Eat the Rich

If you were here this last week, there was an invasion. The Mai-Tai clinic, seminar, social, or whatever you call it blew in. I have mixed feelings about it. My first thoughts are that it is a nice boost for the local economy. But, as I saw so many kites in trees, kites into kites, out of control kiters and just plain overcrowding, I was alerted to facts that many kite spots that are very impacted. Here in Maui we are spoiled, that is a fact. But I saw a taste of the dark side, if Maui gets urban sprawled, mega-condoed out or just plain overexposed, I am sure that this is the future. I picked this song for a reason, and you can guess why. Just a little social comment for our friends who came to visit.
The Mai-Tai Circus comes to town

A whole different game

Today was awesome. The surf came back and I had the whole place to myself for 45 minutes. Anyways, after a while Jonnyboy came out for a visit me in the surf. We had a great time. Jonnyboy, during the winter months is a snow-kite instructor. He made this movie. It is awesome, but it is a totally different game with the same rules. Check out the snow, and enjoy...
Snow and the Big Country

Kickers and surf

Alright, windies and surf rats, the surf came back for a brief stint. If you noticed the wind backed down the last couple of days, well that was due to a front that slid on by, dropping some head high waves to play with. Nothing to big, but I did bring my surf board.... Aloha and good luck

Light and friendly

Ok windies, looks like another beautiful day. Light trades return to kite beach. As for swell, there is a bump on the horizon but don't expect too much. My guess is for some whitewash on the boneyard. High tide 205 pm. Aloha and good luck

Shodow effect

Ok windies, it's just starting to come in. The wind will bend in and then come out in the late afternoon. Medium to big kites are the call. High tide 1216 pm. Aloha and good luck.

Maui Mini Movie: Flashbang

Week in review: Last week was howling. It seemed like it never dropped below 30. Everyone rode 6,7 or 8's. With the roving squalls, many times I felt overpowered when the 40's came in. This May was definitely unlike last May when we had no wind at all. The heavy wind kept the Pro Pool empty or at least shadowed. At the end of the movie you see a guy getting barraged by a extremely powerful squall all the while getting dragged trough a low-tide Boneyard. He was a 9m and lost his board...probably being used in Waiehu for a table by now. It's good to see legend Flash Austin back in action throwing a beautiful butter-slide.

Forecast: Windy...watch out for the Mai-Tai crew, they are clogging up the Pro-Pool drain. I have a special video for them next week!!! Aloha and Good luck

Take a lesson

I listen to everything I see on TV or the internet. After all they are a series of tubes. Check out this from kitesite.com. I really like the way this is done. I am still working on being this professional. Good job.

Free and clear

Alright windies, it looks like a beautiful day. The wind is still blow at and around 30mph. The direction looks better, and not a cloud in the sky. High tide 102pm. Aloha and good luck.

Bagus: Extra Quality

Almost another one past, but it didn't get by. Check out this Indo action. I am slowly trying to figure out how to get my movies better. Here is the key....quality! That's it. Enjoy

Making of BAGUS MOVIE - Indonesia from Ne3ko - Claps on Vimeo.

Mauikitebeachreport weekend update

Looks like a beautiful day to cruise around and have some fun. Pretty wind, high 20's to low 30's. The angle got a pinch more north, about 70 degrees. Aloha and good luck

Dog days of summer

Solar Flair

Hot Toast

Shawn revving up

Shawn throwing down

Who's coming to Maui? The waves are gone and there is a permanent shadow from the Easties in the Pro Pool. Now, if you are coming here don't trust the Windguru/Ikitesurf wind forecasts. There are notoriously light on the readings. Bring your small kites. I don't mean your 9m. This is a medium kite in Maui. Today, it went from the low 30's to mid 40's in a matter of minutes. I have heard whispers of people getting 4's. Now if you live here, manage your body. I know, I just reached the 35 in a row mark, and my Tigger springs broke. Take days off, go to East side and swim in some waterfalls and keep those batteries charged. Only 4 more months until the surf comes back. Aloha Friday

Aloha friday

Looks super fun, bring those small kites. Low tide 407 pm small surf at boneyard. Aloha and good luck

