Just back from Maui, sailed 10/10.5 days in 4.2-4.7 conditions every day - best holiday ever!

We were fortunate enough to hook up with the dynamic duo of Matt Pritchard and Shawna Cropas, which helped turned our Maui holiday into an incredible experience!We rented our gear from Matt -all the latest, top notch gear from Gaastra + Tabou (I was on 2014 Gaastra Manics!) at really competitive prices, backed by the super friendly service of an ex world champ who lives for windsurfing!

We were also lucky enough to do a private lesson with Shawna Cropas - Brilliant one on one instruction that made a world of difference to our sailing! My girlfriend and I each worked on a set of specific exercises that made a huge difference to our sailing. There is nothing like progressing your windsurfing, especially when this unlocks epic sailing days on the North shore of Maui!

I couldn't recommend these guys more + hope to be back in due time!

www.pritchardwindsurfing.com/
http://blog2012.shawnacropas.com/

What was the cost like? And was it crowded?

Recommend +1
Just got back myself. Got some gear off Matt. Awesome gear and awesome bloke.
Going to try and do one of his clinics next year in Maui or Baja.

Costs were reasonable all in all - Maui prices are alot like Sydney prices, but if you shop around a bit you can keep costs down.
We found a place via Air BnB up in Haiku, ate a plenty at the Paia fishmarket + rented our van from Kimos.

I'd love to get back for a clinic as well!

+1 more for Matt Pritchard
Only there for short time didn't get to meet of hire from Matt because of circumstances
But seemed like a great guy was very helpful with info.
I'll Definitely see him next time.

Leave for Maui, Saturday!

Just trying to figure out how to interpret the forecast, windguru does not seem to show it being all that windy.

Is is one of the those places that all much windier on the beaches than overall forecast, I hope so...
If is <5m weather most of the time I am tempted to take my own gear, otherwise I am going to rent.

What did you use to check the wind each forecast for each day, or is just windy all the time? fingers crossed

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racerX said..
Leave for Maui, Saturday!

Just trying to figure out how to interpret the forecast, windguru does not seem to show it being all that windy.

Is is one of the those places that all much windier on the beaches than overall forecast, I hope so...

If is <5m weather most of the time I am tempted to take my own gear, otherwise I am going to rent.

What did you use to check the wind each forecast for each day, or is just windy all the time? fingers crossed

If windguru shows it being E or NE you can guarantee you'll be sailing irrespective of the strength that it shows. If its light NE on the north shore then Kihei will be 20+ knots in the afternoon. If you're only there for a week or so dont bother taking your gear. You'll be slugged $60 each way interisland and the rental gear is so good anyway.
I'm heading over next week and will rent a rig from Matt Pritchard @ $25 per day and I keep a spare board over there too.

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racerX said..

Leave for Maui, Saturday!

Just trying to figure out how to interpret the forecast, windguru does not seem to show it being all that windy.

Is is one of the those places that all much windier on the beaches than overall forecast, I hope so...
If is <5m weather most of the time I am tempted to take my own gear, otherwise I am going to rent.

What did you use to check the wind each forecast for each day, or is just windy all the time? fingers crossed

You can use Windguru but the wind will generally be around two to three times stronger than the forecast. If it says 12 knots you're on 5.0.

Don't ask me why this is so

I used Wind Guru and found the Kanaha forecast not too bad. Also this uses Guru and is cool actionsportsmaui.com/maui-wind-graphs/ Also check out www.windfinder.com/forecast/maui_kanaha_park. You soon figure out what these numbers mean in real terms.

I found maui-wind.com/ awesome for obs. Good luck and have an awesome time racer!

Robbo - do you usually sail Kihei? I only sailed Sprecks when I was there and was super keen to find some flatwater but I didn't see anyone sailing anywhere other than the north shore. Any other good spots? Is Kihei any good?

Matt,
How come you missed .5 of a day? Kidding!!
.
Where did you sail mostly & what sort of swell did you get - not that it matters too much in 26 deg water,
small sails, clear water & hours of consistent wind. Any photos??
.
For me it's either the whole family (5 airfares) or boys trip. Financial stress or domestic disturbance

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tomp said..

Matt,
How come you missed .5 of a day? Kidding!!
.
Where did you sail mostly & what sort of swell did you get - not that it matters too much in 26 deg water,
small sails, clear water & hours of consistent wind. Any photos??
.
For me it's either the whole family (5 airfares) or boys trip. Financial stress or domestic disturbance

We had to fly out that afternoon, so turned it into a SUP morning instead

Sailed Kanaha everyday apart from one day at Kihei (which I didn't really rate), but one of my favourite things to do is the morning run up to Sprecks and ridiculous downwind run back - beautiful open ocean sailing with a bit of swell out on the reef for some jumps, but nothing too serious. If you want swell, you need to go in April or October.

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AUS1111 said..

racerX said..

Leave for Maui, Saturday!

Just trying to figure out how to interpret the forecast, windguru does not seem to show it being all that windy.

Is is one of the those places that all much windier on the beaches than overall forecast, I hope so...
If is <5m weather most of the time I am tempted to take my own gear, otherwise I am going to rent.

What did you use to check the wind each forecast for each day, or is just windy all the time? fingers crossed

You can use Windguru but the wind will generally be around two to three times stronger than the forecast. If it says 12 knots you're on 5.0.

Don't ask me why this is so

Some things you just shouldn't question, but Robbo is right, if it's N / NE, it means the trade wind is going and you are virtually assured of getting out. All the locals use the webcams - so can get a pretty good sense of what the winds doing by seeing how many people are out sailing:
mauiwindcam.com/

Forecast was 15-18 the whole time we were there - we got 27-35

^^^ I used wind alert says 12 knots also but closer to 25 water was sensational temp
Gets choppy bugger no swell beware of the turtles
They pop up out of nowhere and don't hang in the water longer than you have to
Tiger Shaka patrol these water
Rent from Matt Pritchard he'll sort you out with gear and any helpful info you need
If you email in you'll hear back by the end of the day
Have fun

We found that you just double windguru and you're good to go. 17 knots on wind guru was gusting 35 at Kahului airport. 12 knots was a real fun day on 5.3 - 4.7

For wind forecast refinement, in WindGuru on the Maui North Shore page, click on upper right Options, >chose wind modifications, >then select Maui Windsurf Company, then x off Option box, this gives a localized modifier for the wind speed with the geographic modification of the Maui mountains venturi effect applied to the readings/forcast.
Works like a charm!
Chuck

Cool! Thanks Chuck!

Are there any good flatwater places to sail or is it really all just bump and jump? I've read some stuff about Maalaea Bay, but I didn't see anyone sailing there when I was there. I only saw people sailing on the north shore. Are there any other good spots?

When the wind is north and surf is up you will find slalom sailors at kanaha inside the reef break wind is straight onshore, super flat like ice skating, same in Maalaea Bay, north wind sailing is close and parallel with beach with straight offshore wind, this is the speed spot usually seen in brouchure pics, similar conditions to your Sandypoint I would think.
Chuck