Pete Jalbert R(S)

Yesterday, Maui was under a high surf warning for its North Facing shores. That means wave heights of greater than 25 feet could be expected at selected island reefs. For the casual beach goer, that generally means exercising extreme caution near the water. For big wave riders, that means it's time to head out to the famous big wave spot Jaws in Haiku. Island residents and visitors alike know it is a good time to head to the cliffs above the break for a fantastic spectacle. Up until a few years ago, Jaws was generally considered to be a wave that could only be ridden by surfers assisted by Jet Skis.

The wave moves so fast, that you need to whipped into a wave by Jet Skis. Slowly, surfers have been starting to test their mettle by paddling into the waves traditionally. There was a core crew of local surfers who would paddle into waves on "smaller" days when the wave faces were 30 feet or less. Last winter, the paddle crew grew in numbers including a lot of younger up and coming Maui surfers as well as some other famous big wave riders from around the world.

Yesterday, marked a new era as there were 30 or more guys who were brave enough to try to paddle into Jaws' big waves. For most of the afternoon, Jet Skis were only used to rescue surfers after wipe outs. I had the opportunity to shoot some video from the cliffs. Here are two clips that I put together. The first shows two waves one after the other. The second is a longer montage of waves from throughout the morning.

I also have a photo gallery posted on The Maui Real Estate Team's Facebook page.

Maui Real Estate

The Maui Real Estate Team on Facebook

The Maui Real Estate Team on G+

The Maui News had a front page article on Maui Realtor Mike Spalding this morning. Spalding is an elite distance swimmer who was trying to join the very select ranks of swimmers who have crossed the wild and woolly Alenuihaha channel between the Big Island and Maui. The channel crossing is almost 30 miles in length! To date only two other swimmers have made this crossing successfully. Mike was trying to do it at the ripe old age of 61. Pretty impressive to say the least. According to the Maui News, Spalding was 11 miles into the swim when he felt a sharp pain in his sternum followed by a sharp pain in his calf. A support kayak came to his aid when they heard Spalding cry out in pain. Inspection of the wounds when he was on the support kayak revealed two small bites. The wounds were not life threatening, but more than enough to put an end to his crossing attempt. Spalding suspects that the perpetrator was a cookie cutter shark.

Cookie Cutter sharks are a species that usually targets open ocean pelagic fish like Tuna. They stay in the depths of the ocean during the day rising to the surface to hunt at night. When I looked the fish up on Wikipedia, to date the only documented negative human interaction with cookie cutters has been when the shark has damaged American military underwater sonar equipment. There was no mention of any attacks on humans.

Judging by the article in the paper, Mike wasn't phased at all by the shark bites. Instead, he was dissapointed that he had to abort what to that point had been a very good swim. I have had the opportunity to show some of Mike's listings before. He is quite a character. I wish him a speedy recovery. I have no doubt he will be back in the water soon training to cross the channel.

The Hawaiian Islands are located farther from a continental land mass than any other island chain in the world. It is an important point to consider as we continue to rely on imported fossil fuels and imported food for our day to day living. Island home owners can make choices that will improve our self sufficiency and reduce our carbon footprint. The native Hawaiians were able to sustain a large population through the local environment. It is time that current residents start the steady shift back to this model of living.

Here are a few options that homeowners could take to make their island lifestyles more sustainable:

1) Improve your water heater. Electric water heaters are energy hogs plain and simple. Consider a solar water heater or an on demand water heater. The high cost of utilities on the island speeds the return on investement when installing any sort of device that improves your efficiency. It of course also means less demand for fossil fuels through the utility companies.

2) Power your house through a complete photovoltaic system or a wind turbine. Maui and Hawaii in general offer copious amounts of sun and wind. As with solar water heaters, return on investment for these upgrades is shorter due to high utility prices. Hawaii utility prices are quick to rise and slow to decrease. Until we reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, that is unlikely to change.

3) Plant a garden. Maui offers a year round growing season making your backyard an ideal spot for a veggie garden. If you have a little less space, a container garden will grow well even on the lanai of a condo. If you have a little more space, consider planting some fruit trees. Citrus, banana, avocado, papaya and mango all grow well throughout much of our beautiful island. If you really want to take the next step, consider a small chicken coop or some goats. They provide protein and manure to fertilize your garden. If you are looking for inspiration, the Dervaes family urban homestead in Pasadena shows how much you can do in even a small space. Growing your own food decreases our dependence on imported food, and it reduces your bill when you go to the grocery store. Imported fruits and veggies can be expensive!

The one area where this list is lacking is when it comes to new construction. While there are a few companies like Bamboo Technologies that have addressed green home construction on Maui, there is still considerable work to be done. While I have seen a few high end homes earn LEED status on Maui, sustainable design has been lacking on the low end. This is where the designs of Brad Pitt and the Make it Right Foundation would be a boon to a community like Maui. Maui developers are scheduled to build a significant number of affordable housing units on island over the next few years. Wouldn't it be nice if these homes were green and affordable? The designs would need little or no modification as our sub tropical climate is somewhat similar to New Orleans. The New Orleans homes are built on stilts, but it appears that they could be modified pretty quickly to be post and pier construction which is predominant throughout much of Hawaii. Were the Make it Right Foundation to sell these designs to Maui developers, the proceeds would help underwrite the cost of construction in the 9th Ward. It could be a true win win for all parties.

It is time for Maui and Hawaii to embrace green. Not only does it hold the opportunity to help the environment, over the long run it may very well save island home owners money.