Travel Blog #124 – Stand Up Paddleboarding to the Mokuleia Islands

The Mokuleia Islands (commonly referred to by locals as The Mokes) off the eastern shoreline of Oahu are one of the most picturesque locations in the state. In between the islands and the shoreline sits a relatively shallow channel with a bottom that is made up of a combination of sand and coral heads. This channel is narrow enough to traverse relatively easily on a kayak or a stand up paddle board. Today we decided to go out with Windward Watersports for a trip out to the islands on stand up paddle boards.

We met up at the Windward Watersports office in downtown Kailua town. We were sized up for our equipment and briefed on what to expect before we got back into our rental car and followed our guides down to the Kailua Boat Launch. We parked our car here and then jumped into the guides truck for the last couple blocks down to our launch point at Lani Kai Beach.

Once we were at Lani Kai our guide went over our final instructions on how to paddle and steer the stand up board before got into the water to try it out for ourselves. After about 15 minutes filled with crashes and splashes we began to get the hang of it. I thought that because I grew up surfing I wouldnt have a problem with it, but it was actually a little more difficult then I had previously thought. I had to exaggerate the bend in my knees to get really stable stance with the foot on my paddling side slightly in front of the other before I felt like I could really put any power into my stroke. Sure enough with enough practice I was able to paddle around on the board pretty proficiently.

After the group was all pretty comfortable on the boards we began to make our way out to The Mokes. It actually took a lot less time then I thought it would to cross the channel to the islands. Along the way we passed over a group of turtles and I was amazed at how well we could see them from the elevated position of the stand up board versus the lower perspective of a kayak. Unfortunately, when I got home I found out that my GoPro camera had fogged up during this portion of the trip rendering the footage unusable.

When we made it to The Mokes we landed the boards on the beach and pulled them up on the sand. Our guide took us around the island and showed us some tide pools on the edge of the water that were large enough to swim in. We checked out the island pretty thoroughly before we got back on our boards to complete our journey back over the channel. I must say, it is nice to feel the sense of accomplishment that is earned from trying something and failing, and then trying again until you eventually get it right. I really enjoyed learning to stand up paddle board with Windward Watersports.