Maui Water Girl

So you wanna teach your wife/girlfriend to kite. Goodluck, I am a full time instructor who almost lost it many times. I gave her 20 lessons and we filed for divorce 19 times. Now she is up wind and having fun. It took a lot of patience, time and I learned more about me than her. I would like her to learn to jump and explore the reefs like I did, and just sometimes to go it alone. This is for her. Aloha and good luck.
Power and upwind

Shadow man

Ok looks windy,so bring dem small kites. No surf, low tide 231 pm aloha and good luck

Van for wife

This is for my wife...help her choose

Inside move

Ok looks like its setting for a beautiful. Flat water and moderate wind should be the call. High tide 351pm. Aloha and good luck

Here is the Answer.

After mass speculation, and multiple suggestions, Shawn took hours of time and took on teams of researchers. His decision, was based on thousands of documents, and an ancient text the was dug up in 1867 in Kahului pond. This text was thought to be of alien origin. I know present you "The Miracle Whip"

Nice from the north

We had a little break and then the wind shifted to the north yesterday. Today it looks like it stayed. Medium kites and really steady wind, overall looks super fun. High tide 203 pm. Aloha and have fun

And away we go

Aloha Friday, looks pretty smoothe right now but as the day goes on there will be a ramping of the wind. I predict high 20's to low 30's. Hopefully it won't turn too east. Nada surf, high tide at 132 pm. A to the g

Send one for the nipper

When the late spring swells hit the are small and gutless. The kicker looks like the way to go. I finally think the trades are back and that up and down shit is gone for a bit. High tide is at 102pm. Looks like it's gonna be a fun day. Aloha and good luck

Calm before the...

Ok right now it's calm, but I think a mid afternoon run will be good. Hopefully that swell will arrive and we wil have some fun waves to play with. Aloha and good luck

Maui Kitebeach Report Exclusive

OK Shawn Richman hasn't giving me the name to this move. So if you have any suggestions leave a comment and I will give it to him. I like to call it the "Double Stuff Hand-dragger!!" Any more...post a comment.
The Richman Hour

The Original

A long time ago in galaxy far, far away, there were five guys who didn't really care about kiting. The five were Brian, Jason, Nick, Dave and me, and we had seen kiting but weren't that interested. This is where each of us had a different story. My story is there was this crazy pedi-cab driver who always came around in Santa Barbara and talked about how great kiting was and how we were missing it. We would rather drive down to Rincon and go surf. When we went to Texas, sure as shit, he was there, kiting everyday. Eventually, he wore us down, and we all kite today. I haven't seen him in years, but here is his latest video. Good Job Skipper!!

Bigger kites today

Alright windies the wind has lightened up but still looks super fun. I would aim for a morning session because yesterday it drop to nil at 4pm. Here is the secret forcast... Fun sized surf tomorrow, so get those surfboards ready. Aloha and good luck

Here we are

Watch this and enjoy!!!

2 way street

Today it is going to be light in the morning and a little south. As the day progresses we might get the heating effect. Of coarse, the wind might go south. I am betting on heating. Surf: none High tide:109pm

Grab and go

Use you Hand

Just a reminder, you can do every trick in the world, but make it look good you need to grab. Here is the usual list of grabs. I like to remind all of you how a grab can affect the element of style. If you look at all the great kiters, or for that matter boarders, there is a grab in there somewhere. The grab is the key. So stab and grab.
Report: A gale formed on the dateline Sun (5/9) with 30-35 kt northwest winds and 18 ft seas aimed a bit west of the Islands. Maybe some sideband swell to result. But after that no swell producing weather systems are forecast. Realistically, GFL, flat, flat and more flat.

