January so far......

January 1st 2012 and I'm greeted with a little rainbow for the start of my early glassy Kanaha session.

Wave one, dry hair and looking a little unsure.

Now that's better, clearly a good mental enama washes away all that ego nonsense and makes way for pure unadulterated fun.

This was without a doubt my biggest wave of the day!

I must have been out longer than I thought as I've grown a beard!

When Kanaha is too big for me, I know the harbour will be perfect.....and so it was for January 2nd 2012.

The harbour wave has a very distinct personality. It's flat, flat, flat and then an upwelling of energy shows up like someone has flapped a piece of silk. The watery step builds rapidly and it doesn't take much paddling to feel the push. I try to stay high on the lip for as long as I can and then swoop down to the right and then back up to the shoulder where (with luck) I repeat the manouver twice. Technically they call that a cut-back, but mines more of a loose swervey thing that thrills the pants of me!

After you... turtle crossing.

Posing with my favourite #8 buoy.

Charging Paley style which in truth is terribly relaxed.

These last few days the sweet water energy has given lots of smiles, yelps of joy and uplifted the spirits.... and that's just the people around me. Now imagine my feelings, the Yorkshire girl who couldn't swim until she was 39, got her first surfboard at 43 and made her first (and so far only) windsurf jibe at 50 (and three quarters).

Life is full of surprises.

Fun in the sun.

Sitting on top of a liquid world with my Gopro instructor.

Not too confident yet with the paddlecam.

Getting there...

Must remember to smile!

Easy does it....

White water SUPing.

Charging toward the valley.

Ahhhh much easier!

Meanwhile, I swear there's never a dull moment with Ulli & Michelle around. Let's hope there's no need for "a clean up on isle four"!

Pick a nose....any nose.

Guaranteed this will be Ulli's new Facebook profile picture!

I heard of a recent study in the UK that said about two thirds of women are totally uninterested in their everyday schedules. Shocking! They blamed their job, their relationships, lack of holidays and never ending chores. Good grief ladies, take some responsibility, make some new choices and start having some fun.....oh and you might find a good place to look for support is with a new bra!

An assortment of thoughts.

Nice-huh?

I've been dating different stand up paddle boards to find 'the one' that I have chemistry with. So the little one foot surf (of late) on the South side has been a perfect learning curve playground for me.

It's what I do with any significant purchase, I try all my options before making a final decision so I have no doubt that I made the correct choice. It's a carbon copy the attribute testing I recently went through with the camera. How heavy is it, can I manouver it easily (on and off the water), do my feet like the decking, is my balance easy and of course how much does it cost. There won't be a second date with this particular board but I had fun while we were out.

As I rested my paws post paddle, I thought about the ironic Craigslist post I'd just replied to. Months ago I tried a Hawaiian Island 10' board that has since been the standard I've measured all others by. A few days ago that exact board was on Craigslist and I answered the ad as I knew who it belonged to. I asked the owner if he was willing to give an 'exwife' discount and of course he wasn't. The universe gave me the board I wanted but with the joke of attaching it to a man I used to be married to! It was/is all amicable between us, but still I noticed a little voice in my head saying "ya know-he was always bloody stingy, so I'm not giving him the satisfaction of paying full price". Evidently arguing for my limitations worked a treat as I made a low ball offer and didn't hear back from him!

So in my purchasing journey I've got a few more boards to try and amusingly I'm now entertaining the idea of buying the same board my 'ex' is selling.....so I am willing to pay full price, just not to someone I feel I've already given enough of my money to!

Enough of that, lets all stick our noses into nature (but not where it doesn't belong) and take a good long gander at her scrumptious perfection.

My goodness me, what would I do without her?

This is a leftover pici from Hana, a salt and pepper beach in the making and talking of pepper.....

......I didn't do it!

Exactly Cozmo, nap time.

Feeding my senses.

The touch of the wind against my skin is chilly at first and I know I have to pedal hard (initially) to get my body temperature beyond my own momentum generated wind chill factor. I warm up quickly and it allows me to delight in the view. My eyes always light up as I whiz by the poppies. My friend Lex said recently that when she first moved to Maui she didn’t grock the flowers as she came from the East Coast where the flora are soft and have petals. Here the tropicals are magnificent stiff, waxy creations and while she did learn to love them, I think about her comment every time I pass by this lovely garden. The little kid in me really wants the Jacaranda's to have the smell of the palmer violet sweets I ate when I was eight. Well, they don't and that’s probably a good thing so nothing distracts from their sheer purple perfection. Which reminds me of a funny 'tweet' I read recently. Someone asked Lord Fry how he pronounced the word 'ate'. He replied, 'I'm an "ett" man, but there's no right or wrong about it. In the North they're likely to say "eight" I think." Damn him, how does he know these things?! Hmmmmm now what kind of cycle 'safety first' is this? Still, now I think about it not all traffic cones are meant to give advance warning of hazards or temporarily redirect traffic in a safe manner.........or are they? (Cue Scooby Doo flashback music)!


Tour de Maui. Un Petit Film from Sharon on Vimeo.
And finally a little amateur hour entertainment from my pau hana ride after work last Friday, a hui ho!