Maui

By 0730 this morning both of our neighbors had departed, so we figured they knew something we didn't about the passage and we skedaddled out of there by 0830, right into the teeth of a 30-knot breeze out of the east (exactly where we wanted to go). The channels in between the islands here are notorious for heavy weather, seas and strong current and that is what we got this afternoon, translated into a little butt-kicking for us. Dan spent over an hour getting pounded by waves on the foredeck to get the storm jib on so we could make some way to weather. By the afternoon, though, the wind backed about 30-degrees, and we were able to crack off and have a fast sail into Lahaina.

We are currently anchored north of Lahaina, in Mala Harbor. Even though we were pretty exhausted when we got here, we couldn't resist unlashing the boards and going for a surf at a nice easy break just south of the harbor. Tomorrow we'll go ashore and do some exploring.


Sailing along the south side of Molokai Island, heading toward Maui.

This little turtle hung out near our boat yesterday, taking 5 breaths and then diving straight down, and then repeating the same thing over and over. We've actually seen a fair amount of turtles here, a couple while surfing at Waikiki (right next our boards!) and one right in the channel going into the harbor.

After a 35nm hard upwind sail, also against the current we tucked through the pass into this cute little anchorage on the south side of Molokai minutes before dark. Because it was so quiet and lovely we decided to hang on the hook for the day and also enjoyed a hike up the overlooking hill.



A J-120 coming through the pass yesterady to join us anchor. One more boat motored in later that night, everybody on their way upwind to Maui for the weekend.

We are shoving off momentarily to sail about 35nm to Molokai Island, and then tomorrow will sail another 35nm to Maui. We'll spend the weekend on the hook near Lahaina and then plan to do the Hawaii Yacht Club's race back to Honolulu. We're excited to get back on the water after a lot of rest and relaxation, and head into the tradewinds. Aloha!

Since we haven't had anything too exciting to report, the blog has been a little quiet. But we will hopefully have some interesting things to report in a few days when we take off for Maui.

In the meantime, we've gotten some systems fixed (same-old, same-old: fridge, watermaker), or at least decided to give up on them (autopilot).

The waves have been small but we've made sure to ride a few. And we've been getting some real exercise in the gym as well. Dan's knee is not great and it is clear that he will need surgery this year (we'll be keeping those orthopedic surgeons' children happy this Christmas). But he can at least walk around okay (no running), so we've taken some long walks around Oahu. Well, not AROUND Oahu, but around Oahu.

More interesting reports to come!

the summer of love

We did a quick weekend trip to the mainland to help celebrate Jim and Carol's 40th wedding anniversary. In addition to their wedding, the summer of 1967 also brought the Beatles' album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, LBJ was president, the Red Sox made it to the World Series, and our home town hosted what was apparently a pretty big party.

Jim and Carol's anniversary party was fantastic, and it was great fun to see family and friends! Although a little disheartening to fly in 5-1/2 hours what will probably take us 16 days to sail, we are getting excited to head home. Departure date is set for Sept. 8th, and in the meantime we will finish up projects and sail over to Maui for a few days.

With the happy couple after 40 years. (Dan is wearing his tux "Hawaiian" style).

With Dan's lovely grandmother Zuiches.

Our docklines took some abuse in the surge that came into Ala Wai harbor, but otherwise Flossie was a non-event here. We finally got our disposable waterproof cameras developed. Above, sailing in some rough weather on the way north to Hawaii, and also some underwater shots added to June 25th.

stay on track Flossie

Well, everyone in Hawaii is getting geared up for Flossie. We moved Confetti from the end-tie to an inside slip in the yacht club and doubled up on all our dock lines. And then we got on a little plane this afternoon and flew toward (!) the storm. If Flossie stays on track Honolulu shouldn't get more than just heavy rains, and possible high water levels and some surge in the marina. For now we are looking okay and will spend the next few days checking out Lana'i, a beautiful, dry and very red volcanic island.

The NOLS community had sad news this past weekend when Rocky Mountain Branch Director, Pete Absolon, was killed in a climbing accident. Pete was a truly amazing guy and our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.

Flossie

Thankfully Hurricane Flossie didn't move into action two weeks earlier or we would have had to turn back south on our trip to Hawaii and wait for it to pass. It looks like Confetti will be fine up here on Oahu, but we are checking the forecast every day. Tomorrow we are going to windward the gentleman/woman's way and flying to Lana'i for a few days (ready to come back early if Flossie veers north). All is well here in Honolulu, where each day ends with a rain shower and a huge rainbow over the city.

Etchells sailing

We're continuing to enjoy much sleep and plenty of time to work on the boat at a normal pace. Since we haven't decided what island to go check out next our time is pretty flexible. Last night we went out sailing on an Etchells (a one-design racing boat that we used to have in San Francisco), owned by the vice-commodore of the YC, Michael Roth. It was a lovely evening, and then Dan went out to race with them today. It was the Etchells worlds qualifier, but pretty relaxed with Philippe Kahn's Pegasus teams the only serious competition of the 5 or 6 boats.

I just added a few more photos, and some video to July 30, 31, Aug 2 and 3. Just click on the play button on the bottom left of the images to see the video.

