Day off on Maui (Kihei: rental, buying, moving)

[Jungjohann]

Woke up this morning around 1:00 AM, it's freezin!!!!!Must have been around 65 degrees or so, had to get up, look around for an extra blanket,took a while to find it, but I did,,,,,,,,back to bed.....Wake up, look at my watch, it's a little past 5:00 am, thinking, I've got to get up and go to work!!!!! Then, I realize, it's Saturday, no work!!!! Drift off back to sleep,,,,,,,, wake up again, little past 6:00 am, one cat wants in, the other wants out, take care of that, back to bed,,,,,,, wake up again, around 8:00 am, get up, make some coffee, have a little fresh papaya, decide to go paddling....... Load the 21 foot long racing kayak onto the truck, grab my paddle, head down to Kamaole Beach Park #1, right down the street...... Lifegaurds have posted warning signs for high surf and box jellyfish, talk with them for a bit while getting my kayak down to the beach, swell, as in surf, is definitely up, maybe 3 to 4 foot faces. Wait until the sets clear, as in a calm between the waves, run the kayak down into the ocean, jump on, and take off.Water is pretty cold, maybe 75-76 degrees, think about buying a wetsuit, well, the vest part. Notice a tourist guy, and his kid, maybe nephew, in a rental kayak, off the point south of Kam 1, he looks a little nervous. Oh well...Paddle all the way down to Polo Beach Club, north of Makenna Beach, pass a lot of surfers off the Kihei Boat Launch, and Sidewalks off of Wailea on the way, am staying well offshore to avoid the swell, which seems to be getting bigger. Judge the surf perfectly heading into the baech at Polo, catch a wave, then back off, and get the tail end of the surf going in. There are two, absolutley BEAUTIFUL!!!!!, young ladies, on the beach, figured I must have impressed them with my kayaking skills. Go up to the shower, rinse of, get a drink of water, walk back down to my kayak, pick it up, judge the surf, because it really is starting to pick up a bit, choose my spot, run out with the kayak, jump on, start paddling out,,,,,,,,,and this very large wave starts building in front of me, shorebreak variety, can't turn around, think I can just barely make it through,,,,,,,NOT!!!!!! Kayak goes flying, so do I, a little disoriented, I get the kayak turned around, try to jump back on, but can't seem to straddle the seat, kind of like trying to get onto a horse. I then realize that the force of the wave, and the way it hit me and the kayak, had knocked my board shorts down to about my knees!!!!! So, there I am, pretty much bare okole as it were, trying to get everything back together, the kayak, the paddle, my attire, great deal of laughter from the beach,,,,,,,the girls were impressed!!! Oh well,,,,,,, heading back up to Kamaole 1, I get a box jellyfish tangled on the blade of my paddle, trying to get it off get a few stings in the thigh, finally it's gone, jelly fish that is, go into Kamaole 3 for some vinegar, best thing for box jellyfish stings.... Get that taken care of, lifegaurd, Puka, asks me to watch the beach for a while why he uses the lua, as in bathroom. So I'm there by the tower, and see this gigantic set of waves building further out, not too many people in the water, but this poor tourist guy is right in the shorebreak zone, facing the beach, while his wife is taking video of him,
(don't ever turn your back on the ocean), the wave literally picks him up, and does a body slam on him, I'm running down there, fast as I can, yelling for Puka, poor tourist guy could have a broken neck for all I know, Grab the guy just before the second wave gives him a thorough drilling, he seems okay, Puka comes running down, the guys wife starts yelling at Puka, "How could you let him out there,he's not a very good swimmer!!!!!" Puka points out the high surf advisory signs up and down the beach,,,,,,,,anyways, at least the tourist guy was alright. Get my racing kayak, judge the swell, head out, no pilikia, as in problems, out around the south end of Kamaole Beach One, the same tourist is still there, with his kid/nephew, I cruise by, he asks, "Is it always like this????", Answer, "No, just a big south Kona swell, tell you what, we'll paddle in a little closer to the beach, in between the sets, and when I say GO!!!! paddle as hard as you can, and don't look back" Well, I had it timed right, for a guy on a racing kayak, he did manage to get in, may have lost his fishing gear, maybe a camera,,,,,,,,,,,Oh yea, did I mention it's dropped to almost 78 degrees this evening!!!!!!!
Forgot to mention, I may do the same thing again tomorrow, but just get up a little later, with the hectic pace over here, I need my rest
Aloha and melekalikimaka

[maui08]

You either have way too much time on your hands...or you need attention. Not sure which. I didn't realize this was a forum for folks to describe their days....what exactly was/is your point?

[Jungjohann]

Kind of think the title said it all,,,,,, for those who are considering moving here, this could be your day off,,,, works for me, sorry if you were offended, but it's all factual, just didn't all happen on the same day........

Melekalikimaka

[maui08]

Wasn't offended....just didn't understand your post. Now I do.

[HawaiiboundNelli]

I for one really enjoyed reading about your "day off"! I am sure looking forward to my own "day off" on the Big Island! :-) Thanks for giving me a smile this morning.
Nelli

[MadRussian]

Thanks Jungjohann! I'm really missing that morning paddling on South Shore!
It was 19F this morning in Philly, yesterday was 14F.

[tropical87]

I thought it was good, a day in the life of type of thing

[Beaches84]

hahaha...great post. I'll be there in less than a week!! Hopefully the waves will be more forgiving by then and the jellyfish will have floated off elsewhere. I wonder if I should pack a bottle of white vineger just in case...if I sprayed myself with vineger before entering the water, will that keep the Jfish away

But seriously, do you think I should pack my wetsuit?

[kixette]

I loved your post! I also think it is freezing when it is 65 - at 68 today I have sweatshirt on! I wish my days off were in Maui....

[Jungjohann]

Originally Posted by Beaches84

hahaha...great post. I'll be there in less than a week!! Hopefully the waves will be more forgiving by then and the jellyfish will have floated off elsewhere. I wonder if I should pack a bottle of white vineger just in case...if I sprayed myself with vineger before entering the water, will that keep the Jfish away

But seriously, do you think I should pack my wetsuit?

The vinegar is an absolute must!!! Just don't get the garlic flavored vinegar, jellyfish seem to love it, kind of turns you into a swimming salad as far as they're concerned. Now the wetsuit deal is an entirely different matter, went out this morning, the air temp, around 82-84, water temp, (lifegaurds check it every morning), all the way down to 75!!!!!!!! I mean,,,,isn't that only slightly above freezing?????? Hypothermia, a definite possibility,,,,,,,if you were out there for say three, four, heck,,, maybe twelve hours????? South Swell is definitely something to look out for, if you're on the South side of the Island!!!! But never, ever, turn your back on the ocean, I've seen plenty of folks get hurt on Maui over the years.

Aloha and Melekalikimaka