First leg down, no problemo!
13 September 2010 | Nawiliwili Harbor, Kauai
Stephen Arnold
Yesterday we arrived here on Kauai, 24 hours to the minute after departure from Honolulu. Finally, we are able to relax after the maddening pace of the 16 to 20 hour work schedule of the last ten days. I feel really good about the voyage, and the crew seems to be very upbeat as well. It looks like we will have favorable winds at least as far out as the forecast allows us to see, that is of course, after we motor/sail through the high pressure system that dominates the Pacific during the summer months. The high has been dropping all week, which means that we won't have to go as far north before we can turn to the east. Very good!
Yesterday I rented a car so we could tour the island. None of our crew had ever been here before except me. As a child of only ten, I lived here briefly, and still have vivid memories of that time of my life. I call it, "Closing the loop," when you revisit a place after many years. Yesterday I was able to close one of the biggest loops of my life, when after 34 years, I was able to locate the actual apartment that I lived in so many years ago, in the still tiny, seaside village of Poipu Beach on the south shore. We also stopped at the Koloa Elementary School where I attended 4th grade. I feel a very strong presence of mind, that this is exactly where I should be at this exact moment in time. Today, we are going to tour the east and north shores of this incredibly beautiful tropical paradise. What a difference from Oahu!
While we were at Kewalo Basin Harbor, we had the great honor of meeting Mr. Saito, a Japanese gentleman who has, for the last ten years or so, been circumnavigating the globe, single-handedly, in Go For Broke's sistership, the Nicole. Recently, on his 8th time around, his mast broke, forcing him to come to Kewalo for repairs. It seems that his boat and mine have closed a loop of their own of sorts. What an interesting turn of fate.
Tomorrow will be the last time that we will have access to our respective normal email accounts. We also will no longer be able to read any comments posted to our sailblog. Please monitor our outgoing posts at www.sailblogs.com/member/goforbroke49/ and please send all correspondence to goforbroke@ocens.net
Also, at our sailblogs site, you will be able to monitor our daily progress by clicking on the world map icon on the sidebar. We will be taking position readings at 12:00 noon everyday so you can compare our day to day progression. As we get close to home, we will be posting information about the welcome home party at the Morro Bay Yacht Club. All who are reading this blog are invited. Hope to see you there, on or near the 1st of October, Stephen Arnold.