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by Harry Wiewel

 

February 26, 2008. 

It's been a while since I updated this portion of the TMMaui website.  Guess I'll start with the last thing worth mentioning and that is the last swell that hit the Southern California coast late Sunday afternoon, February 24.  The swell was predicted but had not shown up well into that Sunday afternoon when we spotted (from our usual Sunset Beach spot) what appeared to be a wave breaking out at Ester oil island.  That certainly caught our attention since Ester is at least 2 miles off-shore from Seal Beach.  The water is approximately 20 feet deep around Ester, meaning these waves were huge and heading straight into Seal Beach, home of infamous "ankle snapper". 

                  

When it appeared the waves were going to stick around a while, I raced home  to get my camera (Murphy's Law #303, when you need a camera, it's usually still at home).  I got to the Seal Beach pier very late on Sunday afternoon under rapidly darkening skies.  Most of the pier itself was already closed because the 18-20 foot waves were hitting the bottom of the pier.   There were some surfers about 1 to 1-1/2 miles off shore, but I could barely see them through my 400 mm lens.  I did see a SUP (stand-up paddleboarder) paddling out through some pretty big surf and waited until he caught a wave, then shot away. 

                 

As I stood shivering on the pier (I had grabbed my camera but not a jacket), I shot a surfer taking off on one of the outside waves.  I then headed home to warm up.  I returned early the next morning but the waves were only about 12 to 15 feet high, which is still very impressive for Seal Beach, California...........home of the infamous ankle-snapper.

 

September 6, 2007. 

The TMMaui website is almost back to normal.  I had to learn to use several new FTP (file transfer protocol) programs since the server is still only a "temporary" one.  The "Hit Counter" on the index page always reads "000001" visitors, which may fix itself someday since I've given up.   I posted two videos on YouTube at:

Kauai trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6427STguQVI and

Labor Day weekend at Bolsa Chica State Beach:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns5RL914mms

More photos of the Labor Day weekend can be seen by clicking here or on the photo below. 

 

              

August 25, 2007. 

Well it appears that the TMMaui website is finally back online.  There are still quite a few glitches that need to be worked out.  In the meantime I've learned how to post videos to YouTube, created a Blog on Google and learned how to use FTP (file transfer protocol) on the servers that carry this website.  The "Hurricane Flossie Waves" video can be seen on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVoTgz_Jp0s

August 14, 2007. 

Yesterday Maui saw one of the first signs of the approaching hurricane Flossie in the form of waves usually seen later in the year.  I stopped at Ho'okipa and shot many photos, some of which I'll post later.  I have uploaded some other photos taken on the North shore during the last few days.  I won't be posting videos on tmmaui.com anymore because my web hosting company, ValueWeb, billed me for $568.30 because I exceeded my "bandwidth".  I'll post them on YouTube where the service is free (and you might even get paid if your video gets enough hits).  I guess the lesson here is, stay away from ValueWeb and go with Google.

   

 

August 9, 2007. 

This is the start on our last week on Maui.  Of course there's lots of wind and, surprisingly, some nice waves as well.  I decided to take some photos of things other than people on the water.  Besides the easy things, such as the beautiful  flowers here on Maui, I managed to "shoot" a moth, a Ferrari, Ulua Beach in Wailea, and the ever-present Gekkos.  Click here for the photos.  Cheers.

   

 

August 3, 2007. 

We're back on Maui.  The trip to Kauai went very well and we had a great time.  Now I have to work off all the weight I gained as a tourist.  The weather on Maui is pretty normal with excellent trade winds, good for the windsurfing and kite boarding communities (see photos).  The waves have been pretty much in the small range with an occasional bump up from a dying tropical storm or from activity down south. 

   

 

July 30, 2007. 

Last Friday, we flew to Kauai to attend the wedding of Bill and Ann who live in Kapaa on the East side of Kauia.  Bill was my former partner at Techmar, Inc.  Friday we became typical tourists and drove up to Hanalei and of course took many photographs.  Saturday we went to Bill and Ann's incredible wedding and reception in Kapaa.  Shirley and I thoroughly enjoyed the wedding, the people, the food and the entertainment.  Sunday we drove to the other side of the island and played tourist again.  We visited the beaches on the South side and drove into Waimea Canyon.  Today is our last full day on Kauai as we return to Maui tomorrow.  Needless to say the camera will be used extensively and the pictures will appear here shortly.

