Aloha fellow MSG bloggers!!
It’s been a drizzly windy month of weather here in Maui. So to be honest, I have not been an inspired blogger these days. As I write this, I am in leggings and a hoodie! Kahului had a record breaking low of 51 degrees the other day. Brrrr. (All you mainlanders are probably jealous of even this much warmth!)
So on the first of each month, we at Maui Surfer Girls will be picking one lucky Maui surfer girl to be highlighted on our blog. I am proud to announce Rachel Graham as our first MSG blog pick. She came to us in 2005 as a day camper. I remember how shocked I was to see Rachel charging at Guardrails with her big black knee brace. Her hurt knee didn’t slow down this tenacious 13 year old. I knew from her first session with the Maui Surfer Girls, that Rachel was going places with her surfing. I mean the girl grew up with “Mavericks” in her backyard, in Half Moon Bay. She was built for the big waves!
For the past two winters, Rachel has fearlessly charged Maui’s north shore with me. Her family owns a condo in Napili and has great access to spots like “Little Makaha” and Honolua Bay — a great training ground for a budding big wave surfer. I met Rachel at Hookipa and we paddled out on typical stormy day at “The Point”. Her first drop was steep and she gouged a sharp bottom turn going left. Before paddling out we talked about her goals that morning. She mentioned wanting to work on her backside turns. Taking that big left which rarely happens at the point, was not only brave but showed me that she’s willing to work on her surfing skills. Right-on sistah!
We had some inspiring surfers to learn from that morning! Buzzy Kerbox, Scott Trudon, Matt Kinoshita, and Andrea Moller were all out that morning, ripping! When you surround yourself with talent like that, you undoubtedly improve your surfing. I’m stoked for Rachel’s willingness to charge and improve her surfing skills!
Here’s some cool photos from that morning. Rachel will be sharing more photos along with our Maui Surfer girl of the month interview to be posted shortly.
CONGRATS RACHEL GRAHAM – Our March Maui Surfer Girl!