I was fortunate to have a week of travel time in Maui, with a Sunday with no commitments. As fate would have it, the local masters swimmers have a regularly scheduled group ocean swim that departs from the beach next to the resort where we were staying. What a blast! If you can imagine, I'm going from Minnesota in January to the open water of Hawai'i, and it was a beautiful sight.
Several interesting observations: the locals wearing wetsuits (I thought the water was nice), many sea turtles, manta rays, gorgeous coral including arch formations, etc. We did about 3 miles altogether, passing by a clothing-optional beach.
Alas, the locals were disappointed. While we heard many whales, we didn't see any. There are some fantastic photos on a blog from Don, aka dolphin dude. I've highlighted his entry from the day I swam with the group, which includes photos of humans on land and in water, as well as the ray:
www.dolphindude.com/.../disappointment.html
He's got some amazing photos and videos on this site. It would have been great to swim with the whales, but I had a daily commitment that kept me from the beach.
Having flashbacks to the end of June: Waimea Bay, (no surf in the summer), non-snorkel, snorkeling, large sea turtles, no whales or dolphins (brother-in-law Oahu resident was hoping for dolphins, lots of different fish, and black crabs (never seen black ones). This was right after the one mile sprint from Sunset Beach to the Pipeline. If you like open water ocean, do one or more of the North Shore Summer series. 400+ people, all ages and abilities, party atmosphere, great time.
Having flashbacks to the end of June: Waimea Bay, (no surf in the summer), non-snorkel, snorkeling, large sea turtles, no whales or dolphins (brother-in-law Oahu resident was hoping for dolphins, lots of different fish, and black crabs (never seen black ones). This was right after the one mile sprint from Sunset Beach to the Pipeline. If you like open water ocean, do one or more of the North Shore Summer series. 400+ people, all ages and abilities, party atmosphere, great time.
