Tag Archives: Charley Young Beach

Dale Zarrella Completes Another Statue

Posted on by Chris Murray
The blessing of the finished statue

The blessing of the finished statue of St. Marianne Cope

Dale Zarrella’s sculpture of Saint Marianne Cope received a traditional Hawaiian blessing and a blessing by the priest from the local Catholic Church on June 14, 2015.

Mother Marianne came to the leper colony on Molokai as Father (now Saint) Damien was dying. She cared for Damien until his death, then assumed his ministry to the residents of Kalaupapa. Her ministry was particularly directed at women and girls. Saint Marianne was canonized in 2012.

The model for the young girl beside Mother Marianne was Dale Zarrella’s granddaughter. She and her younger brother are in front of Dale in the photo above.

CREATING THE STATUE

The life sized statue was cared out the trunk of a monkey pod tree.

The statue was carved from this monkey pod tree

The statue was carved from this monkey pod tree

Dale began the work by making a half sized statue from clay. This was then cast in plaster. He then used giant calipers to translate the major dimensions of the half sized study into the full sized statue.

Half size plaster study of Mother Marianne and child

Half size plaster study of Mother Marianne and child

The first rough cuts are done with a chain saw. The last touches are with 2000 grit sandpaper.

First cuts

First cuts

Dale Zarrella – the Eye of an Artist

Posted on by Chris Murray

Dale Zarrella’s next project is a statue of Mother (now Saint) Marianne of Molokai. Mother Marianne arrived at Kalaupapa (the leper colony) on Molokai in 1888 after Father Damien contracted leprosy. She tended the dying Father Damien then took over his work for the remainder of her long life. The statue of Marianne will join Dale’s life-size statue of Saint Damien in the Father Damien Museum in Honolulu.

On the left is the Monkey Pod tree trunk that will become Dale's next statute. The image on the right shows Dale's plaster study for Marianne superimposed over the tree trunk. The half-size plaster study is enlarged here to give an idea of what will emerge from the wood.

On the left is the Monkey Pod tree trunk that will become Dale’s next statue. The image on the right shows Dale’s plaster study for Saint Marianne superimposed over the tree trunk. The half-size plaster study is enlarged here to give an idea of what will emerge from the wood.

Click here, here, here, and here, to see other examples of Dale’s work.

South Kihei Beach Walk

Posted on by Chris Murray

South Kihei Beach Walk MapSouth Kihei has some great beaches where you can walk for miles. This 90 minute walk starts and ends at Charley Young Beach, across the street from our condo at Maui Vista. The round trip is about 3 miles – so the pace is leisurely.

 

Most of the walk is on sand but there are a few places where you’ll want sandals.

 

Don’t forget the sunscreen and be sure to carry water.

 

 

Charley Young Beach

Charley Young Beach

 

 

Start at the north end of Charley Young Beach near these rocks.

About halfway down the beach, Charley Young becomes Kamaole Beach Park I.

Note that all three Kamaole parks have lifeguards, restrooms and showers.

Kamaole Beach II

Kamaole Beach II

 

 

Take the sandy path at the south end of the beach and use the short public access pathway on the makai (water) side of the Royal Mauian Condos to get to Kamaole Beach II.

Check the water as you pass the Royal Mauian. You can often see turtles swimming and feeding off the point.

 

Kamaole Beach III

Kamaole Beach III

You may want your sandals at the south end of Kamaole II as you climb the short slope to the large grassy park of Kamaole III.

On the weekends, this park is a favorite place for local families to host children’s birthday parties.

You can walk through the park on the grass or return to the beach.

 

 

6 - Kihei boat ramp

Kihei Boat Ramp

The south end of Kamaole III is about a mile from the start of this walk. You can turn around here or put on your sandals for an entirely different experience.

If you continue on, stay on the paths that crisscross this natural area – it’s a nesting habitat for the Wedge-tailed Shearwater. You’ll soon see the jetty at the Kihei Boat Ramp.

 

7 - south of boat ramp

Path from the boat ramp to the Kihei Surfside

Walk under the shade trees on the makai side of the boat ramp parking lot. Cross the boat ramp and look for the path just to the right of the paved driveway with the “Do Not Enter” sign.

As you round the corner of this short delightful path you’ll come to the grounds of the Kihei Surfside resort. The public access pathway is next to the water.

Keawakapu Beach

Keawakapu Beach

 

Continue on the boardwalk past the tall Mana Kai Maui Resort and the 5 Palms Restaurant to the north end of Keawakapu Beach.

