How To: Stand Up Paddle Maui’s Maliko Run

by Kyle Ellison on

There’s no denying stand up paddling is one of the fastest growing sports on the planet. Unheard of 10 years ago, waterways from Lake Tahoe to the Mekong River are now home to dedicated groups of paddlers who are stoked to walk on water. Aside from being a challenging workout, what makes stand up paddling so immensely popular is the versatility of the sport, which allows it to be enjoyed in a wide array of conditions. Whether it’s gliding along a placid lake at sunrise, pulling into an eight-foot barrel, or flying along on a classic downwinder, there’s a stand up board to match your mood.

For those not familiar with the concept of a downwinder, it’s a point-to-point excursion where the paddler keeps the wind at their back and navigates through the constantly morphing ocean swells. Throughout the paddle, the main goal is to position yourself properly on one of the rolling swells and use the energy to literally surf the wave until it fizzles out and dies. Ideally, a downwinder should consist of more surfing than paddling, and the stronger the winds, the larger the swells are, and ultimately the better the ride.

While there are a number of runs across the globe that meet the criteria for an epic downwinder, none are more notorious and better suited for the sport than the famed Maliko Run on the north shore of Maui. While it’s highly recommended to acquaint yourself and get comfortable with the sport before attempting a run such as Maliko, here is a “how-to” to give you something to shoot for.1. Get a good stand up board and a light, carbon fiber paddle

As mentioned above, there is a proper stand up board for every activity you plan to undertake. The same board that you would use for stand up surfing an overhead reef break is not the same board you would use for an epic downwinder. As you are going to be navigating open ocean waves and needing to cover a fair amount of distance while paddling, a longer and more narrowly shaped board is preferable for a downwinder such as Maliko. At a minimum you should have a 12-foot-6-inch stock stand up board, although anything 14 feet and over is a better choice. Want to get real professional? Spring for an F-16 downwind board that’s tapered in the nose and specifically meant for catching swells. While a carbon fiber paddle isn’t essential, your arms are going to be feeling it by the end should you opt to use anything heavier.

2. Take a few practice runs elsewhere.

Just as you wouldn’t attack a double black diamond run or attempt heli-skiing immediately after your first lesson outside of the lodge, so goes the same for stand up paddling. The Maliko Run usually puts the paddler over one mile offshore depending on the wind direction, which is a terrible place to find yourself if you’re struggling and don’t know what you’re doing. If you can put the wind at your back while close to shore and paddle for at least a mile without falling, you might be ready for Maliko.

3. Find a partner

The same way you wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) go scuba diving or mountain climbing solo, so goes the same for when you put yourself at the mercy of the ocean a far distance from shore. Not only is having a partner a safer option for doing the Maliko Run, but it’s a lot more enjoyable. Although the sensation of stroking solo through the deep blue Pacific can be immensely calming, it can get a little bit lonely offshore, and having a partner there to share the moment with you is a markedly safer and a more enjoyable experience.

4. Wait for the right conditions

It should go without saying, but one of the chief ingredients of a downwinder is a good amount of wind. If you go out on a calm day you’re going to be in for a brutal paddle. Twenty knots of wind will be enough for a nice paddle; get over 35 knots and you’re in for a fast-paced screamer. The Maui trade winds are at their strongest and most consistent during the summer months of May through September. Also, since the Maliko Run is located on the island’s north shore, the winter months of October-April can bring surf that tops out at over 30 feet, turning the run into a death wish that only the most talented watermen should ever attempt. While it’s possible to tackle an extreme Maliko Run in the throes of a massive winter swell, it’s most likely best to stick to the summer months of steady winds and calm waters.

5. Drop a car

Such is the crux with one-way sports (such as whitewater kayaking), seeing as if all goes as planned you are going to end the day in a different place than where you started your journey. Although it may have taken you anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours to paddle from Maliko Gulch to Kahului Harbor or Kanaha Beach Park, it’s only going to take you 20-30 minutes to drive back there. Without the car, however, trying to hitchhike with a 14-foot board suddenly becomes an unenviable task.

