THE OTHER SIDE OF MAUI - WEST SIDE STORY

THE OTHER SIDE OF MAUI – WEST SIDE STORY

Mention Maui and most of us immediately register the famed north shore windsurfing spots such as Ho’okipa, Jaws, Kanaha and Sprekelsville. When the wind blows from the east or north east trade wind direction, these are without doubt the best places to sail but any glitch in the weather can bring along wet and gusty north winds, shutting down any action on the fabled miles of the NorthShore. Fortunately, Maui being an island after all, has a number of options on its other sides.

(This feature originally appeared in the July 2015 issue of Windsurf Magazine. To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!)

Words & Photos John Carter

I’ve been visiting Maui for over two decades chasing down the best conditions and whenever I see a forecast showing a prolonged spell of north winds I know the only real option is to start exploring. The beauty of Maui is that its two mountain ranges, Haleakala and The West Maui’s have a huge influence on shifts in the wind and when it turns to the north there can be a huge acceleration effect in Kihei and spots further round the west coast. Throw in a pumping swell and there are several secret spots that can light up although with restricted parking, razor sharp reefs shallow enough to rip your fins out and a nasty reputation for shark attacks; they are certainly not places for the faint of heart.

HEADED SOUTH
An altogether gentler affair, the flat waters of Kihei with any hint of north wind will be nuking. With the whole stretch of coastline from Haiku right down to Kanaha usually under a blanket of cloud and often torrential rain it almost feels impossible that the sun can be shining a mere twenty minute drive away. But a quick gun run through the sugar cane fields over to Kihei and the weather is more often than not a whole different story. With the wind accelerating between the mountains Kihei howls although it has to be said can be gusty close to shore. Even so while the rest of the island may have hung up their harnesses for the day, a full days sailing will be on the cards round this side of the island, perfect for freestyle, high wind slalom action or casual flat water blasting. There is usually plenty of parking along the road side for the main sailing area located near the pavilion at the intersection of Ohukai Street and South Kihei Road while further up the coast at Maui sunset some small ramps can be found although take care at low tide when the water can be shallow and eager to claim a fin or worse!

“ When Gollito is in the zone, some of the freestyle moves he can produce are off the hook ” – JC

MAUI WOWIE
Earlier this year I was hanging out with the Fanatic team at a house in Spreks on a wet and dreary day when we came up with the idea of checking Kihei. Ever keen to score some action on an otherwise dead day on the North Shore, myself Max Rowe and Gollito Estredo lead the charge and forty minutes later were in the car park at Maui Sunset faced with 4m conditions and waist high ramps. A sick session ensued as Gollito and Max diced with the shallow reef throwing huge moves although ironically it was me who cut up my legs after walking into a submerged chunk of coral on my way back in! When Gollito is in the zone, some of the freestyle moves he can produce are off the hook. With power in his sail, and any sort of ramp on offer, anything is possible; such is the talent of the five times world champ. When he is sailing for the camera it is almost like he is in performing in a competition, cursing when he misses a ramp and fist clenching when he nails a sick move! As for looking at the lens, that is never a problem with Gollito, its almost like a sixth sense to throw his head the camera’s way from whatever position he finds himself in from his crazy moves. Later that evening when we smugly returned to the North shore, the rest of the guys were still lounging around on the couch at the house after enduring a whole afternoon of torrential rain, mosquitos and zero wind. We had scored and needless to say like all good windsurfers, we rubbed it into the couch crew as much as possible!

WASH OUT
A few weeks later and still on Maui, the trades took another vacation, this time from a close proximity storm which sent in another spell of northerlies, along with a chunky swell and that dreaded socked in cloud and rain all along the North Shore. This time round the flash flood warnings were being echoed on the radio and as a consequence brown mud was being washed out through rivers and into all the breaks. Hookipa was looking more like the south coast of England and with the added murk factor, perfect for sharks to hunt down their prey close to shore. Loaded with excuses it was time for a West Side mission.

