week at Maui West

[alap]

just came back.

stayed at North Kanapali beach

There is a break at Kanapali South beach.
We drove around a little bit too, just to explore. West and South side of an Island - waves are very small. Got easily crowded unless you go early. And very windy too.

No real rippers (they probably dont bother).
this is the kingdom of SUPs. Vast majority are rented out. In front of every hotel there is a stand. Majority of SUPers just newbies paddling in flat water, 50% on the knees. Almost as many as those who snorkel!
Majority of the rented boards are yellow Naish.

Majority of the boards on the car roofs - SUP boards.

those who surf, also paddle huge boards (eleven footers at least), accelerate in front of the wave with 10 strokes and go straight to the beach, no concept of turning, or even straight down the line (go 90 degrees to the beach). I was ashamed to be the best surfer there. (and at the break there were some regulars, not only tourists)

I still enjoyed small waves, in a way it is a good practice, its like riding a bike very slowly or standing still on it; its not easy. Lots of walking from back to the nose and back again and then rushing to the nose, reading the wave. No aggresive turns though.

Did my first cross step to the nose and back with 180 degree turn to go out again.

if your party is surfing oriented - dont go there.

if this is a family oriented trip (as it was for me, I was scoring points for new sail and mast and board...) and you just want to escape for few hours in the morning surfing, best to stay in Kanapali south (expensive), or stay at Kanapali North and spend 45 minutes paddling to the break (as I did), or drive to and from the break in the wee hours (i didn't). There are a number of public parks south of Lahainia, but the beaches are not the best for the families IMHO.

Best swimming beach is Wailea, but no surfing there. South Kanapali beach is great for swimming too, so thats why it is expensive - you got a break and 200 meters away a nice swimming beach. South section of Noth Kanapali beach (I like how it sounds; south section of north...) is great for swimming too.

Other than surfing Maui is great of course, went to Hookipa (to watch windsurfers). Can't imagine how one can surf there in such a wind. I can imagine when there is no wind North Shore can be epic for surfing. However there is very little chance. If you windsurf and SUP and the rest of your party  tolerates this, there is nothing better than Maui North Shore - you will be busy all the time! Of course if you are a supper, there will be wind only, and if you a windsurfer there will be perfect sup conditions.

mama's fish house is great of course, much better than anything else around, although overrated (e.g. restaurants in Quebec City are much better; never been in France)

no hatred at the break, vibe is mellow (probably because there were no waves, no rippers) - I am talking about West shore again. Otherwise Aloha spirit, its an oxymoron I guess... not very friendly in general. Locals (or because this means something totaly else I should rather say permanent residents) rely on your tourist money but hate you anyways; some gladly show it.

great trip, great memories, some surfing, and some scoring points

[headmount]

You pegged it pretty well.  The West side is a trap.  There really is only scattered days when conditions are good for SUS.  I never go to the West side and usually don't chase south swells unless JC is here. 

All the action is with wind sports on the north shore and downwinding rocks.  Sorry you ran into the grumps.  There are many here and I know how it can be.  But there are also some great people who do know what aloha is.

[PonoBill]

Lots of great people, and a big double handful of jerks.

You should have let us know you were coming. We'd have dragged you off for a afternoon downwinding. That's a whole 'nother experience.

I'm not a huge Mama's fan for the food, but the place is fantastic. The architecture, the constant change (every year they rework at least one area. Last year it was the front bar. The location. the location. And the foods certainly not bad. I usually get the fish as appetizer--Kama cheeks if they have them. Of the Beef polynesian--that's pretty special. And then get the crispy duck if I'm still hungry. Good stuff.

Food isn't spectacular here. Aimed largely at Tourists. Places like Haile Maile can be great, though they run through cycles when they can be disappointing. It's hard to come from Portland, where food is worshipped, and be impressed with anything in Maui.  

The new Sushi bar in Haiku is absolutely world class though. Nuku. Tough to get into, the locals mob it every night, you might have to wait a while, but if you get lucky you'll have the lovely Ashley Baxter as your waitress. Yes, those Baxters--Connors sister, the beautiful and talented young woman that graces the Ke Nalu pages. And she's an excellent waitress.

