Puka and the turtle car wash.
Trip Start
Dec 14, 2007
1
7
Trip End
Dec 22, 2007
Lahaina,
Hawaii,
United States
Thursday, December 20, 2007
The more observant among you will say to yourself, "Wait a dog gone minute; there were only 5 of you, now how come there is 6?" Eric's daughter Nina spent nearly all of her waking time at the pool and during that time made friends with a girl about her age name Taylor. So Taylor was invited along and became the sixth. The trip starts out really cool. You leave from the public dock in Lahaina and the embarkation process is very informal which sets a good tone for the whole experience.
Unlike many charter services this one doesn't specialize
Jake and his Pappy
. You pays your money you gets your boat. The price is not cheap then again nothing is cheap in Maui (Except a really good cup of Kona at the Marriott). Considering the level of service, the cost of owning and operating a Cruising boat, food, fuel, crew and equipment, I'd say by Maui's standards the cost was reasonable.All you have to do is tell Captain Woody what you would like to do for the day and there you go, it's all taken care of, fishing, snorkeling, diving, cruising, whale watching, hell if it's legal he will do it. Judging from his piratical countenance it might be that "be the booty right matee" he might even be induced to adjust the location of that fine line that separates the letter of the law from the intent. Nah, just joking.
Not only does he offer a smorgasbord of activities, he also supplies all the equipment. Essentially all you need to bring is your desire to have fun. He provides fishing tackle, scuba gear, drinks, sunscreen, towels, and even food. I wouldn't say that the trip's highlight was the cuisine. The fare is heavy on the fruit and crackers and light on the meat but you are not out here to chow down anyway.
Initially the boat took a north-westerly course. We started out with two poles rigged with jigs and were trolling at a pretty good clip. I don't think there was much that was going to hit the bait but if something did it would have to be pretty big
Becky, Nina, and Taylor
. I think that I was the only one interested in fishing and I have never enjoyed the kind of fishing where you troll all day, though there was that time in Mexico where I single handedly landed over 20 Mahi Mahi, the smallest of which weighed in at 15 pounds. I have the photo somewhere to prove it. But that is another story in a different time and place.We trolled for about an hour as we headed along a bearing that more or less paralleled the north-west shore of Maui. I didn't really mind the fact that there was no fishing because the ride was fantastic with the waves, the wind and the weather making the first part of the trip very energizing. At one point we were bouncing across the waves at about 30 knots when my brand new, really cool, Hawaiian Islands baseball cap blew off. As much as that sumgun cost, Captain Woody was going to turn that boat around to get it or he was going to have a mutiny on his hands. I got my cap back.
He was really laid back about where you could sit on the boat and allowed me to sit on the bow with my feet dangling over the sides. Going across water that fast with the spray splashing you in the face is a natural rush!
After about an hour of cruising along the north shore with the island on our starboard (right side for all ye land lubbers) we came to rest in this relatively calm bay.
Maui from the ocean
That is where we went snorkeling. I am an open water certified SCUBA diver but I have to tell you that the view while snorkeling in that bay beat anything I have ever seen on any of my SCUBA dives. Visibility was perfect, you could see all the way to the bottom, some places to a depth of 50 feet!Warm water and fish everywhere! Not just schools of the same fish but at least 30 different varieties of fish in every vivid color imaginable. I was kicking myself that I had not brought an underwater camera, a mistake that will not be repeated on my next trip to Maui! The craggy bottom of the ocean was covered in coral and multi-hued sea plants so that the whole seascape resembled a psychedelic dream. I would recommend snorkeling to anyone, and if you are comfortable in water it is not strenuous at all. Floating was easy and with a good set of fins propulsion is a piece of cake. One of the most interesting things I saw while snorkeling was what Captain Woody referred to as the "turtle car wash". He explained to us that if we were lucky we would get to see turtles queued up at the "turtle car wash". The turtle car wash is a place located in a Puka (a bowl like hole) on the ocean bottom where giant sea turtles would actually stop to allow these little fish, known as surgeon fish to eat stuff off of the turtle's shell. I was a little dubious to say the least.
But there it was, the fabled Puka
More Maui
. And at the bottom of this Puka was a turtle with all theses little fish cleaning its shell. Circling at different levels above this spot were other turtles, in line like airplanes circling an airport, apparently waiting their turn for a carapace scrubbing. Man I wish I had a camera with me! I thought Captain Woody was pulling our collective legs but there it was; a turtle car wash.Funny thing about snorkeling, you lose track of time and if you are not careful you can drift a long way from your boat. That is what I ended up doing, when I lifted my head from the water I discovered that I was about 200 yards from the boat. It was a pretty long swim back but I made it with no trouble at all. When we got back to the boat we ate our lunch. It was intoxicating sitting in the boat watching the real surfers and the incredible scenery while eating sandwiches and fruit.
After lunch and a seemingly short snorkeling session we started back towards Lahaina. As we were heading back we ran across a pod of hump back whales. I am somewhat jaded and not easily impressed and I thought I would be rather ho-hum about seeing whales in their natural habitat. These suckers were huge and I could not help but be impressed.
When we returned to the dock we just hung around the pier and snorkeled. Not as pretty scenery and not nearly the number of fish, though I did see some good sized fish, no telling what kind
Captain Woody's Wake
. The boat ride was really worth taking but like the luau, I only want to do it once. Becky bought me a really cool Captain Woody T-Shirt! On future trips to Maui I intend to rent snorkeling gear and just snorkel along the coast for free.After getting off the boat and back into the Blazer I had the gang drop me off at the Harley dealership where I was going to pick up my rented FLHTCU Ultra Classic. Nice bike! It is certainly a lot more bike than my 883 Sporty. There was only one little problem. I had to have long pants and closed toe shoes to drive it from the dealership. Unfortunately I was wearing sandals and shorts. I had tennis shoes back at the hotel but I hadn't even brought a pair of pants along with me on the trip!
I was frantically trying to develop a plan as to where I could buy some shoes and jeans, real quickly. The guy at the dealership suggested that I go to the Salvation Army store located only a short walking distance from the shop. I was amazed when I picked up a like new pair of Levis and some decent white tennis shoes for six dollars! That was the best deal I found anywhere on the island! Once I had acquired the appropriate apparel I was on my way! This bike was bigger than anything I was used to and took a while to get a feel for the handling. When I got the bike it had 12 miles on the odometer. It had a good sound system and power to spare. The seat was pretty comfortable and would have undoubtedly been really comfortable were it not for the lingering effects upon of the horseback ride and the slide across the lava rock.
So I cranked up the music and let that baby roar through the highways of Lahaina. Took the bike back to the hotel parking garage and left it there until the next morning when Becky and I would spend our last day in this tropical paradise!
