surf-matic

I think takas are my favorite move-- there are so many different styles to do!

Another week goes by on the “Valley Isle” and the wind still blows. The very mountains that give the island its nickname accelerate the trade winds making the North Shore of Maui one of the best windsurfing training grounds in the world.

And that is why the water is soooo crowded at the moment. The Hookipa Zoo makes it all seem so hectic and wild. And with the obligatory cuts and bruises (yes, everyone must sacrifice part of their feet and shins to the reef and rock gods), the place seems quite intense. Cuts here have the magical property of getting bigger before they get smaller. A small scrape will turn into a crater before it takes its stubborn time healing into a pink scar. No amount of cleaning or antibiotic ointment will help! The culprit is daily bathing in seawater– a medicine for the mind but a poison for the wounds.

Photographers are on top of photographers.

And the rocks! They sit there waiting to claim the next board, sail, or ankle. Us locals tend to know the maps of the currents and therefore avoid the rocks most of the time. But I would be lying if I said that I don’t think about them at all.

That said, however, Hookipa and Maui’s north shore are actually incredibly safe and beautiful. Yes the waves are powerful. But the currents guarantee that no one will be sucked out to the abyss of the Pacific Ocean. If one were to lose his rig at Hookipa it would wash up safely either at the Harbor or at Waiehu. What a bathtub!

On Sunday, I saw a hammerhead shark at Hookipa just past the waves. I sailed up to it for closer inspection. The little guy was around 6 feet (pretty small for a shark) and very beautiful. It was my first time seeing one of these in the wild and it made me pretty happy. I mean, I wasn’t about to jump in the water and start swimming with it, but it was really cool to see. And it was a nice reminder that there are tons of sharks in the ocean and very very very few that are vicious towards humans. This guy was quite calm.

Windsurfing Hookipa then is like eating a nice cucumber sandwich. After all, Hawaii was once “named” the Sandwich Islands by Captain Cook in honor of Lord Sandwhich, who is also the inventor of the sandwich.

Anyway all this talk of sandwiches makes me crave windsurfing. I’m off to Hookipa.

Getting air!