maybe a bullet and some lessons from Jeremy, you guys would kill maliko.  That millers run video was incredible.  On 14's!  Amazing.   

[LaPerouseBay]

Here is my line from last Sunday.  It was lighter conditions, maybe 15 knots.  This is an inside line for me.  750 meters offshore at the airport.  I'm usually further out, about 1200m to 2km, depending on conditions. 

Soft topper white foamies were breaking just like it says on the map.  Note how I zigged out to play it safe, even in small wind.  I've only been truly mowed once in ski.  Knock wood.