Hi all,

I've gotta few weeks off in May and I was thinkin about headin to Hawaii for the first time for some wavesailing and surfing.

Just asking the usual newbie questions to anyone who has been or is from Hawaii in regard to,
1)Is it best to rent equipment or take my own?
2)If I take my own what gear should I take? (I'm 75kg, 75l quad and 85l single fin boards, sails 4.0 - 5.8)
3) Accommodation, car hire, (secret) sailing spots, etc.

Any wise words or useful links would be appreciated! Cheers!

If you do a serach on the forum you'll find quite a few maui tip posts.

Been a few times mate.

1. No public transport so need to hire car
2. Hire gear is very good and cheap
3. Waves can get huge depending on time of year - go easy and know what your doing. Don't start at Lanes or Hookipa unless your an expert. Kanaha is good all round.

Contact Matt Pritchard for the best quality gear on the island at matt@gaastra.com and contact Katy Hargreaves for accomodation options. Katy's number is Australia is 0423304263. Matty also has accomodation options too. Just flick him a note. hire a rice burner from one of the major car rental companies at the airport. All pretty cheap. DONT STAY AT KIHEI whatever you do! It sux.
Cheers Dave Wenck

Well, yes and no.
You can bring your gear, but 85L is considered a big board for maui, unless you are 100Kg and May is starting to be on the windier side..and sporadic swell, so maybe renting is the best option. I usually bring my quiver when I go there for a month, less than that I rent.
Renting a brand new ford mustang or a dodge seabring...ahhhhiiisshh. If you go to hookipa, parking is tight and like any other spot in the world, there is thief..if you visite a fall or Hana or whatever with a brand new car, it says..look i'm a tourist and I got a lot of valuable inside the car. All the el cheapo rent a car are own by the same guy now so price are almost the same everywhere, the only small company that I know is www.manaloharentacar.net/ Sergio is a good guy renting cars on the north shore..his car are not new at all you will blend in the crowd for sure! Other like Al West etc are all good also!

However, Haiku and the area are great for boardhead, and just a few km from Hookipa and Kanaha. However, if you have familly traveling with you, you might be more confortable in a condo in South Kihei(the first km in Kihei..don't go to far) with a pool for the kids and watch the sun disappear over the water. In Nov to Fev, seriously consider Kihei, sunny while the north shore got a lot of mist and rain...but if you are a boardhead, stick with the northshore and don't worries about rain in May.
Have a nice trip.

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davidwenck said...

Contact Matt Pritchard for the best quality gear on the island at matt@gaastra.com and contact Katy Hargreaves for accomodation options. Katy's number is Australia is 0423304263. Matty also has accomodation options too. Just flick him a note. hire a rice burner from one of the major car rental companies at the airport. All pretty cheap. DONT STAY AT KIHEI whatever you do! It sux.
Cheers Dave Wenck

Muppet,
GO to Maui. While I'm no Hawaii expert I've been there and as it is coming into their summer & it is considered the windier season. You should be able to sail 3-4 hours per day in at least 20 knots. I'm over 80kg and didn't use bigger than a 5.0m.

Obviously there are windier days and a lot depends on the board but as the wind is consistent you can rig more accurately. As said above you won't see many boards for competent sailors over approx. 80 litres due to the great conditions.

Most of the airlines are quite accommodating for gear but it is worth checking in advance about weight/board restrictions as you can be slugged $5-10 per kg over the allowance. Maybe consider taking sails/boom/mast and you can hire a board there. All the shops should have unlimited swaps, check on the internet.

Maui is well set up with shops, car hire etc. just for the windsurfer. You can't be paranoid about getting gear stolen, you can't hide you are a tourist. You have to have a camera don't you?

No wetsuit, clear water, bloody windy, $A at $US1.04, ALL good!

If you have never been there before and want an easy experience, contact vela windsurf and get hooked up with accommodation and vehicle and even a clinic if you're interested.

Oh yeah - email Matt P for gear. Nothing over 1 season old and generally current season, plus Matt is just so easy to deal with.

Sure you can book in advance at Matt..and use a kind'a vela or whatever to arrange everything.

but I think shoping arround, doing kanaha and Haiku rentals is part of the Highlight of goind to Maui. All those toys, all those peoples you going to meet and it is so easy. Unless you are going there with wife and kids and they don't have time and interest shop arround for windsurfing equipment...than you know what to do.

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DAM71 said...

If you have never been there before and want an easy experience, contact vela windsurf and get hooked up with accommodation and vehicle and even a clinic if you're interested.

Oh yeah - email Matt P for gear. Nothing over 1 season old and generally current season, plus Matt is just so easy to deal with.

Thanks for all the advice guys!!! I'm gettin some movement in the pants region just thinking about it!

YOU SHOULD!! I don't know your orientation, but guys and girls are quite in shape there.....

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Muppet said...

Thanks for all the advice guys!!! I'm gettin some movement in the pants region just thinking about it!

If you can afford a bit more on accom then get a place on spreks beach or suger cove with beach access.
Not having to load the car up and drive down the beach every day is priceless:)
Its even better if you have a partner who doesnt like sitting around on a beach for 5 hours waiting for you to come in. they can wander back inside and do their own thing :)
At the end of the day you just hang sail up to dry light the BBQ and have a beer while watching ppl ripping up the waves.

Other tips:
You cant sail before 11 AM - local rules say the morning is for surfers and fishermen. its not really a problem since wind doesnt kick in to 12 or so. Use this time to take the wife shopping / sight seeing so she wont bother you in the afternoon :)

You can buy your beer cheap in the super markets but the selection is kinda poor.

They dont have a lot of specialist shops like butchers or bakerys - only a couple of the big food stores have a good meat section for BBQs. Everything they sell in marklets is BIG. hard to find small portions of anything heh.

Clothing is super cheap pack lightly - food is about the same as aus.
My wife plans to take 1 suitcase packed inside another there and come back with 2 full ones :(

Muppet

I am in Maui at the moment and they say it was going off in March (many 4.0 days with good swell). Its backed off a bit now in late April but still sailing with 5.0 and there is some decent swell at 3 to 4 foot. Had a good session today at Hookipa - glug out 5.0 and head high to half mast faces.

Gear rental for a short trip is the way to go - rental is cheap at about $275 /week and good quality. Most of the shops are in kahului (not far from the airport) and only 5 minutes from Kanaha beach. Heres some rental links mauiwindsurfingguide.com/windsurfing-hire-links/11

Accomodation - if its just you I would stick to North Shore around Sprecks or Paia. I have the family and have scored a 2 bedroom cottage near Haiku (5 minutes past Hookipa) with its own swimming pool.

Car hire - I looked at the 2nd hand places which I rented from 15 years ago but I found a better deal via the following web link which got me a mid-sized SUV for 10 days with all insurances (theres like 3 layers all that cost heaps), full tank of gas and free additional drivers for $470 for the 10 days. www.carrentalhawaii.com/

These links are useful for wind reports:
- forecast better than 10 knots is sailable because of funnelling effect around the volcano www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=53
- current kahului readings www.iwindsurf.com/windandwhere.iws?regionID=158&siteID=561&Isection=Current+Wind