Chuck & Nancy

Maui has incredible water sports. When the winds are calm it is best for snorkeling and paddling .. when the wind comes up there is surfing, boogie boarding, wind surfing, etc. Up until now the winds have been very mild, especially for January, and we’ve been enjoying the snorkeling and paddling. We visited a favorite sport for surfing at Honalua and snapped a few surfers .. not the big waves of previous visits but some good rides none the less.

The above picture appeared in the Maui News .. this is just a mile north of our beach.

As I’ve written before we really enjoy the paddling in the outrigger canoes with the Maui Canoe Club. We go out around 7:30AM .. before the sun has come over the volcano, Haleakala.

You can see the nice pink glow on the water in this photo.

There are 5 of 6 people per canoe and we paddle in sync. The steersman at the back calls the commands and there is a counter up front that counts and indicates when to switch sides. It’s amazing how quickly the canoe moves once we get going. The canoe is at least 400 lbs. not include the ama (which is the piece that extends out to the side.)

We usually paddle out to “Wilson” which is a round orange float marking a turtle area. About that time the sun is just rising over Haleakala

The light shining down through a hole in the cloud here just looked very surreal. It was a very busy morning with all 5 boats going out on the water. We saw a few turtles but no whales that morning. There is speculation that because of the mild El Nino weather they are arriving a little later than usual. Happily we saw a terrific show of breaching etc at noon today so they are beginning to show themselves.

Taking a break out on the water .. the early morning light creates silhouettes ..

Within moments the sun is high enough to turn the water blue and brighten the sky.. the colors are easily as vivid as they look in the photo

The “ama” and reflection

We paddle with the Maui Canoe Club - which was formed a year ago. One of the great things this canoe club does is Mana’olana, a paddling program for cancer survivors. Mana’olana means hope. A quote from Dave Williams in his canoe club email: “Mana’olana represents the very best of who we are and what we are as members of Maui Canoe Club. Clearly, were socially conscious when we responded as a club to help those who have faced a devastating health issue. I believe our island is a better place, because Maui Canoe Club was able to provide Mana’olana as a community service.”

When we aren’t paddling, or playing tennis, we’re taking the ocean walk ..

We just never tire of the view ..

An unusual walker ..