Molokai, the not-so-friendly, Hawaiian Island!
05 April 2018 | Kaunakakai, Molakai
Helen
Up by 6 and hauled anchor. Mark had an issue with a seized lock on the anchor locker which he tried to remove. WD40 finally worked. We hoisted the main and added a reefed jib and we were sailing at 7+ knots. Saw several whales, with their water spouts, but the waves were bigger and we could not see if any surfaced. The winds decreased and we had full jib sailing at 4 knots. Then the wind shifted to on the nose as we changed course towards the harbor of Kaunakakai, Molokai. Saw plenty of houses in different areas from the beach, to up the mountain. Only 5000 people live here. At one point I saw a whale right in front of our boat. Mark took a few pictures before it sunk back into the sea. We had a light rain along the way, arriving around 1 pm. It was an easy marked channel and we anchored just off the last marked buoy. There were five other sailboats in this harbor. The port area was empty of vessels. There were some boats at docks along the other side of the harbor. We had lunch and took our time getting to shore, as that meant putting the dinghy back in the water. Made some phone calls. Mark tried to get us a slip at four different marinas. We finally are getting squeezed into a spot on a work dock in downtown Honolulu right behind Waikiki Beach. We the dinghy and headed to shore around 4 pm. We went to the Harbor Master's office, but there was a note on door that he was not there today or tomorrow. So, that means we have a free anchoring site for tonight, since there was no one to check us in. Mark set the dinghy anchor and tied up to dock on the edge of the boat ramp. We got there just as a lady and what looked like her father were taking their fishing boat out of the water. I said 'Hi' and she grunted at me...wow! This was supposed to be the 'Friendly Island'. Then after securing the dinghy we walked to town, which was half a mile or so. Many vehicles passed us by and not one stopped to offer us a ride. Where are the friendly people on this island? I didn't think any of the shop keepers that we visited were that friendly either. Then we decided to walk back to the boat just as the heavens opened with rain. We waited a bit and then headed in the direction of the harbor. Very tiny town and most of the shops were locked up with 'Closed' signs on the door. Mark had read about the number of places that sell ice cream. The pizza place was the first one we came to and yes, they sold ice cream. It was not creamy, very disappointing. As we walked back, there was an older man on a bicycle heading back. He said we must be off the Catamaran...then we had a lovely conversation. He was friendly. He said he was surprised that people weren't friendly to us. He said they were afraid of cruisers that come and stay, and wealthy people that buy land, build a palace and then want to run the place...they don't have to worry about us because we are only staying overnight. We actually asked this guy if he wanted us to tow his kayak and he said he would love that. So, we tied him to the back of our dinghy and took him to his boat which is on a mooring ball beside where we are anchored. We again took the motor off the dinghy and secured her in the davits for our sail tomorrow. We are planning on leaving early, so will get to bed early. The sea air most certainly wore us out, as did the long walk. At least we got some exercise. It is still raining some. Apparently last week this island got winds over 40 mph. Thankful to not have to deal with that. Looks like there could be some wind for our sail to Oahu. We are planning to be there for up to a month, including getting Charabia hauled.