6. Paddle out at Maliko Gulch

A rare protected cove on the otherwise exposed coastline of Maui’s north shore, Maliko Gulch is the same place where many of the world’s best tow surfers launch their jet skis for a tow surf session out at Jaws. Drop your board in the water and paddle through the protected gulch until you reach the tumultuous ocean swells awaiting you on the outside. Depending on the direction of the wind you’ll have to paddle at least a half-mile offshore to get a good angle on your end destination. If the wind is from the east you will have to paddle further out than if it is blowing from the north (rare) or northeast (more common).

7. Bring a leash and let someone know where you’re going

Nothing’s worse than losing your board while over a mile offshore and in 500 feet of water. Save yourself a terrifying situation and wear a leash, preferably around your upper leg to avoid it creating drag in the water. While hopefully it will never come to it, if someone knows you’re doing the Maliko Run and you still aren’t back by dark, it’s better than swimming aimlessly offshore (or worse) and not having anyone know that you’re there.

8. Shoot for Kahului Harbor or Kanaha Beach Park and enjoy the ride

You’ve done all the hard work of training, dropping a car and driving all the way to Maliko, so now it’s time to reap the fruits of your hard work and enjoy the epic ride. If the conditions are right you could literally just sit on your board without paddling and still end up near your destination, but that pretty much defeats the purpose of tackling one of the world’s best downwinders. Why not make a workout of it and test your balance and paddling skills by navigating your way through the heaving open ocean swells, which, if played properly, can get you an adrenaline-inducing ride.

As a tip, when you’re paddling you should keep your weight a few steps forward of the middle of the board, and once you’ve caught a swell you should back up a few steps so as to avoid the dreaded “pearl dive,” a move where the nose of the board dips beneath the water and you end up taking a deep water swim. Do your best to stay out of the water, keep up your momentum and you’ll be entering next year’s Naish Maliko Race before you know it.

Vagabond Tales: Bodysurfing A Hawaiian Bombing Range

by Kyle Ellison on

If there were ever a Hawaiian island which had nothing to do with mai tais and beachfront massages it’s the island of Kaho’olawe. A low-lying mound, which rises to an unassuming height of 1,477 feet, Kaho’olawe – for most visitors to Hawaii – is shrouded in total mystery.

For one thing, there are no five-star hotels, nightly luaus, or horrendous timeshare kiosks on Kaho’olawe. You will find no discount activity companies, no parasailing, no surf schools and no paid parking lots making their money off of tourists who don’t know any better. You won’t even find any residents.

This is because Kaho’olawe has a history unlike any other island in the Hawaiian chain. This island marks a historic outpost of exile and aggression, which progressed down a different path. When the rest of Hawaii was falling into the hands of sugar barons and Western businessmen, Kaho’olawe existed mostly as an afterthought.

Sparsely inhabited during Ancient Hawaiian times, the minimal amount of fresh water on the island was ultimately an inhibiting factor for growth. Later on, during the mid-1800s, the island of Kaho’olawe was used as a penal colony for 23 years as a place where prisoners were sent to fend for themselves. Dry and barren and with few natural resources, some of those exiled would eventually starve.

Though sporadic ranching ventures over the next century proved to be mediocre in their success, when the Japanese Imperial Army launched a surprise attack on Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941, the future of Kaho’olawe would take a turn down a violent and destructive road.
With the events of the Pearl Harbor placing the entire territory of Hawaii under martial law, the island of Kaho’olawe was designated by the U.S. military as a practice bombing range and training ground for young American soldiers heading to the islands of the Western Pacific.

