We are not sailing to the quiet retreat of Pokai Bay today, as previously planned, due to our strong desire to instead take part in the annual Lantern Memorial Festival held on the beachfront at Ala Moana park here in Honolulu.

We are willing to brave a crowd of nearly 50,000 people in order to honor and remember our beloved Bryce, Ian's eldest son, who left this earth in August nearly one year ago. Our friend and fellow crew member, Fernando, will also participate in honor of his lost brother.

It is a beautiful, sunny day on Magic Island, the beach covered with tents and canopies protecting scores of families from the intense sun, as they grill, play games, frolic in the surf, while literally thousands of others stand in an astoundingly long line to register for and obtain their memorial "lanterns," consisting of a floating "canoe" which carries a four-sided enclosure containing a candle and writable "walls" for personal messages. These canoes will be assembled, decorated with words, pictures, flowers, and love, then launched into the water at sunset (see pics attached).

We secure 3 lanterns for Bryce and then spend the afternoon under our makeshift umbrella on the beach, guarding the spot to ensure our access to the night's events, listening to beautiful, soulful Hawaiian music being played from the huge stage, feeling very melancholy in anticipation of the evening events. As 6:00PM approaches, the crowd doubles on the beach.

On the stage (and also 2 adjacent screens) the ceremony begins, led by the Shinnyo-en Buddhist members who sponsor the event. Mournful Hawaiian drum performances, a symbolic and moving hula dance, and an original song by a young girl in honor of her lost relative are performed for a tearful crowd.

As the unfolding sunset creates a dramatic crimson, then purple backdrop, the ceremonial lanterns are blessed, and then the crowds move to the water's edge to launch their candle-lit lanterns, standing in waist-deep water as they release the lanterns into the ocean.

Over 7000 sparkling, golden lanterns begin to leave the shore and float away from family members, filling the small bay, in a mesmerizing, hypnotic and deeply- moving display of nature's cycle. Fernando releases his lantern, then Ian, myself, and grandson Hunter, representing Rachel, Holly and the Steele and Hepburn families, each simultaneously released our lanterns to the eternal sea.

The universal connection of this very diverse crowd, sharing a collective sense of sadness and awe, is almost palpable. In this moment, we are all truly brothers and sisters. If only it could always be this way.