Nice and easy

Ok the wind looks like it lightened up a bit making it more managable. Clear skied and a little high cloud cover tells me it's going to be moderate. The 55e direction should bring about the normal gusts. No surf, high tide at 1236. Aloha and good luck

Light wind daze

OK the Oahu boys have the same idea as us, ride anything...ride everything. To develop great style you have go to your creative side and see what turns up. Some things work, others don't, but really you can make just about any go. Top Hat rides with a pulley bar, and this is old school without de-power. I really think this looks super fun, so windies go out to your backyard, rip apart that old fence and ride it. This could be the funnest day of your life.
Top Hat standing on the fence

Rainy 20mph

The rain just keeps coming down. As for the wind it's pretty fickle right now, with some squall lines turning it up then backing off. As the day goes on the moisture should back off. I would bring all my kites due to the winds up down nature. No surf...low tide in the afternoon. Aloha and good luck.

Better direction 40degees 25mph

Aloha, alright looks a little better right now, but there seems to be a lot of moisture floating around. If we can get some clearing could be great. Today mid 20's so bring small kites, especially when the squalls come in..aloha and good luck

Super e 75 still light

Ok windies, the needs some heat to get the wrap we need. I would say as the afternoon goes on, it will get a little better. Surf has taken a vacation...aloha and good luck

Hadow and the troll

"Aaron Hadlow, five-time freestyle kiteboarding world champion, decided not to compete in the 2010 PKRA World Tour and is planning a kitesurfing videogame for the near future." The first thing I ask myself is...How old is this guy? He's 22. Then about 20 more things popped in my brain, kiteboarding must have tore this guys body to pieces. Everyone always asks me...What's my best trick? Not getting hurt, is always my same answer. As for the video game, well I think this is great idea. Firing up some neurons while learning the dimensions of kite flying would be great for the students. But for me, I always wanted to do a Front loop handlepass with back flip aka “the hurricane”. You better check yourself.
Hadlow Video Game
http://spamtheweb.com/ul/upload/150608/61876_kite.php
Can anyone figure out the controls?

Shadowed 20mph e 60 small surf

Ok windies, looks pretty windy so far, but east. Maybe with a little heating convection there could be put more north. These spring have small teeth and are short lasting. 1218 low tide. Aloha and good luck

22mph 50e fun

Ok looks like a great day. The wind is already coming in steady 22+from the east. Also, there is ne swell running about 2-4 with occasional bigger sets. Aloha and good luck

Lights out

So we had a brief period of light winds, I could only do so much yard work. What do you do? Well, my buddy Mark let me tool around on his 15m, and I brought down my 9'6" longboard. It was super fun, even when the wind dropped down to nothing. The general rule is: if the kite can stay in the air, then you need to be riding. In this case, I had to get a little more creative.

Report: Looks like the winds are going to ramp-up as the high pressure rebuilds, the low passes and the vog goes away. Tomorrow should be fun, then as the week goes on, the wind goes to large.
Beyond Blazing Boards

Smoothe as butter

When things grow legs...

Recently, I had a reader ask me about buying gear on Craig's List. He went on to tell me the guy sounded sketchy and really didn't know much about the gear. He wondered, "How do I know if this wasn't stolen?" So, I scoured the web to look for specific rules or what to do's to know if the new kite you just bought doesn't end up at the cop shop as evidence. What I found or for that manner didn't find, made me think...I need to come up with rules! So here are my rules:
Lost and Found:
1. Mark all kites, boards and harnesses with your name, you number and reward.
2. Write down the serial #'s and put it in a drawer.
3. You come to the beach with 4 things: Kite/lease, bar/lines, harness, board; leave with them too.
Now things get a little contradicting,
4. Don't give the homeless money for reward, call the police.
5. Ask around all beaches, check the schools, check the shops, ask the homeless and offer a reward, check on-line, ie. Craig's List, check pawn shops, leave notes.
6. If you find stuff, give it to the schools or hold it for at least 1 month, put a post on Craig's list, talk to everyone. Don't expect a reward but if you get one it's a nice gesture. Give a reward cause it's a nice gesture.

Buying Kites:

1. If you can afford it, buy from your local retailer.
2. Buy from friends that you know or referrals of friends.
3. On Craig's list, ask lot's of questions, if the guy know his stuff it should be alright.
4. If it sounds suspect then, back out and report to Craig's List as fraud or scam.


OK, here are some general rules, I'd really like some reponces, suggestions, are any other ideas you have about this. Really, I don't need stories. So, in this case, the more rules, the better. Aloha and good luck