Let's Go Fly A Kite, Up To The Highest Height

Kitesurfing I'm just getting into, so I'll have to collaborate on this post. All I know is that today, it was strong and gusty.

It's another great sport that, like paddleboarding, is not limited to the ocean. Sports that transcend the ocean into freshwater environments obviously have a much larger geographic appeal whereas surfing is typically limited not only to coastline areas, but accessible coastline areas that have waves (though surfing lakes and rivers is not unknown).

At first this sport didn't excite me. It seemed too gear intensive, especially in comparison to surfing. But as I began to look for ways to access bigger and bigger surf, I began looking further and further off shore. I saw two options: jet skis and kites. Gear intensive took on a new perspective.

Hawaii is an amazing place to be a kiter because a general rule of thumb is: on at least one side of an island, the wind is blowing. Kailua is an amazing place to learn to kite because it is a large U-shaped bay with pretty consistent side-onshore wind. This basically means that the wind is not blowing you straight onshore into the trees, but if you screw up, eventually the wind will blow you into shore.

Kiting is still a young sport so the gear and moves are in a very progressive phase. If I were to guess, I'd say it is a product based on experiences by windsurfers, surfers and wakeboarding. If you've been pulled behind a boat, that's like being pulled by the kite. Except that you have to control the kite, which requires sailing skills. Board manipulation is like other board sports, except that you also have to focus on keeping your kite flying.
More to come.

Molokai to Oahu

Paddling: I like to describe it as a cross between a surfboard and a canoe. You lay down on it and paddle it, like a surfboard. But, it is made of lighter weight foam, sometimes even hollow, and has more of a hull shape to the bottom, for hydrodynamic efficiency. It is not to be confused with Stand Up Paddling (SUP), which is definitely all the rage right now. Paddleboarding is a much more fringe sport with a rich history in Hawaii and a popular cross-training summer sport for serious winter surfers. My original intention for getting into paddleboarding was to develop my 'big board' paddling skills and to maintain my surf skills for big waves throughout the summer. I was able to do this. Paddling helped develop my upper body strength and my endurance. But, I also realized that paddling has it's own appeal. Paddling gets you out on the water no matter what the surf is doing, and it allows you to remove yourself from the chaos of the 'line-up'. You can plan your route and get an actual workout, rather than sitting around waiting for inconsistent summer surf. Paddleboarding can be an activity and transportation. It's not just riding waves, but it takes you somewhere. I've definitely seen more Oahu coastline from my paddleboard than from my surfboards. Fleeing dead whale-scavenging Tiger sharks outside Turtle Bay. Checking the reef past Revelations and Backyards. Learning the sweet spots inside Sunset. Picking the inside line all along the Miracle. Rounding the point at Waimea. Scoping the fishermen hideouts along the Makapuu corridor. Hovering in the deep water outside Hanauma. Dodging the sandbars of Keehi Lagoon. Melting into the changing blue water all along the outskirts of Maunalua Bay. Finally culminating in an eight hour endurance of the Kaiwi Channel between the islands of Molokai and Oahu.
However, the most important thing that I learned from paddleboarding is about the water. I learned how to read the waves, currents and swell and how to move with it rather than against it. This can come in quite handy when you're surfing heavy winter surf on the North Shore, fighting strong rips and diving under thick walls of foam. Whenever possible, you want to move with the water and not against it. This can make all the difference in the world when you're fatigued or when it gets critical.

So many places . . .

There are so many places I've been, so many places I'd like to go. But it's so hard, to go somewhere, anywhere, for a short period of time and really understand that place. Everywhere is unique. It has it's own unique atmosphere of people, values, ideas and practices. That's why I usually like to go somewhere when I have the time and resources to invest in the area with a sincere interest, whether it be as a tourist, or as a local. I also then, usually get sucked into the beauty of a place and never want to leave. Hence, my nine years in Hawaii. But, if I could, there are 100 . . . 200, places that I would spend 9 years or more. But because we can't be everywhere at once, and we can't live everywhere and experience everything that we want to; that's why we read, write, share photos and now videos with people all over the world. We can live vicariously. We can learn vicariously. If I share my experiences, you can know what it's like, good and bad, to live in Hawaii without actually giving up the precious life you've made in the place that you love. If you share your experience with me, then I can know that life too. All you ever wanted to know about living in Hawaii, starts right here.