Oh, and surfing on the westside can be good, but it's tough to beat the winds. It gets blown out so easily because the wind wraps around the end of the island. I've had some great days at S-Turns and really big fun a little Makaha, but it's rare, and timing and conditions are everything. North shore--that's where the fun is.

[starman]

 I remember my first to to Maui a looong time ago. I was by myself and had just finished sailing at Kanaha and was putting away my gear. Over on a picnic bench were about four locals, retired dudes, talking story with a beer. They see me and invite me over for a cold one and they spent about an hour with me chatting it up. Being my first trip to the islands the proceeded to explain the culture of each island. All I remember was that Maui was the "friendly island" and Kauai was the opposite but if forget the exact words. It was a really nice finish to a fun day on the water and I'll always remember how I was treated, as a tourist, by the locals that day. I think if you do have a bad experience on Maui then that person was not a "local" because Maui truly is "the friendly island".

[paidmydues]

the vast majority of people who service tourists are not from here,at least the ones that have direct contact with the tourists.They are here for a few years and then move back to the mainland.Most are only interested in your tips,and if they know that you are from Canada,well,lest just say that Canadians here in Hawaii are infamous for being bad tippers,thus"they'll gladly show it".As for "rippers",in whatever ocean activity,you will not see them at the tourist spots,you will only see tourists.

[supdiscobay]

We get over to Maui about every other year +/-.  We have never had the same conditions or experiences twice.  Always something new and exciting.  Had a bad run in with a local at Honolua Bay, one year, fortunately my 3 boys 18-26 were with me.  Didn't do anything wrong, he just wanted to fight someone.  Honolua is one of those places I learned to wait my turn and RESPECT everyone.  Most of the time we surfed south shore for the summer trips and north shore for the winter trips.  You have to be mobile and flexible on Maui, and yes wind dictates what board you use.  We stay in Kihei when we go and it is probably the best central location on the island.  Everything is within 30 minutes.  We prone and SUP, and occasionally I will rent windsurf gear and see if I still got it from 20 years ago.

Last May, we went for two weeks and never had any swell the entire two weeks. Waist high was the best day and it lasted for an hour before the wind blew it out.  So we hooked up with Headmount and got introduced to downwind runs at Maliko gulch.  These were the best days we spent on the water.  We still had a lot of fun at the cove at Kihei, Lanipoku (sp) Lahaina breakwater, Makena Landing, Laperouse Bay, 1,000 peaks, Honolua Bay.  You know the usual places. 

We are coming back this December and I know it will be different again.  I can't wait, even if there is no swell, we know we will find some board that works. And as to the food, thanks for the sushi tip PB, we always hit Sansei in Kihei, but can't wait to try Nuku.  Never been to Mama's, no reason, just tried other places.  Paia fish market is fun, and we always get pizza in Lahaina.   (Its a tradition with the family now)  Da Kitchen in Kihei had good food at a good price. We drove from Honolua to Wailuku, which was quite exciting in some spots, and had some of the best road side sold banana bread in one of the most amazing villages on the island.  It really felt like old hawaii.  Oh yes and the wind on that side of the island wrapping around to Lanai, was blasting that day.  Has anyone ever paddled around that side of the island in a downwinder?

And as to the people, very few bad eggs, not to different from paddling out on a good day in Santa Cruz, or anywhere for that matter on a good day.  Lots of aloha and I couldn't believe how many Canadiens are there.  Don't know about how they tip, but we try to help those who help us.

Congrats on your first cross step and 180 back.  it sure feels right when you do it.
Glad that in spite of the lack of swell you had a good time. This is how its been for us, and I always look forward to a different experience every trip.  So don't expect the next trip to be the same.

