Paddling in Hawaii

So I'm getting married soon and as luck would have it (thanks to a lot of unspent airline miles), my wife and I are looking to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon.

The first thing I mentioned was "you know I have to paddle when I'm there.......like every day for a few hours". She's a great woman and know how much I love it so she just smiled and said "of course".

Does anyone here know of places I could rent a surfski (or OC1) and good places to paddle? We aren't really set on any particular island.

Third attempt at a reply here Rob. Very frustrating.
kwolfe try Surfski Kauai. Unable to post url or longer post.
Login times out.

Your wife must be wonderful to allow you to paddle on your honeymoon. My wife doesn't like me doing it once a week in our neighboring lake. She thinks when you're not working at your job you should be working around the house.
Wish I could help you with Hawaiin advice.

I'm on Oahu where there is good paddling and ample boats for hire. All the other islands have excellent downwind paddles but not sure about getting ahold of boats on Big isle or Molokai. If you come to Oahu, and don't have a vehicle with racks, get a place within walking distance of outrigger club then call Zsolt to line up a ski. You can then do out-and-backs up the coast around diamond head, or catch a ride with locals/ call denise who runs ocean playground shuttle that picks up at Kaimana and drops off at Hawaii Kai for an hour long downwind (or 45 minutes if you're fast and it's cranking)



-Patrick Switzer pastronaut at hotmail dot com

Thought I'd try again. Several years ago was vacationing with family on SW side of Kauai. Asked some locals finishing downwind run about access to a surfski. There response was interesting. They asked where I was from and I responded Southern California. They pretty much rolled their eyes and blew me off. By the way, I have surfed 20' plus waves and held my own on the north shore of Kauai with some of the most famous surfers in the world. Oh well.
Anyway, finally discovered Dylan Thomas at Surfski Kauai. After
a very welcoming conversation on the phone, I met up with him
at Anini beach on the north shore. After a brief introduction and swipe of the visa card with an iphone, ~ $115.00. He presented me with a beautiful new Steller SE. He made sure I was comfortable and foot pedals were adjusted and we were off! A nine mile downwind, absolutely fantastic. 1:15 still recovering from a pretty serious shoulder injury. Did I mentioned the rental includes a shuttle service.
Dylan is a great guy and an elite paddler and Kauai is arguably the most beautiful of the islands.
Have a great trip.

Geez, got so caught up in my own story I forgot to say "congratulations"! Your fiance sounds great.
My wife and I spent our honeymoon, almost 33 years ago, in Hawaii and at a water front hotel in Princeville, Kauai. She still tolerates my surfing and paddling activities (and, reluctantly, all the injuries that accompany them).

Thanks for all the advice and well wishes folks. Yes, my fiance is an amazing woman. This is round two for both of us and I can say that getting married in your forties and way easier and better than in your twenties. You both know exactly who you are and there is no bullshit. Just people who like being together. She also knew going into it that I'm a water rat. The only reason I'm not paddling now is because the damn water is frozen.

As luck would have it, we might not be going to Hawaii after all. The finances and logistics might just not work out. We are looking at the Dominican and Caribbean now as well. I guess if I can t find a surfski or OC1, every place has SUP rentals. Not my first choice but paddling is paddling.

Oh, there you go again reigniting another great memory of my future wife and I traveling across the US in a 1965 Comet with a surfboard and snow skis on the roof and driving down Daytona beach on our way to the Caribbean; blah blah blah!
Have fun!

I'm on Kauai, would be happy to help/paddle if you make it out here.

Dylan (Surfski Kauai) is still around, though I'm not sure what he has around to rent these days.

Hotels have gotten ridiculously expensive in the last 5 years...I guess with so many places appearing sketchy, more people play it safe in Hawaii. Its seriously crazy, but anyhow, good luck!

Just read these post. I'm in Oahu in May. Waikiki 23-28/05 and Turtle Bay 28-01/06. Hoping to hook up some downwind surfski and SUP. Which companies/people are the best to hit up? From what i can see:
- downwind sup - wet feet or blueplanet
- surf ski - hire from epic (can't find anything else) and do Hawaii Kai run using Denise on the ocean playground shuttle

Advice/help appreciated.

Phil.

You can also rent outriggers, surfskis and SUPs from Foti Brothers. 808 524-6677

I forgot to add that that's the week of the Molokai to Oahu race, so a lot of the available surfskis may already be rented out.

Well as luck would have it, I think it's going to be Punta Cana now (insert sad face here). We are taking a week off for our honeymoon and I think the commute from the east coast all the way out is going to be too much for 7 days. If we go for 10 that would be different. Thanks guys.

FYI, if anyone know anyplace in the Dominican that has skis that would be great.

Hi folks,
My family and I are visiting Hawaii for the first time in mid December for a couple of weeks. We will be based mainly in Molokai and the Big island. We tried to arrange ski hire or a guided paddle with epic but it looks like they will be in South Africa at that time of year. I’d love to hear of any contacts who might be able to help us out for a day or two. Thank you!

^ You may want to contact Ben.



The video reminds me of visiting Kauai back in '96.
The rural, desolate areas are the best part of any Hawaiian Island.

Molokai has the best downwind run in all of Hawaii - called the Kamalo run.



Enjoy your time in the islands, December is a great time to visit.

Skis are far less common than Oc-1 in Hawaii, but Big Island may have some rentals.
Renting boats must be tough - because they are so fragile, and expensive.

You can check out the links for Hawaii (see links for other main islands at bottom of page) on surfski.wiki/hawaii

look at Rental/Resource headers. No direct Molokai information. I believe that Kai Barlett's dad, Tom lives on Molokai now, but I don't know if he guides trips or has any OCs available anymore like he used to on Kauai.

So you are planning ahead for next December? I'm a bit surprised that everyone from Epic Hawaii will be in South Africa.

Good luck

(and definitely get in touch with local canoe clubs - possible trips with OC6s, great local knowledge and possible leads for OC1s)

Thanks to you all for the suggestions. Please allow me to return the favour if any of you visit Sydney in the future.