Last March 2003, I rented a sit on top kayak (ex. portable tub) and
paddled right out of Lahaina. I rented from WEST MAUI SPORTS &
FISHING SUPPLY
1287 FRONT ST, LAHAINA, HI 96761, Phone: (808) 661-6252 ), $35 per day
for a sit on top kayak tub. The store is right next to the shore. I
left right from the store. This store has one single siton top and
two? or more doubles. The few hotels were much more expensive ($25
per hour) and one could only paddle with eyesight of the rental place.

No-one rents "slim" sea kayaks on Maui like I would prefer. It was a
beautiful paddle. It started calm in the morning, spotting a few sea
turtles on the calm water, In the afternoon, the northwest winds
picked up just as I was told by the West Maui Sports staff. I paddled
southeast, heading toward Mopua, turning around as the winds picked
up; landings were okay as I found breaks in the surf. There were a
lot of surfers out that day in March.

however, if I were to paddle again, I would head northwest towards
Honokowai as there were whales closer to shore in that area. One
note: I assume you are comfortable with increased wind and waves (the
sit on tops are stable kayak tubs in my opinion). My estimated speed
was two miles per hour. I normally paddle just under or above 4 miles
per hour in my sea kayak at home.

Bring plenty of water (I did) and wear a long sleeve shirt and pants
(nylon) or frequently use sun tan lotion, SPF 45, once per hour.
Apply before departing (I did) and once per hour (I did not as I left
the sun tan lotion in my dry bag behind me, stopping only to reapply
at lunch which was too late). I wore shorts and a long sleeve nylon
shirt, hat. With a sit on top, the parts of my expose legs became
sunburnt as I only applied the sun tan lotion twice hours apart.

Definitely NOT the north shore of either island in December

On Maui, I second this (unless I had my own kayak, and a hired guide
or plenty of local knowledge). In many areas, I did not spot many
takeouts on the north shore of Maui - miles of paddling without a
takeout. There were lots of rock and cliffs, and heavy surf landings
on the few beaches. A helmut and previous experience in surf landings
would be a minimum at best. The tradewinds were also blowing from
that direction (blowing one into the rocks) in March. On the north
side, I would drive, or even better, bicycle on a weekend day,
starting in the early morning at dawn on the road to Hana. I noticed a
local bicycle club on a ride.


Scott Bemis

"suds" sudsysadie@hawaii{is the #1 state for Spam eaters}.rr.com wrote in message . ..
"suds" sudsysadie@hawaii{is the #1 state for Spam eaters}.rr.com wrote in
message ...


Definitely NOT the north shore of either island in December! LOL Of