Story by Terry Shimabukuro
Feb 28, 2026
February started off fine with nice weather for the year’s first Meet & Greet at Magic Island and ended with great conditions for Weed Out the Wimps. Strong winds and heavy downpours canceled the middle of the month paddles, however.
A strong turnout with a good mix of newbies and vets showed up for the Meet & Greet. While the weather was fine, the surf was a little bigger than forecast forcing us to turn around sooner than desired. Kevin led us out the Halekulani Channel so that we’d be outside the breakers on the return leg. Unfortunately, one distracted paddler hulied on a swell at the end of the channel. Luckily, an Ocean Safety jet ski happened to be monitoring the surfers out there and it quickly swooped in to tow “Splash” and his kayak past the swell.
Ruby and Lois secured the picnic site for a delicious post-paddle potluck lunch. Even though we had a little more excitement than normal for a beginner level paddle we convinced two new members to join on the spot. E komo mai Sam and Penni!
Rough weather the day before kept most paddlers away from the Weed Out the Wimps paddle, but Steve and I put our faith in the forecast that predicted a break in the nasty weather and were rewarded with beautiful kayaking conditions. We opted not to do a carpool for two and did a round trip to Peleʻs Chair and back instead. Calm seas allowed us to go around Manana where I had the thrill of hearing two whales exhale behind me. I turned quickly to watch their next few breaths before diving back under. On the return leg I saw another koholā in full breach near the horizon. Made my day!
We both returned to the beach with empty fish bags, but happy that we trusted the weatherman and got to enjoy some of the most breathtaking scenery on ʻOahu.
Please enjoy this video recap of our February paddles: