I just got back from a few days training with @doug on Oahu. I jammed over there given a good swell forecast. Here’s some tips:
Where to Stay
The New Otani Kaimaina
The New Otani Kaimana Beach is where I stayed.
- Location is perfect, with many great surf breaks a short distance away, often not requiring driving.
- View is unbeatable!
- Room is TINY. Definitely not big enough for 2 guys. Just one queen size bed with minimal space around the bed. It felt like a London hotel room.
- Staff is nice.
- Internet was nearly unusable, but being upgraded. Luckily, I had wireless tethering.
- Did I say the view? I was on the 8th floor by the corner.
- Kamaiana price was good for the kamaina.
- Parking is about $30 a day.
The Lotus
The Lotus Honolulu at Diamond Head is next door to the New Otani
- Same great location as the Otani, but not directly on the beach like the Otani.
- Much bigger rooms. You can get a room with some elbow room!
- More expensive, but the price is proportionate to the room size.
- Internet supposedly works well.
- Highly recommended by @Igor
AirBnb & VRBO
These are definitely worth a try if you might be staying longer than a few nights and have some time to do some research. We also looked on CraigsList. Some of the prices were too good to be true. Those were probably scams!
New Tips
Here’s what I took away from my last coaching visit with Doug.
- When popping up on the board, keep the head and chin up. The feet should land wider on the board. I practiced popping up and balancing without any waves, and I find that my front foot will touch my front hand on the board.
- In the right south swell, those waves are as gnarly as wintertime north shore surf!
- Weekdays at lunch in town get busy, starting at 11:30am!
- There’s lots of uncrowded waves way better than many crowded spots on Maui, and you won’t surf them, because there’s better waves close by with a moderate crowd!
- When jumping off the jetty at Kaisers with your board, have the nose submerge just slightly, so you’re diving in at a slight angle with the board.
- Keep away of the light blue water to find the deeper spots for paddling.
- If the tide is draining, and there’s a strong current pulling away from the beach, you can sometimes find a counter-current next to a shallow reef.