MJ and Colin flew out today to head back to the mainland. Before they left, though, MJ used her charms to score them a ride on a fishing boat yesterday as their last Hawaii activity. Although they didn't bring anything in, they did get a nibble from a marlin.

Life has slowed down a bit for us here in Honolulu. We will probably stay here for a couple of weeks, exploring the island, surfing and attending to some boat projects. After such a whirlwind schedule for the last few months it is fantastic to know we aren't casting off the dock lines anytime too soon. The weather is perfect here and we are reacquainting with some amenities that we've gone without for a long time!

It is super fun to be moored right downtown in Honolulu, walking distance from everything, and a short dinghy ride across the harbor to surf at Waikiki beach.


When we first arrived we were docked next to the Volvo Open 60 "Hugo Boss," which just completed the Transpac. It was fun to have another Bruce Farr design so close, and although the Open 60 is much bigger and faster, you can definitely see the hand of the designer in the two boats.

Some of the Tranpac boats who haven't sailed back home yet.


All the little Yacht Club kids' sailing programs are out everyday sailing in the harbor next to us. There is definitely a great love of sailing here on Oahu with lots of locals and charter boats heading out every evening.

pictures

I just added photos dating back to July 12. Will post some more tomorrow. All is well and sleep deficit is being seriously improved.

rested

We are rested and happy as clams to be here in Honolulu. We had a sad goodbye with Liz last night, who had to fly back to the States and and go back to work.

Customs and immigration came to the boat this morning to officially clear us back into the U.S. The boat is cleaned up and Dan and I are planning on catching some waves at Waikiki this afternoon, while MJ and Colin do some diving. Am still editing photos (promise to have them up by tomorrow!).

Cheers from some well-rested sailors!

happiness

We are tied to the dock at the Waikiki Yacht Club as of 1415 this afternoon after a great 6-1/2 day passage from Fanning Island. Since nothing worthwhile is easy, we got hit with some pretty heavy wind and seas for the last 20 hours of our passage, so we are EXHAUSTED... but also elated to be here in Hawaii.

The weather is of course gorgeous. Liz and Dan and I are sitting around the pool relaxing this very moment (conveniently also the wireless hotspot), Colin is napping and MJ went to explore a bit of Honolulu by foot. We plan to go out for a big meal this evening and then sleep for as many hours as we possibly can, knowing that we are oh so safe and secure.

For the 1050nm upwind passage we averaged 6.5-knots with 155nm days. Right on schedule!

Will post more info and pics tomorrow. Aloha!!

In our last few hours approaching Oahu the wind continued to pick up and we had to keep reefing down. We wouldn't have wanted it to be too easy at the end!

last night at sea for a while

N19 17 W157 37
local 2000

We are 120nm south of Oahu, motoring in light wind and residual swell.

Colin and MJ caught us another beautiful dorado today, which MJ cooked us up for an early dinner tonight. After the rough weather it was nice to have a more mellow afternoon, and to know that we have only one more night of standing watches and spotty sleep before we are tied to a dock.

We heard the USCG broadcasting on the VHF radio earlier for the first time since we left California, a sure sign we are getting close to civilization. I'm charging our cell phone now and wondering if the battery will work tomorrow after sitting in a drawer for 10 months.

Everyone is excited to sight Hawaii in the morning and to make our approach into Honolulu. ETA: 1500.

getting closer - video

rough wx

N16 44 W157 25
local 2000

The wind picked up to a solid 20-knots last night and the seas were pretty big by this morning. Driving up the 15-foot faces of the waves definitely has slowed us down some. And doing anything on the boat - even lying down - is quite challenging. But we are still making over 6-knots good and the wind and seas have moderated a bit this eve.

Despite being wet and tired, and having to crawl around the boat like monkeys, everyone is doing well and we are excited to be only 275nm from Honolulu. Dan just fed us some cassoulet and the ipod is putting out our evening tunes as we launch off the waves into the dark.

We want to give a quick "shout out" to our friend Jonny, who gave us 15 gigs of music before we left. Dan and I have successfully duped everyone under the age of 30 who comes on the boat into thinking that we are musically hip. We just smile when they say,"Wow, I can't believe you have this!" (Thanks Jonny!)


Hanking on the storm jib.

video

pickles & pate & hard on the wind

N14 09 W157 12
local 2000

Liz is clipped in cooking up the rest of our delicious dorado, after a pretty uneventful day. Pickles and French pate was lunch over scrabble. The sky has been mostly covered in beautiful big puffy clouds, giving us a great sunrise and sunset.

We shook our 2nd reef for the afternoon to go faster, but the wind is back up and the reef is back in. The waves are a bit steep and close together, so sometimes it does feel like someone has put the brakes on as we slam hard into one (the noise a little unsettling too). But our 24-hour run yesterday was 146-nm, so we are averaging just above 6-knots.

Sadly we never were able to get the Alaska Eagle on the radio. Most likely we are farther east than their track south, since we've been trying to insure we don't get headed and miss our island. All well aboard as we head into darkness, looking forward to our 2130 moonrise.


Our efforts to fight skin cancer on this trip have been difficult in this sun.