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Maui Postcard No 3
28.06.04
Another great postcard from Leland and Carmen, enjoying warm seas and winds while we approach the depths of winter, brrrrr
The Trades are currently blowing at 15 to >25 mph everyday, the sun shines everyday, the sky is blue everyday and the temperature is around 30 C everyday - this is summer time Maui.
With the US summer holidays about to start, we are enjoying the last few days of finding a park at Spreaks and having room to gybe on the water - the mass onslaught of 'rent-a-kook' is just around the corner.
In Short
We have found a great place to live in Kuau; Starbucks coffee is tasting pretty good about now; Leland is working part-time work for Gaastra and at Second Wind surf shop; Carmen is still working as a Prep Cook at Milagros; We are windsurfing pretty much everyday and our bodies are beginning to hurt; Carmen has water pooling in both ears and a pinched nerve in her forearm from too much sailing; Lee is pulling off beach starts with amazing consistency; Carmen is still struggling with the boomerang; Team Brazil represent the largest number of sailors from any one country and they are hot; We finally found a cafe that does eggs Benedict and has a reasonable latte ("I don't think we're in Wellington any more Toto"); The wind is very gusty; The water choppy; Lee has been surfing most mornings at Hookipa; and we are absolutely loving it and thinking of staying on longer.
The Wind and Waves
Currently the Freestyle boards are being rested in the gear rack, along with our 5.8 m and 5.3 m sails. We are both having to get used to our waveboards again after not have been on them for months now.
Last week we were treated to some sea swell here on the North Shore, which together with the wind swell equated to a bit of wave action.
Hookipa was all go, with 3/4 mast waves and about 50 people sharing the break.
The Maui Race Series
This annual event is again underway, and is currently dominated by Phil McGain and Kevin Pritchard. The Neil Pryde shop is running a one design category where you can signup to race and as part of the entry fee, they provide you with race kit. We would both love to join in but cannot as we work the weekends.
 The Pros
With the PWA event at Pozo just weeks away, most of the Pros have moved.
But there are still heaps of nationally sponsored sailors here going hard and pulling all the big moves. Keith Teboul (Sean Ordonez) is one
of the most hard working pro's on the island. He is out ripping Hookipa all the time, and still finds time to shape boards at Quattro.
The Move
Double forwards are evident on the water here, even at the schmuck level. Not too many are sail away but folks are certainly giving them a go.
Fishing on your Starboard Go is another popular windsurfing hybrid. These guys/girls go out with one/two fishing rods, a token babe in a
bikini on the front and head way out to sea.
The New Breed
This time we have noted a lot of young guys on the water. There is a group of 15 to 18 year olds ripping at Hookipa regularly, and apparently these guys rocked in the 2004 Aloha Classic. Then there are the little boys, Kai Lenny (11), Ridge Lenny (6) and Connor Baxter (9), who are out there kicking it and sailing around us 'try hard' grownups. We have had the pleasure of sailing with Kai (9) at Spreaks on a number of
 occasions now, recently signed up by Naish, it is sickening what this little fella can do, as he tweeks tabletops, hits big airs, tacts, gybes, backwinds, duck gybes and aggressively smacks the lip of any wave he can find. He even talks up the forward loop, which can't be too far
away.... "I think I'm gonna do one today Dad!"
These grommets are so hot and are a treasure to windsurfing, as they keep our sport alive, young and fresh.
'Beach Boy Surfing'
This is a relatively new form of surfing, a Laird Hamilton creation. It has not officially been given a name but is currently referred to as
'Beach Boy Surfing' though 'oar surfing' and oar hoar' are gaining popularity. It is a type of surfing where you standup and paddle with a long oar on a surfboard. All boards have to be custom made at present and they are still perfecting the paddle shape boards are 12' x 25" x 5"
so they are pretty big. We saw Laird out at Hookipa on a mast high day, standing up and paddling out through the sets - we have seen Laird on a number of occasions at Hookipa and he really is a crazy cat.
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