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Paia
Bay
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Baldwin Beach
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Hookipa
Beach
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Aerial Photo of Hookipa Beach
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Beaches... |
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Paia Bay
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Photo opportunities are abound at the beaches in the Paia
area. Baldwin Beach Park is one of Maui's most beautiful white
sand beaches and offers full facilities. It is just outside of
Paia town as you're traveling from Kahului. Most weekdays it
is uncrowded. On weekends it is a popular spot with the local
residents. Great beach for swimming.
Shoreline fishing is common early in the morning at Baldwin. Life guards are on duty
daily.
During
the summer months we see a lot of erosion at Baldwin Beach, but as
winter approaches the sand returns and the beach fills in
again. During the summer 2006, the erosion uprooted trees
which had to be removed.
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Just
past Baldwin Beach is Paia Bay (called Baby Beach by many of the
locals), is right at the edge of town right before you enter
Paia. There's usually not too many people there except when
the waves are up and the boogie boards and body boards are
out. Good beach for swimming, this is a sandy
beach. There are no lifeguards at Paia Bay.. |
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Only minutes away further down the Hana
Highway is Hookipa Beach Park,
called the windsurfing capital of the world. This is Paia's most
publicized beach. Year round you can watch surfers at Hookipa
while winter months bring the wind and big waves to the North Shore
and the windsurfers and kite surfers come out. It's quite
common to see wave jumping and flips at this time of the
year. Several professional competitions are held each
year at Hookipa which attracts competitors from all over the
world. And a good many of the pros live in Maui and use
Hookipa as their training grounds.
Early in
the morning it's quite common to see folks fishing from the
shoreline at Hookipa.
Hookipa
is a sandy beach with a rocky shoreline. Currents, waves and
winds can be strong at Hookipa and visitors are cautioned that this is not a
beach where warning signs should be ignored. If you plan
on surfing, windsurfing or kite surfing, this definitely is not the
place for you unless you are an extremely experienced
waterman. This really isn't a good swim beach. Life guards are on duty daily.
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BEACH
WARNING SIGNS
Below are some of the
most common beach warning signs you might see during your visit to
our beaches. Be sure to heed all warnings when going in the
ocean. You're life may depend on it! |
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Strong
currents are frequently seen during high surf and rapid change in
tides. The water is turbulent and difficult to swim. If
you get caught in a strong current do not swim against it. Swim,
diagonally to the current.
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Seasonal
high surf occurs on all shores of Maui. Generally shores
facing East, West and North get high surf during winter
months. Paia is on the North shore. High surf occurs
from storms at sea.
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Posted
when large waves are breaking directly on the shore. Shore
breaks are very dangerous and unpredictible.
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Be
extremely careful when walking on rocky shorelines when waves are
breaking. You can be swept away.
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Large
waves breaking on rocky ledges can occur unexpectedly, even when the
ocean appears to be calm. Use extreme caution when walking on
rocky shores when waves are breaking.
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