Thursday, June 7, 2012

Watch your feet... or always follow the local boys through the keyhole!

Stand up paddlesurf in Maui? Well, you're gonna know what a keyhole is- and if you don't find out quickly, this is what will happen to you:

When you step on a vana, this is what happens. Those black dots are the spines of the sea urchin embedded in your skin... um, ouch!
Hot tip #1: Take some time watching where everyone is getting into and out of the water. Here in Hawaii, since most of the breaks are over rock and reef, you've got to find the safe channels through the vana covered hazards. The safe, sandy channels are called keyholes and they can be very narrow and tricky to find so definitely slow it down and take notes when you get to the beach. Once you've found the safe entry and exit keyholes, look for a marker on land so that you can find them from the water.

See the little sand channel that leads through the rocks... that's where you want to walk when you're coming in or going out.

Our friend Ina told us how to handle the vana spines in your skin. I guess it happens all the time around here- more on that later!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

One word: BOOTIES!

Anonymous said...

Booties are for kooks in warm water. Make sure you soak that sucka in vinegar. It works!