Ireland

The rain lashed against our faces & the wind bit at our finger tips as the absurdity of a surf trip to Ireland sank in rapidly. We were five in total, knowing each other from Maui, but all conveening from various parts of Europe to vacation in Kerry. It was maddness personified and the pre-trip promise of comedy value began to quickly wane, as we threw the boards on top of the cars. I for one was sure I'd never-ever-ever going to need them.

And yet, the morning broke with sunshine, surf and undisputable truth that 'Sharon would go'

Wetsuit, anorak, scarf & hat.....I'm ready!

Oh wait, I forgot my gloves.

Goofy long boarder on the left is me :-)

Despite what you may think I had a blast and in my shrink wrap casing, was snug as a bug in a rug. However, as my prone surfing isn't the best in peak conditions, it became quickly apparent that I was sadly out of shape.

Still, happy and pleased with myself I left the others surfing and embarked on removing my wet suit. I might well have been oxygen starved and half way up Everest for the amount of effort that every little movement took. Come to find out, the best technique is to drive home and remove it in the hot shower!

I moooooooned this lot whilst de-neopreneing.

So did these guys as I saw my fare share of tightly clenched white bums this trip, the byproduct of wet skin exposed in crispy air.

It's not called the Emerald Isle for nothing and the grass is norished by all the moisture that helps manufacture some of the greenest cholorphil I've ever seen.

And the best Guinness, in the best pub 'James Ashe' you've ever tasted.

Plays well with self.

I've had more of my fair share of magical views this week, starting with this one.

As I walked out of my house on Tuesday evening, I had to walk right back in to grab my camera and capture the blazing sunset.

Contrast and compare to last weekend when it was so voggy the sea and the horizon blended into one flat canvas.

I have a badge in my car that reads "plays well with self"! Pretty consistently I spend my days off alone, simply doing as I jolly well please. I put this down to being a sporty dork as nearly all my friends are charging athletes, so I tootle off to spots where they would be bored stiff and have a ball. This time brings me enormous amounts of joy, is deeply satisfying and made me realize this; my time alone is more nourishing because it's in balance with the time that I spend in community. I'm not talking about friendships as they are a catagory all their own. However, as Maui is large enough to see no one and small enough to run into everyone, this terrific combination of chance encounters and scheduled solitude, makes each experience all the more juicy.

Today I turned 49 years old. You can bet I'll wring all the best bits out of this year that I can, because while I've never done this (and even if there's no one watching), who's to say I won't?

Christmas Day.

A Christmas morning Skype sesh with my Mum for chats and pressie opening was a great way to start the day. To clarify....she is waving not flipping anyone off!

Christmas Day - 1000 Peaks. from Sharon on Vimeo.

Then with lunch and options packed I headed to 1000 Peaks for a SUP session. Notoriously the weather is rainy over the Christmas holiday, but not this year....it and the waves have been cooperating nicely.

If you look in between Giampaolo's legs, that's me!

Herbie goes surfing. Fact: At 26 I bought my very first car which was a VW Bug, it cost approximately $800 so I charged it on my credit card!

I bet this little one received all kinds of gifts for Crimbo, but there's nothing more exciting than combing the beach looking for creatures and shells.

Ufff, that plaggy bag contains gifts of another kind!

After my scrumptious lunch on a quiet beach under the shade of a palm tree (I kid you not), I headed to Honolua Bay to check out the surfing action. I was too lazy to tackle the viewing zoo on the cliff, so stayed at the overlook which provided an amusing rotation of Tourists standing under this sign.

This little inside bowl isn't that little, but compared to the outside it's a ripple.

What a day.

My friend Chico took some terrific shots of Honolua earlier this month. He does it purely for his own creative pleasure and despite us all telling him they are magazine worthy, he shakes us off as he has no interest in that.

Hey Meesh.....if you weren't in England I'd swear that was you duck diving in the tube!

And now it's Boxing Day, so I'm heading to Hana (as one does) to satiate my senses and play some more. When I pop into the Hotel Hana Maui tonight to listen to some lovely Hawaiian music, I'm crossing my fingers they'll have Turkey sarnies on the menu!

Calm before the storm.

Today saw the first nudge of the massive swell that will hit Maui tomorrow and when I say massive, I mean wave faces of 30-50 feet.....faces! Even NOAA says the Islands will have an extended period of 'giant surf' and is comparing the models to a 1969 swell. Jaws will be a bloody zoo tomorrow and I'd love to be a part of it but I have to f*@rking work.

Meanwhile, it was breathless today opposite Hookipa as the sugar cane ferns attest.

Back on the calm West side I had one of my best SUP sessions yet. Glassy waist to shoulder high waves with friendly encoraging surfers and plenty of sunshine. In SUPing years I reckon I'm a year old. I can walk with varying degrees of directional success, sit down (be it ungainly), I fall off less and less and what doesn't hurt or scare me is really, really exciting!

The BBC's theme this week for 'Your pictures' is trees. I might send this one in just for the heck of it.

