In the winter, my focus is on surfing. However, when summer time rolls around and the waves go flat on the north shore, there’s still tons of fun to be had in the ocean. This past summer, one of my goals was to explore the coastline of Oahu under my own paddle power or via wind power in my 14 foot laser.
I came up a little short, but the stories and good times run deep. The following are a series of my adventures frolicking around the north shore, with educational messages that run deeper than fun.
In early July, we explored some new coastline and took advantage of the lighter than normal trade winds. Ryan, Becky, Willie, and I stand up paddled from Malaekahana to Kawela Bay.It’s about an 8 mile paddle and the cool part is the beaches are pretty much desolate.
The adventure started out a bit sketchy as I was trying out stand up paddle fishing. I attached a lure and 20 feet of line to the back of my board. The allure of surfing was too much and I couldn’t resist the urge to catch some waves.
After a wipe out that threw me off the board and sent it in towards shore, I realized my fishing lure, still connected to my board, was like a sharp leash I did not want to be attached too. After a long clumsy swim trying not to lose my hat and paddle, I reconfigured my fishing setup.
Several wipeouts later, the lure was gone. Somewhat of a relief, I was now free to surf without the fear of hooking myself, but disturbed at my lack of forethought and loss of tackle. Becky and Ryan had their fair share of crazy moments as well.
Becky lost her shades and Ryan lost his board to the rocks near shore, which made for a difficult retrieval of both. Becky also got dry-docked on a lone rock 300 yards from shore and had the blood wounds to prove it. Willie on the other hand, came out unscathed with sailor like style.
Stand Up Paddling this stretch is filled with hazards and if you chose to paddle here, make sure you don’t make our mistakes. Wear a leash and steer clear of the rocks. There’s a lot of rip currents, so be aware.
It was great exploring a new area and only seeing a handful of fisherman and a lone kayaker along the way. Unfortunately, the desolate beaches of Oahu usually have many remnants of society.
I went ashore to investigate a green sea turtle nest and noticed the beach was filled with plastics, so I loaded my pockets to the rim with what I could. It churned my stomach to think about how these plastics impact lives beyond our own.
On the east side, the prevailing tradewinds blow it all to shore. Amongst the rubbish I did find a gem in my eyes, an Opihi shell. Something naturally made from solar energy, that will smoothly transition back into the sea.
Later, I found out that I am not the only one realizing this trash heap piling up. There are several organizations working together to keep the beaches clean and the local population of wildlife healthy. A non profit called B.E.A.C.H. , Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii, has been doing their part to educate people about the plastic problem and also help clean it up.
If you are interested in volunteering some of your time to keep our beaches clean and animals lively check out B.E.A.C.H. or NOAA’s Hawaii Monk Seal Response Team. You can also head over to our Beach Cleanup section to see the latest news on a cleanup near you.
A simple way to return the favor to the ocean is to leave the beach cleaner than you found it, bend down and pick up some trash. It helps everyone breathe a little easier. Check back to hear more about the Kahuku Beach Cleanup.
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