08/01/2010, Hanalei Bay, Kauai
Just a few more days until we depart for our return to Puget Sound. Current plan is to leave Hanalei Bay in the morning of Wednesday, August 4th. We've been enjoying our time here. One day we rented kayaks and paddled up the river until we ran out of water and had to turn back. Another day we rented stand-up surf boards (currently very popular) and paddled along the beach. I managed to stay upright without falling over, but I avoided the surf and stuck to flat water, The wind was brisk and a bit of a challenge to paddle against.
Yesterday I hired a cab and took our empty propane tank to the nearest refill location, a gas station in Princeville, the next town. The tank went empty during our sail from Honolulu to Hanalei. Our second tank will probably last until we get back to Anacortes, but I didn't want to risk running out of propane toward the end of our return, when the air will be chilly and we'll want hot food. So, after a somewhat expensive cab ride, we have plenty of propane.
Tonight we went to a luau that was put on by a local canoe club as a fund raiser. It was fun because it was a mix of local people and tourists, and the food was good, but we both thought the portions could have been a bit larger, as we were still hungry after eating there.
As an anchorage, Hanalei Bay is not perfect. The bottom is sand and our anchor is holding well, which is good because the wind blows 15-20 or more every day. The daytime wind holds the boat steady against the incoming swells, so the boat doesn't rock much during the day. But at night the wind drops and low swells from the north predominate and hit the boat broadside, making us rock a lot from sunset to sunrise. The most protected locations are of course taken up by local boats on summer moorings. In winter the north swells become so strong that the bay is not usable by boats.
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07/28/2010, Hanalei Bay, Kauai
We dropped our anchor in Hanalei Bay 24 hours after we left the fuel dock at the Ala Wai marina, Honolulu. Amusingly, soon after we anchored, the Ala Wai marina office called my cell phone to ask if I was still interested in temporary moorage there, based on the unanswered request that I'd made for the previous week.
Hanalei Bay is definitely pretty. Given that it's completely exposed to the north, some low-level wave action makes its way in, so the boat is rocking a bit. That wouldn't be so bad except that our full-to-the-top fuel and water tanks are very noisy when the boat rocks, in spite of the baffles that the tanks supposedly contain to reduce the motion of the contents.
Yesterday afternoon we beached the dinghy and walked into town to check out the facilities from a boater's perspective. We were here a few years ago by car and saw the town through the eyes of land-based, hotel-living tourists. This time we were more interested in scouting out a grocery store (there's a good one) and a water supply (faucets at the beach) than souvenirs and postcards.
Also yesterday, I asked Brian to check the shaft zinc while he has in the water and he said it was completely gone. Luckily I'd suspected we may need a replacement so had bought a couple in the morning before leaving Honolulu. Brian was able to install the new one in the 88-degree water, which should last until we get back to 55-degree Puget Sound, where I have a diver check and replace the zincs regularly. SSB (short-wave radio) usage might have caused increased zinc loss...I may have to re-think my SSB grounding system.
The harbormaster at Kewalo Basin, where we stayed in Honolulu, told me that there were 50 boats in Hanalei Bay, but there's only about 20, and I think only three of them are anchored transients like us...the rest are on permanent moorings. All of the single-handed Transpac racers, who finish here, have obviously left for their return voyages. We'll stay a few days, not more than a week, while watching the weather forecasts.
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07/25/2010, Kewalo Basin Harbor
We've enjoyed spending a few days in the big city. Went to the interesting Bishop Museum (Brian describes it in his blog). Brian used some of his travel points to get us a free top-floor room at the Embassy Suites for a couple of nights, which I admit was kind of nice. We went to a few really good restaurants and a couple of duds. Importantly, we spent an afternoon at a laundromat. We got to know the Honolulu bus system pretty well, having decided that we didn't really need to rent a car.
Since we'd entered the tropics our refrigerator was having a bit of trouble keeping the box cool enough. A few days ago I fooled around with it awhile, letting out what apparently was excess gas, removing some insulation from the lines, and setting the compressor to a slower speed. The combination seems to have helped, because the box is consistently cold again.
Today we went to the grocery store twice to reprovision. Tomorrow we'll zip over to the Ala Wai marina next door to refuel.
Tomorrow we're going to leave Honolulu and sail northwest for about 24 hours to Hanalei Bay on Kauai. We'll stay there for a few days before departing on our return trip to Puget Sound.
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Enjoying your blog immensely – Karlito
07/19/2010, Kewalo Basin Harbor
We arrived in Honolulu yesterday afternoon after an exciting ride across the Kaiwa Channel from Molokai. Mid to high twenties NE wind, with 6- to 12-foot waves pushing us along. We're learning that when the forecast here predicts 20 knots, you can expect mid-20s with a few higher gusts. Anyway, it was kind of fun.
We're going to stay here a few days to sightsee and to reprovision for the trip back. This afternoon we went to Chinatown and had Filipino-style Hawaiian "plate lunch".
High on our agenda is finding a laundromat.
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07/17/2010, Kaunakakai, Molokai
We had a brisk sail from Lahaina to Kaunakakai, with winds in the mid 20's almost the whole way (one gust hit 33 kn), on a beam to broad reach. Rollers were up to 8 feet in the Pailolo Channel but flattened to just wind waves after we passed the SE corner of Molokai.
It's remarkably non-windy at anchor, considering how much it was blowing not too far away. After jumping off the boat for a swim, we walked into town and bought goodies at the bakery. We were going to investigate dinner at the local hotel but misunderstood directions we were given, went in the wrong direction, then decided to eat the fish we have in the refrigerator.
Tomorrow we head to Honolulu, if the weather forecast still looks good.
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07/16/2010, Lahaina, Maui
We arrived at Lahaina yesterday afternoon, about 27 hours after leaving Hilo. We had light winds most of the time and motor-sailed or just motored until early in the morning, when we had enough wind in the Alenuihaha Channel to sail. That channel, which is notorious as one of the world's worse bodies of water to cross, wasn't too bad -- a result of lighter than normal trade winds. Forecasts predicted 20 knots, and we saw 16-24, with wind waves mostly about 4 feet when 6 feet were forecast. North of the channel, until we got to Lahaina, we had no wind, 18-24 from the north, no wind, and 10 kts from the west as we progressed.
We found a vacant Lahaina Yacht Club mooring, picked it up, and called the yacht club, who told us that all moorings are currently reserved for incoming Vic-Maui racers. After assuring those in charge that we would only stay two nights we were granted permission to stay on the mooring, for which we are thankful because the bottom reportedly isn't the best for anchoring here, which is just a roadstead anchorage (that is, not a protected harbor).
We took the dinghy to shore (a long, wet and bumpy ride in our small dinghy), walked along busy Front Street, and ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise.
Today we did some cabin chores, used the cellphone to find a slip in Honolulu for a few days, and were tourists. Tomorrow we will head to Moloka'i for a day or two before heading to Honolulu.
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