The Smokin' but Sometimes Fickle South Side Report

[PonoBill]

Nutty today. Wicked quick up on top, with huge drops and 35+ wind, and then after the Four Season we hit the doldrums. I kept going further out to try to stay in the wind and wound up out on the horizon somewhere. Had to cut very sharp back to shore to make Makena. that actually worked pretty well, but the rollers reminded me of what Patrick O'Brian talks about in his books of tall ships in the doldrums, with no wind but big swells, rolling their masts off and winding up as hulks. I had a no-fall run until the four seasons, and then I did face plant after face plant.

Speaking of faceplants, Steven took a bad one, broke some ribs AND cracked his board. You know you've hit hard when you crush your rail with your ribs. Randy Royse took a hit on his board that knocked the wind out of him. He had to lay around for a while on his board, so he only finished a half hour in front of me. Susy Cooney did the run on a non-rudder Naish and thought she was headed for Indonesia. The wind curved in at the end, but she didn't know. Not a happy experience. Boyum said it was her first, and I called bullshit, but then I realized the dozens of runs I've seen Suzy on have all been Malikos. South side runs seem much safer than Malikos until you're out on the horizon struggling to get in, and you realize you actually can miss the end of the island...  ...and then there's nothing else for 2000 miles.

I had a great run. Beat Loch to Makena. Of course I probably started a day ahead of him, but I don't care. I kicked his butt.

[LaPerouseBay]

Very sorry to hear about Steven's ribs.  It sure was pitching up some heaters today. 

Very bummed to hear Suzy got spooked by the winds.  Thank goodness it didn't turn offshore on us.  Who the hell was she with?  another first timer on the south shore? 

That kinda pisses me off. 

I texted everyone on our group text to STAY INSIDE today.  It turned out not to be necessary, but that wind does whatever the hell it wants to.  When it's windy like that standups are fresh meat for the not so Pacific ocean.  If the word doesn't get spread even on this island, someone is going to end up on Kahoolawe.

Ok, safety rant over.  I had a blast, editing a cool video now.  I'll post it over in the unoficial ski thread.  I don't want to wear out my welcome here.  He He.  Did a mile averaging 9.9 today cove.  Don't tell Shep.  Oh man he would have destroyed that run in an oc-2.  Big boats go ballistic on swells like that.

 

   

[covesurfer]

Wow, I had no idea that both Stephen and Randy whacked their boards so hard. That is a bummer.

Also, very sorry to hear Suzie had a bad experience. A rudder board is a big help but knowing how to work across those swells and get to the left is a must, whether you're on a rudder board or not. Choosing a safe line and always being aware of the wind and swell direction has to be your first priority.

Most of the regulars on the southside have experienced the fickle nature of the conditions over there. You have to be cautious and even though it looks benign, especially compared to Maliko with it's monster groundswells in Winter, the southside can turn dangerous and ugly very quickly.

HM, SB, LBP, PB, Kathy and I have all been caught by changing conditions but the worst that's happened is that we've had to spend extra time retrieving cars. We've been really cautious but we've also been doing runs in more and more marginal conditions when the wind is pushing out more. Those kind of conditions are not what you want to launch in if you haven't done the run a lot. 

Today, the top of the run was absolutely screaming. We kind of launched in waves of paddlers and Ralf, Bill H and I went first.  Ralf hung back and gave us a big lead, then chased us until he caught and passed us both. He got me sometime between Sarrentos and Wailea. Somewhere a little before that, Kathy went by in her ski, looking more comfortable than I'd ever seen her. I caught some amazingly good extended glides and managed to stay close enough to watch her for a few minutes. She is figuring it out, that's for sure. Totally smooth, relaxed and fast, just like she is on a board. Fun to watch her. But, she disappeared into the swells quickly.

LBP passed me somewhere around mile 4 I think. He was really moving. I was flying, for me anyway, when he went past but I couldn't even match his speed for more than a second or two. He disappeared into the rolling ocean pretty fast.

The wind was blowing out at the top of the run, and with the velocity (I'm guessing gusts over 35 mph), you could end up on a bad trajectory if you did not have a rudder and/or if you didn't realize how much you were being pushed out. On the long run to Makena, you do have the advantage of having plenty of distance in which to straighten your line out. But if the wind is really cranking and it is offshore, you really have to be cautious if you don't want to have a real bad day. Today, the wind got lighter and lighter, especially on the inside, as you got on the lower half. It also straightened out, so that the direction was nice and parallel to the coast.

I'm putting my splits on here again, it's kind of interesting to compare between days. Yesterday, I had some really amazing mile times. Today's were all slower but my overall average speed wasn't that much different than yesterday's. I fell three times, fast and hard, on the top of the run but managed to not hit the board. Not surprised Randy and Stephen clocked their boards, it was that kind of day. Felt as if a couple of my crashes were truly kamikaze.


Split
Time
Distance
Avg Speed
Summary   1:21:47.4   10.37   7.6
1   9:35.7   1.00   6.3
2   7:44.5   1.00   7.8
3   7:19.2   1.00   8.2
4   7:24.4   1.00   8.1
5   7:15.3   1.00   8.3
6   7:13.6   1.00   8.3
7   7:49.6   1.00   7.7
8   7:38.8   1.00   7.8
9   8:00.0   1.00   7.5
10   8:09.4   1.00   7.4
11   3:36.9   0.37   6.2

[headmount]

Took off with the second wave and was the tail gunner in that group.  Made it my mission to reduce the number of falls I had had the previous day and managed  only one fall the whole run.  Better sleep was the ticket.  Turkey day doesn't pay off well in the sleep department. 