[alap]

You should have let us know you were coming. We'd have dragged you off for a afternoon downwinding. That's a whole 'nother experience.
 

that is exactly the reason I didn't contact you or headmount... 
as I said, the trip was mainly for my wife... one "half-day" away would ruin all hard preparation, hahaha.... and on a serious side, why even try to downwind if I can't do it on a regular basis? what happens if I like it? should I move to Maui?

my comment about Aloha spirit - dont take it out of contents, plus I am a very generous tipper... like in one of Seinfeld episodes...

it just "street" observation, you know driving, seeing how people drive, and how they react, walking on boardwalk, seeing the guy on the beach with two attack dogs, and hearing what he says...

but as I said, overall: money well spend!

[covesurfer]

... and on a serious side, why even try to downwind if I can't do it on a regular basis? what happens if I like it? should I move to Maui?

Yeah, who would do that? Oh, wait a minute.

 

[Cardiff Sweeper]

Dude. Seriously.
I love Sup surfing. D winding is hard.

[LaPerouseBay]

Oh yes and the wind on that side of the island wrapping around to Lanai, was blasting that day.  Has anyone ever paddled around that side of the island in a downwinder?

Not me, but I remember a standup race - 2 or 3 years ago.  Connor won it. Maliko to Honolua.  They got skunked on the wind that day, it was a death march.

The six man's used to race it every year.  It was called "The great Kahakuloa race"  (the village you got the banana bread in).  One year a freak storm came up as they were going round and 3 outriggers and an escort boat sank.  Nobody seriously hurt. 

Elite oc-1 and six man canoes do it all the time.  It's a standard training run for them.     

[stoneaxe]

I don't think Maui is much different from most places that are very dependant on tourists. Love/Hate...ask most Cape Cod residents what they think of tourists. While they understand how important they are to the economy...they are also glad when fall arrives and they go home.

[maui wave warrior]

Wrong time of year for west side surfing. The rippers are on the N shore mostly this time of year. From Hookipa to sandpiles you will see very skilled and talented riders on any given day when there are waves providing the wind is not too strong. D kalama and K Lenny are just a few of our residents who rip pretty good. They are in the company of many others. Too bad you were not able to really experience Maui watersports with some local residents who could really give you a taste of what Maui has to offer. Next time try to hook up with some local watermen for a day if you can. It is an experience you will never forget! 

[alap]

@ stoney: exactly! but there is no talk about Cape Cod spirit. Actually captain James Cook found out first hand about Aloha spirit, I guess... (dont want to open new can here).

@CS: ditto! not easy... so why should I try (only once!) something, that is not easy, and something that requires very special conditions, and special equipment, and something that I wont be able to recreate...

@maui wave warrior: I guess I didn't express myself properly... it is good that there were no rippers (but waves coulda be better). small waves, no rippers, go hand in hand.  and hooking up with Dave K...  eh, how exactly: hey Dave I wanna hook up with you??? or buy a lesson for thousand bucks? and the good wave for Dave or Lenny is not the good wave for myself, let me try to be objective here

and as I said: I totally enjoyed my time at Maui.... after 40 days of skiing (resort and backcountry) it was nice.

Also, from what I heard from the guys who visit Kanapali regularly (like they have timeshares, or just condo, or just travel plain and simple for last 10 years) - this was very typical, wave wise. Yes on occasion there may be nice South swell or nice North swell, but the critical word is "on occasion". Its not like there is a wave season , from what I understand. More like the same all year long (again, may be wrong here, just repeating what I heard)

[PonoBill]

That probably has more to do with when those folk use their condos (winter) than it does wave seasons. The south and west side get some wrap from north in the winter, but ther's not a lot of energy coming from the south that time of year. In summer there is, but there's island shading from Lanai and ko'olawe. It's not unusual to have head high surf on the south side, and the more exposed breaks get bigger. Some of the big surf pics from Maui are in La Perouse Bay. But no, it ain't the north shore.

[Cardiff Sweeper]

I spent eleven days in September last year on the South Shore.  I brought my 8'0" Starboard and surfed everyday without any disappointing sessions.  Surf size was anywhere from ankle to chest high+ from a Thousand Peaks to Lahaina Breakwall.
And I managed a half-downwinder with J. Riggs.  

I'd love to do it again this year.