So what did I do to relax?
Went back out to sea, of course! Well, this time under my own propulsion.
A friend of mine and I went to Kailua Sailboards and Kayaks and rented a tandem kayak to paddle out to the Mokulua Islands and back. It was a beautiful morning on the water.
Normally, the winds around here are from the northeast (hence why this is the "windward" side of the island). More often than not, it will be cloudy on the windward side of the island with the clouds bunching up against the Ko Olau mountain range, and it will be bright and sunny on the south side where Waikiki and Pearl Harbor are.
Not today. Oddly enough, the winds were out of the south-southwest today, so it was cloudy on the south side of the island as I left the naval base, and it was gorgeous over on the (normally) windward side where we were planning to go kayaking.
Kailua Sailboards and Kayaks has kayak rental down to a science. They have an incredibly smooth process for checking people in, moving you on to watch their safety video (which is very informative, funny, and entertaining), check out your gear, head down to the waterfront, and get paddling. It is all very well orchestrated, and I was amazed at how many customers they were able to process in a very short period of time AND with friendly and professional service to boot.
Standing on Flat Island, looking back toward Kailua in the background.
On our way, paddling from Flat Island to the Mokulua Islands.
The Mokulua Islands are a bird sanctuary, so you can't leave the beach.
Evidence
Overall, we had an excellent morning getting some exercise in the fresh air with some saltwater splashed on us. We wrapped it all up with a stop at the legendary Boots & Kimos for some banana pancakes with macadamia nut syrup. Mmmmmm. :-9
Stats for the paddle log:
- Date: 20 February 2011
- Time In: Approx 10:35 a.m.
- Time Out: 12:35 p.m.
- Elapsed: About 2 hours
- Moving Time (GPS): unknown - technical difficulties with watch
- Stopped Time (GPS): unknown - technical difficulties with watch
- Mileage (GPS): Approx 4 miles
- Sea State: 1
- Winds: 8-10 mph E observed in Kailua (Intellicast), but overall winds from SW made for a cloudy day on the south side of the island and a clear day here in Kailua.
- Air Temp: 77F
- Water Temp: Not sure. Warm. Bathwater.
- Current: None.
- Gauge Height: N/A.
- Avg Speed (GPS): 3.2 mph (at least for the second half paddling back to Kailua)
- Max Speed by (GPS): 5.0 mph (I'm pretty confident we didn't exceed this paddling out INTO the swells on the way out)
- Rapids? None.
- Hazards? Waves breaking over reefs.
- Kit: Rental kayak (unknown model). NH ballcap, NRS paddling gloves, long sleeve shirt, swim trunks, Keen sandals.
- Configuration: Tandem. I sat in back, S sat in front.
- Route: Put-in at Kailua Sailboards & Kayak rental, headed out into surf and over to Flat Island. After a brief stop at Flat Island, we paddled southeast parallel to shore and then out to the north Mokulua Island, paddling into 3 foot swells crashing into the bow. Rested on the island for a bit. Paddled back toward the shoreline, then northwest parallel to the shore back to Kailua.
- Other comments (such as wildlife spotted): None.
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