Highlight of my run was the shoal off Cove Park where the wavelength got stretched to around 10-15 yds when it's normally 10 feet. It was breaking there and the white water combed the surface ultra clean.  My board was definitely going the fastest I've ever experienced.  And I still managed a good traverse across the face.  Seen this phenomenon and rode it before but never as big as yesterday.  Graph recorded 30-40mph.

Loch showed me his impact vest before we started and in retrospect it is definitely a good idea.  You crack a rib and it's hard to paddle.  BTW SR only cracked one rib but the separation was obvious.

As far as new people slip streaming into a run, who can stop them?  If they don't arrange for someone to accompany them, no one is going to wait. 

[srfnff]

Supdisobay on a fast track to Makena.

[headmount]

Looks like you guys did great yesterday.  Nice pic srfnff. 

[PonoBill]

Highlight of my run was the shoal off Cove Park where the wavelength got stretched to around 10-15 yds when it's normally 10 feet. It was breaking there and the white water combed the surface ultra clean.  My board was definitely going the fastest I've ever experienced.  And I still managed a good traverse across the face.  Seen this phenomenon and rode it before but never as big as yesterday.  Graph recorded 30-40mph.

Ah, that was you up in front of me. I saw you do that big traverse at Cove park. You went like a rocket across the whole expanse of the run. I was wondering who the heck it was.

As far as Suzy goes, I think we're all so used to her doing Malikos that no one thought about waiting and making sure it was working for her. Not that this bunch is much on waiting. I was tying my slippahs to the front of my board and when I looked up everyone was gone.

Flag is fluttering at the bunseeker.

Maui 2k says 1:00 oughta work, but any lategoers better watch their line. At 1600 the outside line will be interesting.

[PonoBill]

Wow, that was a neat run today. Should have gone to Makena. I had a big enough lead on the boats so it was probably possible, but I'd hate to get at the other end and find an empty parking lot. Very offshore, but that was kind of working for me today. I wasn't in a hurry, so I was getting big traverse runs, just screwing around. Both directions, but three lefts for every right. I dropped my truck at Sorrentos as the safety rig. But then I decided to call Diane and ask her if she wanted to get lunch at the five palms. I was starvin' Marvin. A bowl of oatmeal at 7:00 AM was all I had in the tank.

I called Diane while I was in a glide. Standing up, steering into bumps with my toe while I was talking to her. The wind was strong enough to keep me in the bumps. It was pretty cool in a 14 year old self adsorbed smartphone chick kind of way.

[covesurfer]

Great run from the Canoe Club to Makena today. Wind was blowing straight out at the north end, so we decided to try the launch from the Canoe Hale instead.

PB dropped his truck at the mid point of the run so that he wouldn't have to go all the way to Makena. I guess he's just getting soft. We tried to tell him it looked good but he was muttering about the wind hitting him on the wrong side of his head or something semi-coherent to that effect. So, he and I drove up to the canoe club and he took off while I waited for the rest of the crew to shuttle up from Makena.

Except for PB, Lee and Devin, the rest of our group took boats today. Everybody was cooking, I got to paddle the first 1/4 of the run with SB and Kathy before they kicked it in gear and left me in their wake. At least I could see everybody up ahead of me. 

The wind was solid and there were great swells yet again. What an unreal streak we're having with these amazing Kihei runs. It definitely was off-shore. When I watched PB take off, he was a speck on the horizon in no time at all. I knew I'd need to watch my line.

With an OC1, when it's off shore on a Kihei run, you need to really pay attention. It's sometimes difficult to make your way left. Here's the result of too much left and not enough bracing on the right (photos below)!

Other than one swim, I had a fantastic run, all the way to Makena. I don't think any of us could quite believe that we had yet another stellar run today. This is like 5 days in a row! I'll take it if I can.

[PonoBill]

Graceful.

[covesurfer]

Sh!t happens. My only huli. Captured by MePro.

[headmount]

Love that underwater shot Cove.  This is where the go pro shines.  We'll call it the shark's eye view.  So much for them to decide on, shall I take a midsection with all that white meat or a leg and second joint. 

No I'm not calling you a turkey.  One fall on a day like today was real good.  Cloudy and dark later.

[covesurfer]

Hahaha. I guess it's my own fault for posting that. Sharks eye view. Terrific.

[Southbay]

Haha!  I know that feeling well.  That is the "I am getting the hell off the shark cam now!" move.  BTW, I made faces at your go pro for at least a mile....I can't believe that you didn't post any of those!

Today was really fun.  Especially since I missed the last three days, I was really jonesing to go.  The wind straightened out you could actually go right to stay in the bump with out too much worry.  MY favorite part of the run was outside Polo beach.  The wind stopped, but the bumps were huge.  I have been in this situation on my SUP many times, and you can't quite get them, without the help of the wind, but in the boat it was easy pickings.  Everything got really quiet and the bumps were huge.  Felt damn good knowing that I had the right craft for the day. 

Starting at the canoe club took a mile off the run, but I was still stoked with an 1:06 run.  Averaged 8.2 mph, and had 3 miles in a row, averaging 8.9.  I was trying to channel Kathy and Larry, staying smooth in the boat, but I have a lot to learn about smoothing the whole process out. 

Good fun...we may have one more day of this madness before the wind stops.

[covesurfer]

Sorry SB, with that wide angle MePro lense, all I get are selfies. I actually got some pretty cool ones today. 

This is one of a good ama flying surf, you are right in my 5 o'clock. Getting ready to pass me and lay it down! I sure hope there is one more day of this. I don't care if I go in the one mac-a-new as PB calls it or on standup.