Maui trip, September 2013 + mixed gear review

So it's 3am, I'm jet lagged and fully awake after flying back from Maui from a two weeks stint as part of my honeymoon. Being my honeymoon, windsurfing did come second but I had never been to Maui before and have wanted to visit ever since I started windsurfing 20 odd years ago - and i ended up scoring some sweeeet conditions!

I had decided to pick and choose my sessions based around any swell that was forecast, as the wind was just so consistent I could sail any day. It blew every day for the two weeks I was there, and I think I ended up sailing around 9 days out of 14. I was quite lucky that in those two weeks Maui got the first hit of the winter north swells. Actually there were TWO new north swells whilst i was there, which was amazing! When these swells hit we scored some mast high days with either side of the peak of the swell being about head to logo high - in fact it never got below head high any days. I sailed Ho'okipa every day except one. We would have sailed there but it was a Sunday, a big swell and the break was littered with surfers and it stayed closed to windsurfers all day! So we (my brother was actually in town for a few days at this point!) sailed between Lanes and Kuau (the reef off Muma's Fish House). This day was actually super fun with a logo sized swell and endless reef opportunities with just the two of us out (most people just sailed the reef at Kuau).

So lots of sailing on lots of rented gear. I had been in New York for the week prior to going to Maui so flying from Australia with kit, via New York didn't seem too viable, especially considering that it was my honeymoon haha. I rented kit from Hi-Tech and it was probably the most chilled rental experience I've had. "Yeah, take what you like, bring it back later, we'll sort payment out then" kind of vibe.

Most sessions I used a Quatro LS quad 90 which I absolutely loved. It was similar to my Fanatic Quad 87 but a bit longer and narrower and a bit more rocker from what I could tell. Loved it, it was super loose and snappy and punched through the lip nicely. I paired it up with Goya Bonzai sails, a 5.3 and 4.7. I only used the 4.7 once actually, being 90kg the 5.3 was my go-to sail. LOVED these sails, they are very similar to my 4 batten North Heros I've sailed for the past 3 seasons. Super powerful and light in the hands on the wave. I think 5.3 is my favourite sized sail generally and it was good to confirm this with another brand.




















Towards the end of the trip I wanted to spice it up a bit. Recently when surfing I've taken a shining to riding my shortboard as a thruster, not a quad (my 6'3 has a 5 box set up) and I have always been curious how wavesailing would feel on a thruster. Also, most ho'okipa locals are on thrusters so I wanted to see what all the fuss is about.

I rented a Quatro Thruster 92 and also paired it up with another sail I had never used before - Maui Sails mutant. Let me review the board first then I'll talk about the sail. OK so the Thruster was sweet! Very narrow feeling in comparison to all the quads I've used in the past few years - more like a single fin board shape. I noticed it didn't plane very early but once on the plane it kept going and going and going through the gusty Ho'okipa inside section. Once on a wave however I was blown away. I've never felt such dedication though a turn, not drive like you feel with a quad but more of a locked in feel. Bottom turning was nice but I felt it most in cut backs. I felt like you couldn't lose the tail even if you wanted to. Deep gouging top turns into cut backs were super fun on this board! And also for aerials I felt like the more narrow frame of the board helped with control hitting the lip later. I LOVED this board, probably more so than the 90 LS Quad.

Now for the sails - the Maui Sails Mutant. The wind forecast was light when I rented this stuff so I opted for a 5.1 / 5.6 combo. I only ever sailed the 5.1 - as Maui's wind never shuts off haha! The 5.1 rigged on a 370 and looks super similar to that new Naish sail - The chopper or whatever. Anyway, initial thoughts are that they look weird. I know they are more aimed towards lighter sailors but I wanted to try it anyway. So how did I find it? Well... when sailing out through the break it was fine - lot's of power to punch over waves - but as soon as I wanted to get planing it just seemed to bog along. The power felt like it was just not transferring to the board. This was a little frustrating at first but I just decided to 'float and ride' even though it was 20 knots and could have planed out the back effortlessly.

BUT... once on a wave this thing just transformed. A quick pull on the back hand sent you flying down the face and setting up for turns and aerials this thing just ripped! On a wave this sail is everything you want; light, responsive, manouverable, but off the wave it kind of sucked. So I don't think I'd ever get one of these small compact sails but I totally appreciate their ability on a wave and it was awesome to try out a different concept of a 4 batten wave sail.





















Overall the trip to Maui was incredible - not just as a windsurfing one but a general holiday. What a f**king awesome place. My wife and I have already discussed how we can get visas to go and live there for a while!

I love the story Bowsa and the piccies are so sharp and close. I am assuming your good wife took the photos? If so, what a wife, you get to sail most days of the maui section of the honeymoon and she takes awesome piccies whilst you do it - a keeper right there!

+1 enjoyed the synopsis and photos.

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tomp said...
good review Bowsa & nice pics. 9 days sailing, top effort for a honeymoon!

good to read an understandable quad/thruster review for the same conditions. any hassles at Ho'okipa? Were you staying on the North Shore also.

hope I'm there next year without the kids

Hey mate glad you liked it. Nah no hassles at all at ho'okipa. Locals were fine actually... like anywhere in the world, so long as you follow the basic surfing rules its fine. Only place I've ever had a problem is surfing in Portugal but even then I think it's only because so many hopeless European travellers go there to try and surf and don't follow any general etiquette and **** it for everyone. Nah maui is sweet.

Stayed on north shore yep, in paia