   

 

July 24, 2007. 

The North Shore experienced an unusual three days of waves this past week.  The waves were generated by tropical storm Cosme and the surfers and wave sailors took full advantage of the swell.  Since I would rather be in the waves than take photos of them, all I have is sore muscles but no pictures (the insert below is an older photo taken at Ho'okipa).  I did manage to take some photos from my usual spot at Kanaha Beach Park.  Kanaha is a great place to observe people (who come to Maui from all over the world) and also to witness companies testing their new sail and board designs, as well as watch the pros train for PWA events when they're on the island.

   

 

July 17, 2007. 

The fourth race of the Maui Race Series, the MFC Open, was held in relatively light winds last Saturday at Kanaha Beach Park.  The lighter winds didn't prevent the competitors from having a great day.  It also allowed me some opportunities to take a few photographs of the people on the beach other than racers going around the buoys.   I also used my video camera briefly in the late afternoon and this time actually operated the camera.  The video can be seen at YouTube by clicking on www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ngUdFB7pA

 

July 13, 2007. 

Friday the 13th.  It's still very windy here on Maui.  This is especially true on the North Shore beaches that stretch from Ho'okipa to Kanaha.  No waves and strong wind  brings out the speed sailors.  I shot some photos at one of the Speed Challenge Series events this past Wednesday.  While the guys and girls on the water were complaining about the lack of wind, I was literally getting sandblasted while standing on a point halfway between Sprecks and Camp One.  I posted a few photos of speed sailors going relatively fast while dodging waves, Turtles and an occasional paddle boarder.  Tomorrow we'll have two contests going on, the Maui Race Series (windsurfing) and a paddle board race on Oahu.  Right now they are predicting strong gusty winds for Saturday, which should make both events very interesting.

    

 

July 6, 2007. 

In the past week we've had both very strong winds and waves here on Maui.  The leeward side of the island has been getting good waves generated by  a series of winter storms near New Zeeland.  I had a great time surfing the waves near Lahaina on Tuesday.  Unfortunately I discovered just how much out of shape I am.  The windsurfing was equally challenging on the North Shore, as the side-shore winds clocked between 25 and 35 MPH, accompanied by small but fun waves on the reefs.  Last Saturday I shot a few video clips of the Quicksilver Cup.  Actually I just aimed the video camera at the buoy and turned it on while I shot the still photos.  Here's my first attempt at putting a video on this webpage.  Next time I might even operate the camera. 

   

 

July 1, 2007. 

Yesterday was race day at Kanaha Beach Park.  Besides being one of the most competitive (and oldest) race series in the world, it's also a big social event for the windsurfing community here on Maui.  A lot of the competitors bring their entire family to the beach and some of families race together in their respective divisions.  The competition is first class as many of the competitors are either pros or former pros, many of them former world champions (and sometimes even current world champions).  Yesterday's race was held in very strong north-east trade winds, making the slalom course very challenging for all the age and ability groups.  Racers ranged in age from only 10 years old to over 60 years old.  Two of the most competitive race groups are the Men' 60 and Over and Men's 50-59 divisions.  These guys may be getting older but they are fast and their heats often have the closest finishes.  For more photos click here.

   

 

June 28, 2007. 

It's certainly good to be back on the water.  These last few day have been very windy on the North Shore of Maui.  The winds have been kicking into the 25 to 35 MPH range every afternoon, creating havoc for some of the less experienced windsurfers and kiteboarders.  The photos below were taken at Kanaha Beach Park, a great location on Maui's North Shore for everyone, from people just starting to learn to the best windsurfers and kiteboarders in the world.  For more photos of Kanaha, click on the link on the left hand side or here.

   

 

June 24, 2007. 