Or maybe this one, as the the Kiawe tree has an interesting past. The original seed was brought over from Paris by a Catholic priest in 1828. It's been said this tree was further planted by missionaries to discourage the Hawaiian people from going barefoot, but their feet were so tough even these thorns didn't bother them.

Trust me....even with slippers on, those thorns bother me by going straight through the rubber and giving my delicate haole feet a nasty poke. On the upside though, kiawe wood is abundant and great for a BBQ.

All the right moves.

Not one to let decapitation ruin his day, Piglet diligently worked on his tan.

I feel like a part time resident at 1000 Peaks, as lately I've been there a lot practicing turning my board to the right. On the right turn scale I'd say I've made it to veering toward...... which is progress indeed. In fact yesterday I was twice able to turn enough to stay on the wave with another paddler by changing direction. Satisfying, would be an understatement.

An advanced student.

Ufff, just looking at this gives me elevator stomach.

Meanwhile, Renata, Meesh and me clearly enjoying each other, our beers and an in depth bra conversation. Cheers!

Two non-working days.

It's been a beautiful weekend on the Valley Isle with a south swell drawing distinguished men (and woman) of all ages to the water. Personally, I got spat out almost as soon as I entered the water, low tide, a 10ft board and my talent are definitely not a match.

But hey, it happens to the best of us, two words: not positive.

The plump pumpkins are betraying the time of year, for without them you'd never know it was an autumnal October day. Confession, those of us who live in perpetual sunshine gloat (ever so slightly) when it's gorgeous here and ya know, praps not so fabby on the mainland.

A flat tire on my bike prevented me from increasing my heart rate via a casual Sunday morning ride, but all was not lost. I hopped in my truck and headed to Grandma's for breakfast where I downed a large latte that did the job for me!

You'd be forgiven for thinking I was at a La Liga match watching Barcelona, (ah la fantasia), but no....

....it was the free Ukulele Festival, show casing many of Maui's keiki.

Talking of which, I attended a home brew tasting last night where one of the brew masters was actually a brew teenager and (once again) men wore lederhosen. With a weekend like this, there's no need for Europe for a while, Prost!

Sea, surf, sky and cabbage.

I sit at a desk all day in front of a computer, so it's an amazing antidote to step out after work and get some fresh air. What's more extraordinary though, is that I don't do it more often. However, as the summer nights grow longer, my play gene has grown and requires more indulgence. So with my bike stowed in the bed of my truck, there were no excuses.

I confess to feeling a bit of a pillock clunking along the pebbles in my bike shoes, helmet and spandex (I'd ditched the bike further back), but what the hell - it's not like I'm going to run into anyone I know. "Hey you!" said Jenna, a fab woman from my book club "wotcha doing mountain biking out here?"! "Looking like a twat and not wanting to get noticed" I thought....but too late.

The south swell wasn't all it was forecast to be, but at 5:45pm the light and waves were entwined in their magical dance and I was captivated.

Let's hope duck diver boy doesn't have a bulls eye on his shorts!

Did I work today?

Rewinding back to the weekend and I was in the mountains again (no that's not me!) riding my bike part way up Waipoli Road toward Poli Poli. I say part way because the start is so steep I've convinced myself I could never make it, so I cheat and park at Frisbee Golf forest. It's a peaceful ride with just the bird song and para gliders for company. My time, 40 minutes up and 8 minutes down! "You've got legs of steel" said golf frisbee girl as she passed me post ride loading up my bike, was it wrong of me to not burst her bubble by telling her I'd had to stop twice on the accent?!

Coming back home though Kula there are many local small farms and I was caught by the symmetry of this humble cabbage patch.

Enough, enough, lets all paws for a tranquil thought or two.

Moonshine and sunshine.

While dinner was cooking Tuesday night, the glorious full moon was rising spectacularly through the trees of my back garden.

Yes, yes yes, I know there is the wind speed, duration and fetch that create waves but for sheer convenience and tie-in-factor from the previous picture, I’m going to say ‘the full moon did it”. Wednesday was glorious and (despite a bit of wind) the swell was good enough for most to jump in the briney. Here's a nice little surfer boy trifecta!

The ironic thing about a good watching session at Ho'okipa is that sitting there on my arse can actually be quite invigorating.

There's just no way you're going out in this kinda surf and coming back in feeling the same way. Whether your dialed into the conditions or not the paddling, focus, traffic, energy of the waves and emotional highs and lows are gonna jiggle your mojo around (for better or worse). Probably better if you're the one on the board, not  so much if you're the one about to get worked.

Hui!

With the surf pounding on the outside, these little kiddiewinks were having a blast paddling up and down on the real 'inside'. Enough of this practice turns into this.......

I think this is Matt Kazuma and his sprog, look at that little ripper go! Unbelievable.

Ow, Ow, Ow....

For the most part the surfers at Ho'okipa are just ordinary people with a true connection to the sea that makes them feel alive.  It's as essential to their well being as other rituals to the rest of us, such as gardening, train spotting or ping-pong.


A penny for his thoughts.....