Turn around here or, if you’re really ambitious, stroll down Keawakapu Beach. It’s another mile to Ulua Beach – just past the last bit of sandy beach in the distance.

Turtle Reef – Even Better Than Turtle Town

Posted on by Chris Murray
Lots of turtles at Turtle Reef

Lots of turtles at Turtle Reef

The commercial snorkeling boats don’t stop at Turtle Reef located 300-400 yards off Kalama Park in Kihei. Perhaps the water is too shallow or there is too much going on in the vicinity – like surfing and stand-up paddle boarding. Maybe it’s too “urban.” (We’re talking south/central Kihei here, not pristine Makena landing.) For whatever reason the big boats don’t go, don’t let it stop you from visiting Turtle Reef.

There are several great ways to get there. (Unless you are a VERY strong swimmer, swimming from shore isn’t one of them.) We’ve been there by stand-up paddle board and kayak. Others use a surf board. You can rent any of these from Maui Wave Riders (across the street from the south end of Kalama Park) or other nearby outfits.

The reef is large and there are turtles everywhere – especially in the morning when the turtles like to feed and the water is calm. As you can see from the map, Turtle Reef is close to our condo at Maui Vista. We launched our kayak at Charley Young Beach and paddled over.

Turtle Reef Map

If at first you don’t see turtles, keep looking. When you get in the right spot you’ll see them everywhere. I’ve counted as many at 12 turtle heads out of the water near my stand-up paddle board at a time. They get so close they may bump into you.

Turtle reef 6

Despite the temptation, please don’t touch the turtles – bad karma. If you like, bring snorkel gear to get an even better view!

Two youngsters and a baby turtle

Two youngsters and a baby turtle

While Turtle Reef is terrific, Turtle Town is great as well. click here to see our post on Turtle Town.

Dale Zarrella discovers mermaid in tree trunk

Posted on by Chris Murray

Mermaid 1Maui artist and Maui Vista neighbor, Dale Zarrella, finished his Damien sculpture last winter. (Click here to learn more about Zarrella’s life-size koa wood sculpture of Father/Saint Damien.)

After carving a green sea turtle out of a koa remnant from the Damien statue, Zarella decided to turn his hand to something a little larger…

This five thousand pound stump from an old monkey pod tree sat in his outdoor studio at the north end of Charley Young Beach when we arrived in early April.

The outline emerges

The outline emerges

By the middle of the month, the outlines of Zarrella’s latest work began to emerge. This is the chainsaw and power tool stage. Progressively finer carving tools – and ultimately – 2000 grit sandpaper are used later.

By the end of April the mermaid’s form was readily apparent. In addition, large sea turtles began to appear below her body and tail.

This large sculpture is the latest in a series of Mermaids Zarrella has carved. Two of his life-sized mermaids can be seen in the lobby of the Makena Golf and Beach Resort. Click here to learn about Zarrella’s artist tour that takes place every Wednesday evening at the resort.

Mermaid 2Notice the void in the stump above the mermaid’s left arm and hand. The three rocks holding down papers on the scaffold were lodged in the crevice and the tree grew around them. They must have been placed there a long time ago!

Stay tuned for more.

Mode of Transportation – PortaPotty Surfers

Posted on by Chris Murray

Maybe the nice man will give these ladies a ride

The wind was up, the paddle boarders down – stranded on Charley Young Beach a half mile from Maui Wave Riders where they’d rented their boards.

Gotta get back. What to do?

Hey, here’s a man with a truck. Maybe he can give the ladies a ride. (Hmm, why’s he wearing plastic gloves?)

Looks like he’s going their way! “Rainbow Rentals – Service is Our #1 Priority.” I wonder if that’s what the boss had in mind. Thank you Rainbow Rentals!

This is SO Maui (well, maybe not Wailea, Kaanapali or Kapalua – but definitely Kihei).

POST NOTE: Our neighbor reported she saw the truck going up the road and the ladies were waving to people as if they were on a beauty pagent float!

(Photos courtesy of Sandi Rethage. Thanks Sandi!)

Dale Zarrella’s Damien taking shape

Posted on by Chris Murray

We’ve written about Maui artist Dale Zarrella in this blog before. (See Maui Artist Dale Zarrella at Work, Frank Lloyd Wright and the King Kamehameha Golf Club, and Dale Zarrella and Helper Create a Vision in Sand.) His koa wood sculpture of Father (now Saint) Damien is entering the polishing phase. Saint Damien, “the Apostle of the Lepers” was canonized in 2009 for his work in the 19th century caring for those quarantined in the leper colony on the peninsula of Kaluapapa on the Island of Moloka’i.

