Red Letter Day: Small Harmonies

Rider & words: Mateo Duchier
Photos: Tess Pitzer
Location: Ka’anapali, Maui
Date: Friday January 12th, 2024

With his homebreak of Lahaina still affected by the horrific wildfires that beset the community in 2023, Mateo reluctantly made his way to the west of the island in search of a session. Thankfully, a confluence of swells and fortunate winds made it a memorable one.

Last night my wife agreed to come take pictures of me at the beach! A rare occurrence that got me incredibly excited for the day to come. After making sure that the batteries were charged, SD card empty, and lenses clean, I slept like a baby, dreaming of making the next Foiling Magazine cover.

As the sun rises, a black coffee in hand, I watch and analyze the texture of the ocean from my lanai in Lahaina. It seems like the raging Kona winds are finally over and left us some fairly clean wind swells coming from the south. The best prone foil spots of the island are facing south, so the day is starting great. But… the devastating Lahaina fires from August ’23 plus the recent heavy rain have transformed most of my favorite foil spots into a highly contaminated area. Surfing Lahaina waters is definitely not an option I will consider.

I loaded the car with my favorite setup for all conditions, an Appletree Skipper 4’6 and the SPG Missile 120 and we drove north, looking for water with more blue hues than brown hues. As always, I checked the westernmost point of Maui, where north and south swell collides, creating a challenging chaos of wedges over shallow reef. The waves coming from the south break nicely into a long mellow left while the sets coming from the north are close-outs, pushing towards the “Boneyard”.

“Even though I did not put on my best performance, hearing the reaction of the crowd of tourists completely foreign to foiling always makes it worth it!”

Fortunately that day we had a perfect amount of both swells, creating sick ramps to practice my airs. The water seemed fairly clear, and was not too choppy (for Maui standards)… this meant that we were on! My wife set up her beach chair, tripod and 600mm lens in the middle of a crowd of tourists enjoying the return of the sun.

For one hour I kept navigating swells coming from two different directions, riding long lefts coming from the south and hitting the ramps coming from the north. Even though I did not put on my best performance, hearing the reaction of the crowd of tourists completely foreign to foiling always makes it worth it! A little backflip when pumping back out and they go crazy. I feel like I just got spat out of a barrel during the Pipe Masters.

Eventually our usual 15 knots of wind finally picks up, making it unrideable. It’s time to go. After surfing clear water under the Hawaiian sun, we drive home, our daily commute through our completely burned down hometown takes us back to a harsh reality and memories.

When will we be able to surf the waves around Lahaina again? Will they rebuild our town while considering our local community? Where will they dispose of all the toxic waste? So many questions that don’t come to my mind when I’m flying over the water, connecting waves, and crossing paths with turtles and whales.

Thanks to foiling for giving us those beautiful moments of peace during hard times.

To assist with the rebuild of Lahaina, visit lahainarestoration.org