Kayaking to Chinaman Hat/Kaneohe Bay Sandbar/offshore Islands in Dec?
 

First of all, sorry if I sound ignorant about terms like surf/wind/tide etc., Just learning the basics as I am planning my trip.

We are novice kayakers (kayaked once or twice before in calm river/creek). Kayaking to off shore islands seem like am awesome experience. We are very interested in kayaking to one of the off shore islands and spending a good part of the day. Most of these islands are on the windward side and how is the ocean during late December? Is it reasonable (even during low tide, when the surf can be high with heavy winds?) to plan for one of these kayaking trips in late December? Any info is highly appreciated.

Thanks.

Could be rough. If storms in the Gulf of Alaska send surges south, the tides and high waves could be the case.

Well, if you are planning on going at low tide and spending a good part of the day, it won't be low tide on the return.

Ocean kayaking is a whole different thing than kayaking in a calm river. If the weather is nice and calm, no big deal. But if it turns windy, it could get tricky.

You would probably want to rent sit on top kayaks instead of the conventional kayaks. In the unlikely event that you flip one, it is pretty easy to get back into a sit on top kayak. Not so with a conventional sea kayak and you don't want to be out in the ocean upside down and not know how to right yourself or get back in.

It looks like you can even walk to Chinaman Hat at low tide, maybe the sandbar as well? They may be deceptively close to shore and seem easy enough so just use common sense. If the weather is good and your rental place thinks it will stay nice all day, then you should be fine. Just keep an eye on the sky and be ready to cut it short if things start to change.

So...bottom line you can hope to do it but will have to be flexible with your itinerary. If one day is perfect weather, throw out your other plans and go kayaking.

I did that once with my husband in october - the ocean was choppy and it was pretty scary. We never did make it ON to the islands but we kayaked around the perimeter...
...I would probably not do it again unless the ocean looks REALLY calm! But then again, I prefer to be IN the water than on top of it. FYI we don't kayak much either!

I would also recommend that you get out on some open water (lake) and kayak when it's a bit windy and there are some waves. It is a totally different feeling. You'll be better prepared if you have at least some experience with the wind pushing you around, feeling the waves rock the kayak from side to side, etc.

My first time on open water with significant wind/waves was very unnerving but at least that was on a smaller lake with other people around. I would hate to be out in the ocean and have never experienced something like that first. Also, the time I went kayaking with a couple friends in Hawaii...one of of them turned around and went back to shore after about 15 minutes. He was starting to get a little seasick. The waves weren't even bad but it was bothering him. You'd probably want to know how the waves affect you before heading out onto the ocean.