Well Candine and crew are back at sea for one last passage - the long stretch back to Victoria! It's Day 5 out here, who knows how many more. It's slow going and the wind is coming from exactly where we want to go, so for the time being we are heading due north. What an amazing trip it has been, but we are all looking forward to sailing back into our beautiful home port of Victoria. Being away always makes you appreciate where you come from even more.

We spent a week on Oahu, mostly sitting stern tied at Ala Wai Yacht Harbour. Tim grumbled on a daily basis about the ten minute walk down the dock and through the parking lot that was necessary to get anywhere, while Austen stared happily at the surf just opposite the breakwall. You win some, you lose some. We thought being stern tied, which required a little bit of tightrope walking along the lines to get off the boat, would deter our little boat cat from escaping, but there I was, at midnight, in my pajamas, trying to coax her off the neighbour's boat with treats and toys. She sure has gotten a whole lot braver over the last year!

While we had big plans to explore Oahu, the shock of not only being on land again, but being in a big, American city took its toll (it's a far cry from Pitcairn, with its population of 50) and we just relaxed and took it all in during our week there. We did all the necessary things - laundry, get groceries, do an oil change, sample mai tais - and started planning that last, big passage home. Tim was getting anxious to get underway and get home as early as possible, which meant we would skip any other islands. Well, unfortunately for him, and fortunately for Austen and me, Tropical Storm Guillermo had other plans. As the storm was making its way towards the Hawaiian Islands, we realized we had two choices - try to outrun it, or hunker down and let it pass. Outrunning it wasn't the most popular choice, so we resigned ourselves to waiting for it to pass. And what better place to wait than Hanalei Bay, Kauai! We had exhausted our seven day transient permit at Ala Wai, and Kauai was far enough out of the way of the path of the storm, and somewhere we all really wanted to check out, so off we went!

After a short overnight sail, we dropped the anchor one last time in Hanalei Bay, on the north shore of Kauai. Coming from Honolulu, it felt like we were in a whole different world! Hanalei Bay could not be more unlike Honolulu, and I think they intend to keep it that way. Instead of huge resorts dotting the shoreline there were just ordinary houses; small, independent restaurants and cafes were in place of national chains; and the apparel in all the shops declared Hanalei Bay specifically, not Hawai'i. Most telling were the bumper stickers that declared "If you love Kauai, tell your friends to go to Maui!" We arrived in the early evening and were looking forward to finding somewhere to eat but couldn't quite figure out where to land the dinghy. We asked the advice of a local on a trimaran who told us to head up the river about half a mile or so and find the Dolphin Restaurant. So we did, carefully crossing the mouth of the river where people were standing in water up to their knees, and carried on down the river. It was a beautiful dinghy ride, with Kauai's lush, green mountains extending into the clouds to our left, but we seemed to going on and on with no civilization in sight! Had we been had by the locals? We kept saying, "just around this bend, if there's nothing there we'll turn back!" A few bends later we were finally ready to give up for real when we spotted it - the Dolphin Restaurant. Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones looking for the restaurant - there was an hour wait. So we carried on down the road to the pub, had a fantastic (veggie) burger and were happy and satisfied for the dinghy ride home. Thankfully we remembered a flashlight because it was a dark dinghy ride home!

We spent four days enjoying Hanalei Bay, allowing the frequent rainfall to rinse off the rigging. Morning proved to be the most magical time - hardly any wind, flat calm seas, nobody on the water, clear views of the mountains and numerous waterfalls, and a perfect break for Austen where the turtles outnumbered the surfers. We soon realized that Hanalei Bay is indeed a gem in the Hawaiian Islands, a gem that is very difficult to leave! Our original plan was to stay here just long enough for Guillermo to pass, and then set sail. Well Guillermo passed on a Thursday, and we don't leave on Fridays (we don't follow any other maritime superstitions, but we follow this one religiously!), so we planned to leave at 12:01 am Saturday morning. But one last good night's sleep at anchor seemed like a better idea..so Saturday morning it was. Well, Saturday noon, that sounds a little more reasonable. We were clearly in no rush to leave on Saturday, and all it took was one paddleboarder informing us of a sandcastle competition on the beach. That is definitely worth staying for! We would have taken almost anything as an excuse. So Sunday it is!

After one last day on Kauai we knew it was inevitable, we had to leave. So, begrudgingly, we readied the boat for sea and set sail just before noon on Sunday, August 9, with our sights set on Victoria. Thank you, Tropical Storm Guillermo, for enabling us to experience the beauty of Hanalei Bay, and to you, my friends, go to Maui.