Flying back to Maui from O’ahu last Monday felt like returning home, a strange thought considering we were only gone three days and have only been on Maui a few months. Nevertheless, Maui does feel like home after fifteen weeks and so upon our return we opted to have dinner at Café Des Amis, the curry place in Paia that we went for our first meal here back on May 1st. Of course prior to dinner we rushed out on the water for an afternoon windsurfing session before our recreation of “the first supper.” An afternoon sail, a bowl of chicken curry and a good nights sleep in our empty condo – it was nice to be back.
Tuesday morning we headed down to kite beach to launch the Cabrhina 5.0 after a few days off from our continued education in kiting. The wind was gusty and strong when I launched the kite for the first run and as I headed out a large gust ripped me clear out of the water. In a panic I released the bar engaging the brake system, de-powering the kite and bringing it down to the water in a flutter. After I collected myself and realized everything was ok, I retrieved the bar and attempted to re-launch the kite. Unfortunately the lines were in a spaghetti pile and with Dr. Tangle nowhere in sight I was unable to re-launch so I went to the next page in the instruction manual which is to drop the leash, head for the kite and swim it in. With the gusty wind the kite was jumping around and headed downwind towards a large rock wall and before I could get to it, the kite was flapping around on the rocks with the lines tangled in every direction. Eric swam out to help and we freed the kite from the rocks and swam for shore with the two 30 meter lines still dragging behind. As we got close to shore I felt the strings pulling again and thought we’d snagged another rock but it seemed to be pulling from the opposite direction. Confused I swam in the direction of the pull to try and free the lines when I saw the huge splash from some creature that was trapped in our web and appeared to be in more of a panic than me. My first instinct was to think we had snagged a shark now angry for revenge after being imprisoned in our kite lines. I was relieved when I saw the beast surface again to realize that it was a huge sea turtle, nearly five feet in diameter. When the head poked out of the water it looked to be the size of a human’s and this turtle head could easily have choked a donkey. Eric and I went quickly from panic to rescue mode in an attempt to save the turtle from being strangled. Fortunately, there were some local fisherman nearby and I was able to borrow a knife, sacrificing our kite lines to watch the turtle swim away towards open sea. Relieved we headed straight back to Neil Pryde Maui to purchase some replacement lines to get back out for more.
We retold this story to Craig and other kiters around Maui to learn this was the first time anyone had heard of such an experience so I may be the first to catch a turtle while kite surfing (in case anyone questions whether we’ve had any accomplishments on this trip). Regardless, we were right back at it the rest of the week and I had some of my best runs as did Eric who on Saturday was able to kite in both directions in hugely overpowering winds so we continue to make progress towards our goal of kiting proficiency in preparation for the winds of Cape Cod in September. In addition to our continued progress, our learning process this week also included several aborted launches, landing the kite in the bushes a couple times, two more swims to shore with the kite and a trip past the sewage plant to retrieve Eric and the kite after he dragged well past the normal pick-up point following our downwind runs. Other highlights that we failed to capture on video were several face plants and a near perfect Superman imitation by Eric after he got ripped into the air by a gust flying parallel to the water for several yards before letting go of the kite. All part of the learning process and the fun I think.
The rest of the week we continued our pattern alternating between morning bike rides and yoga classes followed each day by kiting and then back to our beach for late afternoons of windsurfing. Our rides included another grinding hill ride up to Makowao and a long ride out the Hana highway to what we call the sugar shack which is a fruit stand at a place called twin falls that makes smoothies, grinding pure sugar cane juice into the drinks. Needless to say our ride, while short a full on gorge, did include refueling with a couple sugar and fruit smoothies while continuing to contemplate and train for the ride all the way to Hana. Although, Eric may need to tape my feet to the pedals to get me to complete that ride. So I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what the remainder of August brings.
Trivia Finals
There are several movie references embedded in this issue. The first of our readers to get them all will win a Maui T-shirt and the first of Mike, Andy and Jim, our finalists from two weeks ago, will win the grand prize which is hidden behind door number two (i.e. we haven’t decided yet) Answers must be submitted by e-mail prior to COB (that’s close of beach here) on Thursday August 15, 2002 – Good luck!
Best Comments from last week
Sarah, Maui / New York
“My vote is that you should take the J.E.W. public and retire. Jon you are hilarious! The huge gorge fests with your parents and fights over the bills is soooo familiar! My dad starts planning dinner first thing in the morning as it's the most important event of the day. He definitely comes alive when conversation turns to food and plans to eat. Well it's only your fault if by the time you left your parents weren't looking at real-estate and helping you explore options of staying in Maui. You failed somewhere;)”
Lorraine Boston, MA
“Gentlemen, as I sit at my desk, in a cube, in an enclosed office space (no
windows), with work piled all around me, deadlines looming, I contemplate some of
the "Week in Review" opening commentary. Not only was the issue late (understandable given the situation, but nonetheless an inconvenience to my Monday morning routine), it began with a complaint of how "tired" you are from all your visitors visiting, taking you out for great meals, taking great hikes, eating ice cream and banana bread, getting a bit of
windsurfing in each day, blah, blah, blah. Oh cry me a river ! You two may want to
consider reading Culture Shock on your way home...recommended reading for those that have lived abroad or on another planet, a.k.a. Paradise, for a period of time.
As a side note, as an avid Tour de France spectator, I thoroughly enjoyed Eric's win of Tour de Wakiki ! Nice form -- Lance would be proud. Also, as a loyal female reader of the J.E.W., perhaps a gratuitous shot for the female readers could be included in a future issue? Not to say looking at you two isn't gratuitous....On a non-sarcastic note, I do wish you two the best, make the very most of the rest of your time -- I'm really impressed with what you've accomplished for yourselves. Many thanks for letting me share in your adventure via the J.E.W.” Lorraine – Lance would not be proud if he saw us cry our way up to Makawao getting passed by an old man with a walker.
Here's Eric kiting through "kite beach". Notice the top left corner. This guy is still on the way up!
Jonny comfortably cruising on our 5.0 Cabrinha.
We still windsurf on occasion (every day) also. Jon enjoying some late afternoon waves.
Eric kites with the beautiful west Maui mountains in the background.
Jon sails in after an epic evening session!
The halfway point of our 30 mile bike ride. Hana here we come.
And we wouldn't skip the fantastic menu. Feel free to mix any number of delicious fruits.