Even after the war was won, Kaho’olawe continued to be used as a target isle throughout the Korean, Vietnam, and Cold wars, with all bombing officially coming to a halt nearly 50 years after it began in 1990. Though no nuclear, biological or chemical weapons were ever detonated on Kaho’olawe, fire bombs such as napalm scorched across the already dry island, and a blast in 1965 dubbed “Operation Sailor Hat” detonated 500 tons of TNT as a means of testing the blast resistance of U.S. warships. The resulting craters have strangely enough created a marine ecosystem for two endemic species of shrimp.

Once the bombing raids finally stopped, however, the island was given back to the state of Hawaii and placed under the stewardship of the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission, a group who, to quote their mission statement, pledges “to provide meaningful, safe use for the island of Kaho’olawe for the purposes of the traditional and cultural practices of the native Hawaiian people, and to undertake the restoration of the island and its waters”.

Working in an area, which will never have any commercial use and will never be developed, the KIRC operates with limited funding and relies heavily on volunteers to enact projects such as replanting native plant species and creating footpaths.

One of the more authentic experiences a visitor to Hawaii can schedule for their trip is to place their name on a volunteer sign up sheet and spend four days volunteering on Kaho’olawe during a trip to the isles.

Granted, the waiting list is about two years long, but the cultural experience gained from visiting a Hawaiian island most will never set foot on is without question an experience well worth the wait.

After having laid waste to it for so many years, the U.S. Navy joined forces with KIRC and undertook a massive cleanup effort geared at removing much of the unexploded ordnance, which still lay scattered around the island. Although nearly three-quarters of the land was cleared of ordnance, only a small percentage was done so to a sufficient depth of four feet, and there are still sections of the island where no ordnance removal has ever taken place at all.

Given the explosive capabilities of the land, the general rule of thumb for those volunteering on Kaho’olawe is “if you didn’t drop it, don’t pick it up.” There are even still bombs in the ocean.

This is why it was such a thrill to bodysurf there.

Wait. What? You literally just said there were bombs in the water and that nobody lives there. Why would you bodysurf on Kaho’olawe?

Unbeknownst to virtually every surfer who doesn’t live in Maui County, the island of Kaho’olawe gets some of the best surf in the Hawaiian Islands during the summer months on waves sent up from storms east of New Zealand. Although there are no official docking facilities on Kaho’olawe, the southern-facing Honokanaia Bay features a long sandy cove where landing craft pull right up on to the shore and offload volunteers.

Seeing as this is the sole point of aquatic entry and exit from the island, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Honokanaia is sufficiently free of bombs. I don’t know this for a fact, but it’s just a hunch I’ve got.

It also just so happens that Honokanaia Bay features one of the nicest left-breaking points in all of the Hawaiian Islands, and the handful of old-timers I know who illegally surfed there in the 1970s and ’80s call it the “Kaho’olawe Pipeline.” Others who have surfed it refer to it as “Smuggler’s Cove.”

Although I didn’t have an actual board with me, as part of the transport crew shuttling volunteers to Kaho’olawe I was nevertheless able to spend 30 minutes catching sandy barrels in the shore break of the former bombing range.

Would I so casually jump into the water on other parts of Kaho’olawe not as expertly scouted? Probably not. But for this one moment, this one fleeting situation where beautiful waves were rolling through one of the last undeveloped white sand beaches in the entire state of Hawaii, bodysurfing the bombing range was a novelty I couldn’t dream of passing up.

Want more travel stories? Read the rest of the “Vagabond Tales” here

[Cover photo credit: Justin Ornellas on Flickr]

How To Watch Every Surf Film Trailer Ever Made

by Kyle Ellison on

For anyone out there with a procrastination habit I apologize for ruining your next couple of weeks.

In a move with the simultaneous ability to inspire and depress any desk-bound viewers, Outside Online has recently published a link to a Pinterest board put together by the New York Surf Film Festival, which features trailers of virtually every surf film ever made.

