Recommendations for swimming in Hawai'i?
I have a ton of hotel/airline points to be used and am thinking of popping over to Hawai'i for the week of Christmas. I've never been so have no idea about the place at all. Keen to find somewhere where I can do some ocean swimming without risk of being run over by jetskis etcetera. Not averse to hiring a kayaker or paddle boarder to do an relaxing escorted swim (<6miles) if anyone has particular recommendations on that front.
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
Comments
"I never met a shark I didn't like"
in Maui, Big Beach and Little Beach are pretty terrific. As to swimming, Napili has a great beach and you can go back and forth, parallel to the beach.
In Kawa'i, Douglass has some salt-water pools that are terrific.
And in the Big Island, there's no beating Kona, triathlon capital of the world. The Ironman buoys are still out there and you can swim the Ironman course. You can also swim on the Hilo side.
I haven't picked an island yet, it is somewhat going to be based on which hotels have rooms available, but leaning towards Maui or the Big Island at the moment (Volcanoes!)
Speaking of Maui, I'm wondering if anyone has done swims to Kahoolawe or Molokini from Maui (or vice versa)? They look achievable from a distance perspective, assuming a powered boat escort, not sure of the currents though.
@niek funnily enough I just ordered a SSD a couple of days ago, though I view it more as a gear carrying device for beach swims than a safety device.
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
In any case:
- http://www.hawaiiswim.org/hawaiianChannel/alalakeikiChannel.html
- http://www.hawaiiswim.org/hawaiianChannel/PailoloChannel.html
Thanks @evmo !
I was actually looking at Molokini, as this was supposed to be a vacation :-)
Both of those linked channel swims look doable and would be an excellent warmup for Rottnest, so am keen to make one of them happen (assuming ability to organize a boat, support crew etcetera). Pretty much the perfect holiday if I can pull it off :-)
Edit: Apparently the Pailolo Channel is crazy rough, the Maui/Auau channel looks like a better option.
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
If you end up going to the Big Island, I really recommend paying Big Island Divers a visit and booking one of their night snorkeling trips. You'll get to dance with giant stingrays.
I've booked Maui initially based on hotel availability, now trying very hard to see if I can get a Maui Channel crossing organized :-)
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
If I can't organize a Maui channel swim I certainly plan to do something like this. I'm curious though what did you do for feeds? Did you tow a bottle, make landfall or just not drink anything for three hours?
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
Maybe wear a second old suit and stick it between the 2. It comes in a couple of sizes. In fact I just talked myself into heading down to REI and pick one up, or at least check it out. Santa is bringing me The ISHOF SaferSwimmer™ Float but that might be more than you need and might be a pain to open up in open water. Santa is bringing me one. I used it once this summer and loved it.
I actually bought the ISHOF thing with an eye to doing longer escortless swims on this trip. Also thought about just dragging a bottle that was either half empty or attached to a float.
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
No matter what you do, though, towing something will slow you down.
www.WaterGirl.co
AZ Open Water Swimming on Facebook
I'm ok with being slowed down. These swims will be for fun and training :-)
I bought the smaller one of the swimmer safety floats, it's a tight fit to put much else in there if you have a pair of flip flops, most likely scenario would be to attach a bottle to the outside of the SSF itself. End up dragging a train of gear, but still could be interesting.
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
Sir Sharko
"I never met a shark I didn't like"
Hi all,
I am not sure if this is the right place to post but I am looking for recommendations for organizing a Maui Channel solo. Do I contact a ratifying organization? Do I hire a boat captain and submit a form? What is the safest/right way to go about this? Any suggestions are appreciated!
@abbygirlrose Here's a website with the Hawaii channel swimming info: http://www.hawaiiswim.org/hawaiianChannel/rules.html
Molly Nance, Lincoln, Nebraska
Hi @abbygirlrose I did the swim last year. Gorgeous swim, and fairly easy as far as channel crossings go.
I contacted carl via the web site that @molly1205 linked to (his email is in the rules section). He has a few pilots that he recommends though some of his information is out of date (one of them had passed away and I had awkward conversation with his widow when I rang up to book).
Definitely ring your pilots, I found they were not great at responding to emails initially.
I did Maui to Lanai, which is probably easier logistically, as you want to start the swim reasonably early to avoid the strong winds that can kick in afternoon - it was blowing an absolute gale for our return crossing by boat and I was very glad I was not swimming in that mess. That said I suspect you'd manage the crossing much faster than I so you have a better window. Upside of swimming Lanai to Maui is you can choose to finish at Kaanapli beach and then walk straight into a hotel bar for a Mai Tai ;-)
My pilot used the "leapfrog" technique where he would get a hundred yards or so in front of me, I'd catch up and he'd pull ahead again. He drifted a fair bit as a result so I think there was a bonus mile or two in the course based on the GPS track. You may want to consider a kayaker or having a more detailed conversation with the pilot beforehand if you want a faster track.
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
Thanks so much!
How did you connect with a boat captain?
Thanks for all the help! I now have a boat captain and have set a swim time frame. Do you recommend also trying to hire a kayaker? While I am very comfortable swimming in California, the possibility of large animals in Maui leaves me irrationally nervous... Any suggestions about how to find a kayaker would be greatly appreciated!
You do not need a kayaker for the AuAu Channel, but it is always nice to have company (either a kayak escort or another swimmer). If your boat captain does not have a recommendation for a Maui based kayaker, e-mail me and I will gave you contact information for an Oahu based race promoter/director who escorted me on both of my Kaiwi attempts and one of my Kalohi swims.
I know this is probably a long shot but I am here in Maui (staying in Kaanapali) if anyone is around to swim