TRADE SECRETS
There are a couple of spots over that way that are closely guarded secrets by the locals, in the loop though was Timo Mullen who had found decent wind and waves and was heading in. As soon as word spread that it was on, the likes of Boujmaa, Philip Koester and Kevin Pritchard were all up for a road trip and ten minutes outside Kahului on the North Shore we broke free of the cloud cover and were now heading round the West Maui’s, bathed in brilliant sunshine. Another hour or so of driving and we finally came to a spot way past Lahaina where Timo was already out with a bunch of locals looking like he was having a ball. Having been to this spot umpteen times in the past, I knew it was a terrible place to shoot with the main peak breaking over three hundred metres from the beach and so many stories of sharks in this area that water photography is a pretty risky option. With Koester, KP and Boujmaa all hungry for a session I decided to let them go sail while I hunted down another spot. After half an hour of total frustration, I stumbled upon a little alley beside some hotels with a beach access sign so decided to investigate. Five minutes later I was looking out at head to logo breaking waves with around twenty five knot winds blasting all the way to the shoreline. There was nobody out but this place certainly looked doable, all I had to do now was persuade the others to come give it a go. Easier said than done! Twenty minutes later I am back at the first spot with all the guys out ripping on the water and little hope of dragging them in. To make matters worse, the moment I rocked up I watched in awe as Boujmaa hit a logo high ramp at warp speed and spiralled into the highest back loop I think I have ever seen. Talk about frustrating, this just didn’t feel like my lucky day so far.

“ Out of nowhere Maui had delivered another one of those magical moments, combining awesome sailing and amazing scenery ” ^{– JC}

BOUJMAA LIGHTS UP
Another hour passed before the crew came back for a break, and with great conditions already on the doorstep and everybody rigged they were all sceptical on moving to another location. Eventually Boujmaa agreed to give it a try and a few of the others reluctantly followed suit. Fast forward another hour and now I am out in dicey shark infested water getting pounded by a heavy dumping wave. On a positive note, the sun is shining, Boujmaa is well powered and busting out some insane moves right in front of the camera. In some ways I feel a bit sorry for Boujmaa, since most of the events on tour are all port tack, we rarely see him sailing full strength. Despite being a goofy foot surfer, he often refers to port tack as the ‘devil’ and will be the first to admit it’s not his strong point. But full power, 4.5m starboard tack and half-mast high ramps and it’s a whole different story. Boujmaa can fly on Starboard and has a whole array of crazy jumps ready to be unleashed.

It didn’t take long for Koester and KP to join the action and in no time a pretty radical session was going down on a totally random beach on the West Side of Maui. Koester was going surprisingly big, with much more game on starboard tack than I was expecting. As for KP you can always rely on his trademark one hand, one leg back loop as his move for the camera as well as some pretty hefty stalled forward loops. As the afternoon progressed, the wind swung offshore and the boys were pretty much done and dusted. But then Danny Bruch rolled in after sailing the spot up the coast and hungry to go catch some more waves on his new Starboard Black Box. This was one of those sessions that didn’t look too much from the beach but once Danny was out there riding the wave he was linking up four or five turns on every wave and scoring an epic session.

The next day we were naturally hungry for more but a fading swell only had head high surf as leftovers but still enough for Timo, Danny, Cyril Moussilmani and Chris Muzza Murray to score a few waves and get a taster of this spot which for all I know may only work once in a blue moon. On the way back the North winds were howling right through Lahaina and another chance stop at a random ‘beach access’ sign close to the main street revealed another new location which looked like it had some possibilities, if the water was not too shallow over the reef. A few lumps of coral visible right in amongst the surf was reason enough to put out some warning signals but just downwind there was a small wave feathered by at least twenty knot winds. Timo had seen enough and was already rigging.

LADY LUCK
Another decision to swim in these eerie waters was on the cards, especially looking at the amazing West Maui Mountains looming behind us which were no doubt going to be a cool back drop for shots. From what I heard, there have been numerous shark attacks on Maui over the past two years with most of them emanating from this stretch of coastline all the way to the breaks further up the coast towards Honolua Bay. Today I was going to chance it and headed out, although there are a few places along this coast where I think I’d definitely rather stay on the beach! After scraping round in sometimes knee deep water, I eventually found a decent position, where the boys were scoring some pretty decent jumps, despite only having small 1-2 feet waves to toy with. Midway through the session a huge rainbow started to form across the mountains and lingered for at least half an hour. It was game on again with mother nature chipping in to make this rare session even better. Out of nowhere Maui had delivered another one of those magical moments, combining awesome sailing and amazing scenery. This is why so many brands shoot here year after year. Two days of totally washed out conditions on the North Shore had delivered a pair of incredible days on the West Side at spots I had never shot before and possibly never will again.

One of the beauties of Maui, is that during normal trades you don’t have to drive too far to score the best of Hawaii but even if those pesky north winds appear you still have options which are definitely worth the extra miles. Not one of the shots in this feature was taken at the more famous breaks on Maui which just goes to show, this amazing island has plenty more aces up its sleeve than most of us ever realize if you’re willing to explore. The coast roads that link the island offer views that are reason enough to get behind the wheel for most tourists so happy hunting and watch out for those sharks and dodgy Hawaiian shirts in Lahaina.

Aloha! JC.