The month of June is popular for graduations and reunions.  On Thursday I saw my 18-year old daughter Lisa graduate from Los Alamitos high school  and just a few days later I attended my own 40-year reunion of the Class of '67 from Pasadena High School.  Lisa and about 700 of her classmates certainly appeared to be relieved to have finally graduated from high school.  I'm sure that the Los Alamitos High School class of 2007 is well equipped to face today's challenges, whether they include going on to college or getting a real job.

   

It was forty years ago that I graduated from high school.  In some ways things are the same today as they were back then.  The United States is once again mired in an unpopular war, pollution today is still a big concern as it was back then and we are still dependent on energy sources outside of the U.S.  But there are some major differences as well.  The laptop I'm writing this on is more powerful than the typical computer that took up  the entire floor of a high-rise skyscraper back then.  Photos today can be sent around the world instantly and be seen by millions of people everywhere.  What you pay for a standard car today would have bought you a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house in a nice neighborhood back in 1967.  As for as those who attended the Pasadena High Class of '67 reunion,  we're a little heavier, have a little less (or gray) hair, but we all appear to have successfully made it through the last 40 years (see more photos).

   

 

June 20, 2007. 

I finally got back on the water yesterday.  Tuesday we surfed the kayaks in the shore break at Sunset Beach and today I took my windsurf equipment out for a spin at Seal Beach.  It felt good to get wet again and my eyes appeared to  have recovered completely from the Lasik procedures.  Next week at this time I should be windsurfing on the North Shore of Maui in slightly more challenging conditions.  My Maui-based friends have been e-mailing me with the latest wind reports and they say it has been extremely windy lately.  The race last weekend at Kanaha Beach Park on Maui was held in pretty windy conditions (40+ MPH wind gusts).  When I checked the race results at http://www.mauislalom.com/  I was greeted by a painting that looked strangely familiar.  My "painting" from the same photo appears below.

             

 

June 17, 2007. 

I spent a great deal of Father's Day on an airplane flying to the East Coast.  This is not really my idea of celebrating Father's Day the proper way (getting up at 4:40 AM for instance).  The last minute business trips to get to an early Monday morning meeting 2500 miles away aren't much fun, unless the meeting is say in...... Kapalua or Wailea, of course.  On the long, non-stop flight I managed to read a book, see a movie and finish the Sunday paper.  It was a very long flight.  On the plus side, Continental Airlines still feeds you a free hot meal, a very rare service on domestic air travel these days.  So here I am, not far away from where Tony Soprano recently left everyone up in the air.  Happy Father's Day.

       

 

June 14, 2007. 

Usually at this time of year we're packing our bags and headed for our summer home located somewhere on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Not this year.  There will a slight delay due to two of our kids graduating from high school and middle school.  The first occurred today when Monica graduated from middle school and is now officially in high school.  A week from today, it will be Lisa's turn to graduate from high school.  Seems like a long time ago that I graduated from high school.  Well, actually it was a long time ago as my 40-year Pasadena High School reunion is coming up fast on June 23rd.  Geez, I guess I'm getting old or maybe I should say I am old.  Anyway, congratulations Monica, only eight more years of school left (hopefully).

   

 

June 12, 2007. 

I have not been able to go into the water for two weeks now due to having Lasik surgery performed recently on both my eyes.  I was just getting used to surfing with my new "airplane" wing in Southern California's surf, but the fact that I kept losing a contact or two probably hastened my decision to finally get my eyes done.  So now I sit on the beach and watch.  You don't really know how important something is until you can't do it anymore.  Guess I won't move inland anytime soon.  To make up for not going into the water, I decided to post some photos of the water.  You know what they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.....

 

June 11, 2007. 

This is my first attempt at writing a blog.  I'll start by saying that I've finally added some photos since my last update back in March.  The "Lil' Critters" section contains photos of what a lot of people would simply try to dispatch to another world.  I, on the other hand, like to photograph bugs, spiders, lizards, etc. as a challenge.  The Praying Mantis shots are some of my favorites.  This particular insect seemed to be looking at the camera intently, then fly off to another location, with me scrambling behind it to try and get more shots.  If you don't like the bug photos, wait a day or so and I'll post some photos taken recently at Southern California's beaches.