kihei kiting / family holiday

[tonycp]

I'm 99% done with finalising the arrangements for a family holiday to Maui at kihei.

Is this a good kiting spot?
Are there any site-specific DON'Ts?
Where can one find the local kiters to check i'm not doing anything i shouldn't be doing?
What should i expect winds to be end April?
What are the kiteable spots on Maui's North Shore?
Any other places i should visit while in Kihei?

Thanks for any information,

Tony

[Spencer]

I did a 2 week family trip to Maui (kihei) in late Jan. early Feb. this year. There are two places to kite in Kihei. Maui Sunset Condos, and Ohuki St. Kona winds are probably the best for kiting in Kihei (or S-Turns). The reef is VERY shallow at low tide here. By late April you'll probably have very strong trade winds every day. Some days the trades fill in at Kihei, and some days it's really fluky and weird there. Personally, I wouldn't even waste time trying to kite at Kihei if it looks gusty. Best to do fun family activities like snorkeling and boogie boarding all morning, then head up to Kite Beach Kanaha near the airport (North Shore) in the afternoon. It's not a very long drive from Kihei, though it's in a very unappealing location behind a bunch of industrial buildings. Kite beach is crowded, and can be gusty, but it's really the only reasonble spot to kite when the trades are blowing. The snorkeling on Maui is unbelieveable. We couldn't keep our 7 & 9 year old girls out of the water. They were chasing sea turtles and dolphins and everything else imagineable. My favorite snorkeling was about 20 minutes drive south of Kihei, where the paved road ends, and everything turns into jungle. La Perouse Bay is great, and there are a few bays just north of there that are even more spectacular, too (limited parking along the side of the road). Also, up in West Maui, Napili Bay is pretty good. Another fun family idea is a boat trip to go snorkeling at Lanai or Molokini Crater. Take the 7:00 am boat before it gets too windy!

Have Fun!
Spencer
Hood River

[tonycp]

thanks for the information.

i was looking at the wind records on ikitesurf - they often show pretty strong (~25mph) NNE at Kihei - does this 1/4 off-shore make it very gusty, or is it still kiteable?

Tony

[Spencer]

From my limited experience there, and advice from others, it seems that Kihei tends to get steadier in the late afternoon. While I was there, I saw a few days where it looked kiteable by late afternoon, and other days where there was a huge wind-line half a mile offshore, and psycho gusty on the inside. People do kite there, and they even teach lessons, but most days with trades it's steadier up at kite beach.

Spencer

[John Holzhall]

I am just about to release "Secrets of Kiteboarding" the Book and DVD...they feature the K.I.T.E.S. teaching system and were both shot mostly in Kihei. I can send you a pre-release of each. They will save you time, money and may save your life.
drop me an email at http://www.kiteboardcenter.com
fyi to all riders...do not launch at Ohuki beach park...there are many bad reasons and no good reasons to launch there.
Aloha & mahalo
John

[Dax]

Kihei's underrated! Maybe it was just my luck but I had some of my favorite sessions there. Of course a couple of the times there was Kona (SW) winds that were super solid. These only come in the winter though.

Even with the gusty NE winds, its still a good spot. There is a lot more room, and less people. Give it a try! But don't go out if you don't see other people out. It gets gusty real bad.

Make sure you check out kitebeach (Kanaha) too though. Beautiful beach, and its fun to kite there after seeing it in all those videos.

[John Holzhall]

This past winter in Kihei we had super fun Kona Winds. The summer can be a much different story, a very windy story. No other way to say it, you need the K.I.T.E.S. system to ride in kihei during the summer...if not, it is simply luck of the draw...the small crew that rides there make the spot look simple, it is not that way. You may see some one on a 10m kite and say...I'll go the same. What you may not notice is that they are on 19m lines...that gives them a net 7m kite. I spend the last three years laying these concepts down in both DVd and book. They are both about to be released.(Secrets of Kiteboarding) Please do all of us on Maui a favor and check them out...
They will save you time, money and may save your life...as well as saving our ride spots...
Aloha & mahalo
John
http://www.kiteboardcenter.com

[czezz]

Hi,
I have found this post very useful.
Im planning to be there at kihei between Oct/Nov.

Can anyone advise what set of kites should I take with me: 7-9m or 9-13m ?
In case there is no wind at south Im thinking of traveling to the north. I can see there is a bus. Anyone tried that ?

Cheers,
czezz

[waynepjh]

Hawaii is getting hammered with radiation right now from Fukushima. Research it!