Before I try to describe yesterday's helicopter tour of the island (on a later post, since it may take awhile), I wanted to post today's adventure...which was a solo (i.e. no kids), "stand up paddle" lesson for me with a guy named Sage Gasaway, whom I met after watching him in the surf way out from our beach. When he came in one day, I followed him to where he was loading his board in his truck and struck up a conversation...which eventually led to him saying he gave lessons (Google "stand up paddling" to learn more of what it's all about). So one thing led to another and I lined up a lesson for this morning at 630am starting at his house which is right on the Hanapepe River (so we launched right in his backyard, to the right in the pic). Sage was a gracious, patient, centered teacher and I really appreciated his positive, unhurried style...it was a pleasure to meet him and share this experience. It was also cool because it was just he & I, one on one, so I got his undivided attention which he freely gave. We started out on the river which was totally calm, just to get used to standing up on the board, falling off properly (which I got real good at), proper paddling, turning, etc. The river led to the harbor at Port Allen, which then led to the ocean...so it was perfect for learning because the level of difficulty could be adjusted to the student , from calm to heavy surf (easy to hard). Sage was sizing me up as we made our way down river to the bay, and decided I should go for the whole shabang. So first we went to what he called "the buoy", for which he said I have big bragging rights, then asked if I wanted to tey to go out to what he called "my buoy", which was further out in the harbor/ocean where the wave action kicked up quite a bit. (Let me throw in a Google pic to break up te text...I have no photographic evidence of any of this except the above since my camera isn't waterproof).
So I made it out to "my buoy", for which he said I got huge bragging rights! Oh yeah! The only way I can describe the feeling of stand up paddling is that it is like standing up in a canoe and paddling...so imagine that. The boards we had were 11'6" (huge) and the paddles are about 5' long. On the way back from the buoy we saw 3 of the biggest sea turtles I have seen on this trip. One of them ended up swimming almost directly underneath my board (bonus) and I swear his shell was at least 3 feet in diameter! What a treat! What a setting. What a way to start the day! One of those moments in life when everything is peaceful and that you will always remember. Gratitude. So once Sage figured I could handle the waves, he asked if I wanted to try catching some waves at a spot where they broke in the harbor/beach area (which was perfect since it was shallow with a sandy bottom, i.e. softer landings than on rocky or reefy bottoms). So there we headed, Sage coaching and encouraging, hoping that I could catch a wave and ride one in (he said he never includes this in a beginner lesson, but thought I was up for it). The waves were small by his standards (he rides the big ones way, way out), but it is amazing how small a wave can upset your balance. So for me it was extremely challenging. Anyway, long story short, I ended up catching 3 or 4 really good rides (and crashing many, many more times than that, but like Sage said, it's not how many times you fall that counts, it's how many times you get back up!) It was awesome, and it seemed like he was as pumped as I was when I caught one and rode it in. We played there and talked for quite awhile, Sage trying to coach me on more techniques as he saw I was ready (he was so unhurried and relaxed and we were both having fun...there was no clock watching or caring about time). After catching one more bonus wave all the way to shore, he asked if I would like to paddle up the river to a swinging bridge. I said I was game, and he was too, so back to the calmer waters and up river we went. The view was phenomenal as we talked about all kinds of things and paddled leisurely up the Hanapepe to the bridge. On the way back to his landing, we saw a barracuda...very cool. The lesson ended up being about 3 hours long and I was (am) whooped...stretching and ibuprofen will be needed. Sage got the boards out, I told him I would like a picture to share, and we snapped the one you saw above. I feel like we became good friends, and he actually said he would bring an extra board with him if I wanted to join him in the surf on the beach where we are staying later this afternoon when he finishes another lesson. (this is one of the places he comes when he is on his own time and wants to ride the big surf). I may take him up on it (if I can still move)! Thanks Sage...awesome time!! Aloha!
Before I try to describe yesterday's helicopter tour of the island (on a later post, since it may take awhile), I wanted to post today's adventure...which was a solo (i.e. no kids), "stand up paddle" lesson for me with a guy named Sage Gasaway, whom I met after watching him in the surf way out from our beach. When he came in one day, I followed him to where he was loading his board in his truck and struck up a conversation...which eventually led to him saying he gave lessons (Google "stand up paddling" to learn more of what it's all about). So one thing led to another and I lined up a lesson for this morning at 630am starting at his house which is right on the Hanapepe River (so we launched right in his backyard, to the right in the pic). Sage was a gracious, patient, centered teacher and I really appreciated his positive, unhurried style...it was a pleasure to meet him and share this experience. It was also cool because it was just he & I, one on one, so I got his undivided attention which he freely gave. We started out on the river which was totally calm, just to get used to standing up on the board, falling off properly (which I got real good at), proper paddling, turning, etc. The river led to the harbor at Port Allen, which then led to the ocean...so it was perfect for learning because the level of difficulty could be adjusted to the student , from calm to heavy surf (easy to hard). Sage was sizing me up as we made our way down river to the bay, and decided I should go for the whole shabang. So first we went to what he called "the buoy", for which he said I have big bragging rights, then asked if I wanted to tey to go out to what he called "my buoy", which was further out in the harbor/ocean where the wave action kicked up quite a bit. (Let me throw in a Google pic to break up te text...I have no photographic evidence of any of this except the above since my camera isn't waterproof).
So I made it out to "my buoy", for which he said I got huge bragging rights! Oh yeah! The only way I can describe the feeling of stand up paddling is that it is like standing up in a canoe and paddling...so imagine that. The boards we had were 11'6" (huge) and the paddles are about 5' long. On the way back from the buoy we saw 3 of the biggest sea turtles I have seen on this trip. One of them ended up swimming almost directly underneath my board (bonus) and I swear his shell was at least 3 feet in diameter! What a treat! What a setting. What a way to start the day! One of those moments in life when everything is peaceful and that you will always remember. Gratitude. So once Sage figured I could handle the waves, he asked if I wanted to try catching some waves at a spot where they broke in the harbor/beach area (which was perfect since it was shallow with a sandy bottom, i.e. softer landings than on rocky or reefy bottoms). So there we headed, Sage coaching and encouraging, hoping that I could catch a wave and ride one in (he said he never includes this in a beginner lesson, but thought I was up for it). The waves were small by his standards (he rides the big ones way, way out), but it is amazing how small a wave can upset your balance. So for me it was extremely challenging. Anyway, long story short, I ended up catching 3 or 4 really good rides (and crashing many, many more times than that, but like Sage said, it's not how many times you fall that counts, it's how many times you get back up!) It was awesome, and it seemed like he was as pumped as I was when I caught one and rode it in. We played there and talked for quite awhile, Sage trying to coach me on more techniques as he saw I was ready (he was so unhurried and relaxed and we were both having fun...there was no clock watching or caring about time). After catching one more bonus wave all the way to shore, he asked if I would like to paddle up the river to a swinging bridge. I said I was game, and he was too, so back to the calmer waters and up river we went. The view was phenomenal as we talked about all kinds of things and paddled leisurely up the Hanapepe to the bridge. On the way back to his landing, we saw a barracuda...very cool. The lesson ended up being about 3 hours long and I was (am) whooped...stretching and ibuprofen will be needed. Sage got the boards out, I told him I would like a picture to share, and we snapped the one you saw above. I feel like we became good friends, and he actually said he would bring an extra board with him if I wanted to join him in the surf on the beach where we are staying later this afternoon when he finishes another lesson. (this is one of the places he comes when he is on his own time and wants to ride the big surf). I may take him up on it (if I can still move)! Thanks Sage...awesome time!! Aloha!
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