For those who aren’t familiar with the genre, surf films are some of the original travel documentaries in that they often delve deep into undeveloped and untraveled international locales in search of new waves and uncharted experiences. Often times, this involves going feral and stepping off of the established grid for a little while.

Furthermore, with surfers seemingly pushing the boundaries of the sport with every passing year (see: “Insane Maui Surf Footage” and “Surfer Sets Record On 78-Foot Wave“), surf films also serve as a historical journey through the progression of the sport and the global hunt for waves.

So if you don’t see me around the Gadling offices for a little while, I blame only myself.

Museum Month: Kalaupapa National Historic Park And Leper Settlement, Molokai

by Laurel Miller on

Some people – me, for instance – tend to skip museums when traveling in favor of fresh air or outdoor recreation. It’s always a treat when I can combine the two, especially because I’m fascinated by indigenous cultures. Though not considered museums in the strictest sense, National Historic Parks, Monuments and the like often do have buildings, exhibits, or relics with educational materials that provide a museum-like experience. When I can combine that with some physically challenging activity, it often makes for an incredibly rewarding day.

While relatively few visitors ever make it to the Hawaiian island of Molokai, located just off of Maui’s western shore, its fame is global due to its tragic history. From the mid-19th century until 1969, thousands of islanders afflicted with leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) were forced into isolation on the Kalaupapa peninsula on the northern shore. A smaller settlement also exists at Kalawao, on the eastern side. Today, Kalaupapa National Historic Park receives thousands of visitors annually, who come to pay tribute – and satisfy their morbid curiosity – to a tragic episode in Hawaii’s turbulent history.

Molokai’s North Shore is covered in dense rainforest and has the world’s highest sea cliffs, which tower over 2,000 feet. These geographical features made Kalaupapa the ideal location in which to displace lepers, often by cruel methods such as tossing them off of ships, which sometimes resulted in fatalities. The forcible removal of native Hawaiians from their ‘aina – family and land, which are at the core of their culture – devastated generations of islanders.

%Gallery-155196%Critical to the development and notoriety of the settlement was the arrival of Joseph De Veuster, a Belgian missionary better known as Father Damien. Although not the first missionary or caregiver at Kalawao and Kalaupapa, it was he who turned the colonies into a place of hope, rather than exile and death.

Father Damien spoke Hawaiian and established schools and other educational and recreational projects. He developed a water system, expanded St. Philomena Catholic Church, and became a source of comfort to residents. He died of Hansen’s Disease in 1889, and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

Although a cure for Hansen’s Disease was discovered in the 1940’s, most of the colony chose to remain at Kalaupapa, as it had become a tight-knit community. Today, only a, uh, handful of elderly residents remain, keeping alive Kalaupapa’s legacy by talking story with visitors and relatives alike.

The National Park Service established Kalaupapa as part of its system in 1980 (previously, it was a National Historic Landmark, the Kalaupapa Leper Settlement). While somewhat pricey and challenging to get to, it’s worth a visit if you’re at all interested in Hawaiian culture and history.

You can get to Molokai year round by either regional air carriers or ferry via Maui. To enter the Park, state law requires a permit from the State Department of Health, and no children under 16 are permitted. All entries are booked and must be prearranged through Damien Tours (808) 567-6171, which is endorsed by the National Park Service (there is also a Father Damien Tours out of Honolulu, but I can’t speak with authority to its quality).

Two excellent ways to gain entry to the park – via prior reservation – are by hiking the 3.5-mile trail or on muleback. Kalaupapa Mule Tour has been a park concession since the early 70s, and I highly recommend the ride if your butt and legs are in good shape and you don’t have a fear of heights. It provides a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience, but be prepared for insanely steep, narrow trails and brutal switchbacks. Whether you hike or ride, please be sure to do an honest assessment of your physical abilities beforehand; another option is to do a flightseeing/ground tour. There are no medical facilities at the park.

[Photo credit: Flickr user University of Hawaii – West Oahu; Father Damian, Wikipedia Commons]