If you look closely at the picture below, Damien has his hand on the shoulder of a young child. Next to Damien’s shoes you can see the child’s toes sticking out beneath the robes that hide his leprosy ravaged body.

Zarrella often works with large blocks of monkeypod but chose the the harder koa wood for Damien because “he was a tough old bird.”

Dale Zarrella’s Saint Damien – September 2012

As we’ve noted before, Zarrella works outdoors overlooking the sea at the north end of Charley Young Beach. He began this piece with a plaster study, about one-quarter life size. A bronze cast from the study now resides in the Vatican Museum in Rome. This life sized sculpture is destined for the Damien Museum in Honolulu.

Mode of Transportation – PortaPotty Surfers

Posted on by Chris Murray

Maybe the nice man will give these ladies a ride

The wind was up, the paddle boarders down – stranded on Charley Young Beach a half mile from Maui Wave Riders where they’d rented their boards.

Gotta get back. What to do?

Hey, here’s a man with a truck. Maybe he can give the ladies a ride. (Hmm, why’s he wearing plastic gloves?)

Looks like he’s going their way! “Rainbow Rentals – Service is Our #1 Priority.” I wonder if that’s what the boss had in mind. Thank you Rainbow Rentals!

This is SO Maui (well, maybe not Wailea, Kaanapali or Kapalua – but definitely Kihei).

POST NOTE: Our neighbor reported she saw the truck going up the road and the ladies were waving to people as if they were on a beauty pagent float!

(Photos courtesy of Sandi Rethage. Thanks Sandi!)

A Walk on the Beach

Posted on by Chris Murray

If you’re on the west coast of the U.S. or Canada and look at the web cam of Charley Young Beach a few hours after sunrise, it will be early morning on Maui. (Click on “View the Live Cam” on the left-hand side of this page to see the beach.) All is calm and the long shadows of the palm trees stretch across the beach out to the blue waters of the Pacific. Early morning strollers traverse the field of view. Couples hold hands. Dogs bounce happily along with their owners or walk sedately by their side. Joggers lope by at their chosen pace. The first swimmers take to the water. The day has begun on Charley Young Beach.

As the sun climbs higher over the rim of Mount Haleakala the shadows shorten and more walkers, joggers, and beach lovers of every kind begin to arrive. When we’re on Maui, that’s when we first go to the beach.

Our ritual is simple. We wake to the dawn chorus of the many birds who make the trees of Maui Vista their home. We wait awhile or sleep some more, then get up, make coffee and sit on the lanai where we read an on-line newspaper while we have a light breakfast. Next destination: the beach. We kick off our sandals and stroll from one end to the other – a round trip of about 3/4 mile on the sand – our bare feet washed by the lapping surf. Not a bad way to start the day.

One-way Skype from Charley Young Beach

Posted on by Chris Murray

Charley Young Beach Cam

Make your friends, relatives and co-workers jealous! Locate the web cam on the palm tree near the north end of Charley Young Beach then stand in the camera’s field of view and call them on your cell phone. Tell them to use the nearest computer and go to the website shown below. When they’re on line, smile and wave. It gets them every time.

Note: This is the web cam you can view from our blog by clicking on “View the Live Cam”. We look at it almost every day when we’re on the mainland.

http://www.mauirealestate.net/video.php.

If you take the paved walkway inland of the outdoor shower at the entrance to Charley Young Beach instead of the stairs, you’ll walk right by it. Don’t worry, I know the walkway looks like private property, but it’s actually just another way to the beach. You’ll see the web cam above the walkway mounted to a palm tree in front of a lovely waterfront home. Sometimes when you watch the web cam the image sways from side to side as the palm tree sways in the wind. I’ve even seen a spider walk across a web woven in front of the camera lens (thereby giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “web cam.”) Once you’ve found the web cam (it’s not far) you can walk back to the stairs to Charley Young or continue on the walkway which takes you to a different beach access farther down the shore.

If you don’t know where to look, it’s a little hard to spot the camera from the beach. As you get to the bottom of the stairs, turn left and walk the beach until you’re opposite the second house from the stairs. Begin looking about half-way up the palm trees and you will see the camera in the photo above. The accompanying diagram shows it’s approximate location and field of view. If you stand on the beach directly in line with the axis of the camera, you’ll be in the center of the picture.

Give credit where credit’s due: the web cam is owned and maintained by the Hansen family and MauiRealEstate.net and is viewed by thousands of people every day from all over the world. Thank you Hansens and MauiRealEstate.net!