Kihei life

Posted by: elfcroft | August 29, 2016

Fishing without a boat

Zoom in…

Zoom in again…

Zoom in again.

I returned to Waipuilani Park today to watch surfing turtles. Yesterday, the winds were gusty and a couple of skilled wind surfers got their rush. Today, it is overcast with rain expected.

Speaking of expectations. Fishing is expected from boats, docks, piers and in Hawaii… from banks of ancient fish ponds. This young man is enjoying being more involved….why not join the fish in the ocean.

I witnessed the man on the right lose a BIG ONE. The lady on the left is having fun!

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Posted in Activities, Beach, Local | Tags: beach, body surfing, fishing, Maui, Waipuilani Beach

Posted by: elfcroft | August 28, 2016

Wind Surfing expertise backed by technology

Launch

I went to Waipuilani Park with my folding beach chair to watch surfing turtles and surfing turtles I did see. The winds were gusting about 30 mph. A brave soul launched an hour of expert wind surfing. Back at my laptop, I launched an hour of research on windsurfing technology.

Zoom In

Note the details of the sail

How does technology support an amazing solo session traversing back and forth between the beach and channel….

From the Star Board website: terms like carbon Innegra rail band; dual density, double sandwich PVC core & Australian pinewood; biaxial glass micro-sandwich and parabolic compression band are used to describe their boards.

http://www.star-board-windsurfing.com/wp2/sbw2016/sbw2016-products/sbw2016-technology/

This company designs and builds sails.

https://www.north-windsurf.com/deu/nodes/display/pages/sail-technology

This company designs and builds the masts.

Infinity Windsurf Technology

Not so simple board, mast and sail. Think of all the other things we use that we take for granted…cars, phones, air travel, microwaves, internet, light bulbs, etc. Perhaps there should be a degree for “How Things Work.” 🙂

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Posted in Activities, Beach, Local | Tags: beach, board, design technology, mast, sail, windsurfing

Posted by: elfcroft | August 27, 2016

Championship Swimming @ Aquatic Center this weekend!

After six months of renovation, Kihei Aquatic Center is hosting Pan Pacific Junior Championships this weekend. Last year the championships were held in Singapore. Teams of swimmers represent countries of the Pacific Rim including Japan, China, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA and others.

2016 Junior Pan Pacific Championships

I made a personal connection with Reece Whitley’s mother on the inbound flight. We had the emergency exit row seats. She mentioned the event. I was familiar with the teams practicing at the pool from earlier years. She spoke of how Reece loved seeing the sun rise over Haleakala during early morning practice sessions. Awesome! I love that too.

Lane 3. Mom and new friend are watching men’s 100m breast stroke.

Top two requirements for Mom…cell phone and Extra Large American Flag

Proudly, Reece is awarded third place. Also, it was his personal best time.

We are likely to see more of Reece on the 2020 Olympic Team!

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Posted in Activities, Local | Tags: Aquatic Center, competition, Junior Pan Pacific Championship, Kihei Aquatic Center, Reece Whitley, swimming

Posted by: elfcroft | March 10, 2016

Solar panels for Kihei community center

The hardware is in place to mount solar panels to the buildings in the community center.

Several years ago solar panels were installed on “car ports” in this parking lot. Great idea! an opportunity for the asphalt to “produce” and the car ports to protect the cars and trucks from the sun.

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Posted in Local | Tags: buildings, Kihei Community Center, panels, project, solar, solar panels

Posted by: elfcroft | March 9, 2016

Surfing Turtles

Surfing turtles sited five out of five times between Shoreline Access 119, 120 and Waipulani Beach. The fifth visit we saw humpback whales also!

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Posted in Beach, Local, Whale Watching | Tags: beach, beach access, Kihei, Sea turtles, Turtles, waipulani park, whale watching

Posted by: elfcroft | March 7, 2016

How does the garden grow?

Lokelani Intermediate School on Liloa Drive has gardening projects! These photos were taken from South Maui Community Park or Kihei Regional Park as shown on some maps.

I count seven papaya trees. The fruit is clustered at the top and ripens to yellow.

Tables with shade for container gardening.

Raised beds…with unidentified plants. Four small banana trees.

Second view of shade structure and staging area.

Mature banana trees

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Posted in Dining-Food, Local | Tags: bananas, edibles, garden, Intermediate School, island gardening, Liloa Drive, papaya, school project

Posted by: elfcroft | March 6, 2016

Competition Pool closed for renovation

Pool closed for Renovation till June

http://gokihei.org/government/kihei-pool-closed-for-first-half-of-2016

For swimming enthusiasts this is a sad site…at least temporarily. Built in 1998, the competition pool needs repairs and updates. The target completion date is June 30th.

Note: For an outdoor pool in this climate, keeping the water cool enough (as opposed to heating it) is a problem. The cooling process as explained to me… water from the bottom of the pool is pumped to the surface at night, then aerated through nozzles and replacing the surface water with cool water. (Sounds much more robust than a refrigeration system for example.)