Maui's North Beaches and Watermen 4/7

Hawaii Travelogue Part 4 of 7


Maui's North Beaches and Watermen

Maui has some of the most breathtaking beaches. The beaches on the north shore and the Hana side are especially spectacular as the ocean is rougher there. A rough ocean means BIG waves followed by BIGGER waves. Huge waves means the Hawaiian Watermen are out and about. Those who passionately engage in water sports like surfing etc refer to themselves as Watermen. 

On Ho’okapi Beach, we saw many of these Watermen plying their passion. There were sufers, wind sufers, boarders, kite surfers. A huge group of spectators watched the Watermen from shore and the lookout point on the cliff. Their play looked effortless but it must be a tough sport. You have to admire the qualities of resilience and patience that sports like surfing entails. They have to wait for the right wave, so a lot of patience is required. There are as many falls as rides on the waves, so a lot of resilience is needed to keep coming back for more. No matter how long the surfer rides a single wave by zigzagging just ahead of the curl of the wave, as some point it invariably waves all over him. Some of the waves carried the sufers almost to rocks on the shore. It almost looked like they would hit the rocks, but at the last minute he would manuever to get to the sandy part rather than the rocks. The wind surfers zipped here and there on their boards with the attached sails. They were incredibly fast.   

Kanaha Beach and Baldwin Beach are 2 other beautiful beaches on the north shore. Pure white sands and nice big waves make for a great swim-shore experience. Baldwin Beach was this vast expanse of gorgeous sand and deep blue ocean that threw out deep blue waters with frothy tips. Many local kids, some maybe just 4-5 years old, were fearlessly tackling these waves on their boogie boards. The waves at Kanaha Beach would curl around your feet and even before it receded, another wave took its place. It was marvelous just standing there at the edge of the sea.  

Hawaii Travelogue 2012
Part 1 - Aloha Maui
Part 2 - I Survived the Road to Hana
Part 3 - West Maui
Part 4 - North Beaches and Watermen
Part 5 - Whale of a Tail
Part 6 - Humuhunukunukuapua'a and the Coral Reef
Part 7 - Living Aloha