Maui Report July 2011

[Don Losee]

I’ve been blessed, first learning to kite at Kite Beach Maui in 2000. Wow things have changed a lot. My daughter Maddy is over there selling alarms door to door. So it was cool to go visit her in the birthplace of kiteboarding. I had epic conditions for 10 days riding 9M every day. Some twin tip stuff but mostly rode my new 5,11 surfboard, strapless (my focus from now on) There is no longer a huge crew of Pros in the “Pro pool “ like a few years ago. I did ride with Lou one day. Lou does the weirdest stuff with a kite that you have ever seen. It is freaking mental! I can not put it in words...LOL.. Most of the great riders have found better more secret spots to work on their tricks. So.... I pretty much had the place to myself...... until I jumped over a young cocky French pro guy ..... whom had no idea I was up wind of him.... Or that I could hang in the air for so long...ending in a fight on the beach... So not wanting any more trouble with the law....ha ha.. I started kiting a mile up the road at Old Mans which really is a better place to launch and there is a bunch of hot girls that kite there... so all was good. I kited Lanes two days and had great 6 foot surf on both. Trying to be hard I did not wear booty’s and the reef did a cheese grater on my feet. Had some cool run ins with local kiters.... Woody Harrelson, who lives in Paia. He is just like he was in Zombieland, one of his movies. High and a little shifty. He has a really ugly dog with the Mange, that waits on the beach while he kites. It barks at you if you have a camera....really. Met with Jimmy Lewis, Pete Cabrina and Alex Aguera ( I am trying to learn as much as I can about shaping)... all these men were super cool and open about what they see is the future for kitesurfing, in twin tips, surf boards and race boards. SUP has changed hugely. Jimmy sent me out to demo his new 9,4 x 30 Mano. I am used to riding SUP on an 11,5 x30. The Mano was unreal. It was tippy paddling out but so easy to lock into waves. God surfing rules! Had a great south side swell for the last couple of days on island. Big waves for summer. Went to the nude beach with a hippy girl I met. The nude beach is creepy! Do not go! Maui costs a shit load still. A cheap bed and breakfast is still about $100 a night. Airlines crush you on board bags. I paid a ton round trip. (Should have taken one of my 3B TTB Travel Boards) but wanted to test some of my new stuff. Over all had a great trip. Wow life is trippy. A few months ago I was in jail fighting over what TV shows we would watch. Life is good! Maui Kiting is good! But there is no place like home. The butter and waves of Lincoln.... The gnarly wind of Rush... and the comfort of good old Barbed Wire Beach. There is no place like Utah! It is good to be back!
3B

[DaveHubbel]

Sounds like a great trip Don, hey if you are ever looking in to ordering less than 4 blanks, I would help fill up the box (Usually 1-4 blanks ship at the same ridiculous cost, I think it was $125 for the last 4 I ordered years and years ago) I will order a blank or two and share the shipping cost with ya.
Dave