Alenuihaha

Sunday, 530PM.  At anchor in 25 feet, sand bottom, Olowalu, Maui.

Last evening's revenge cribbage game was one for the books.  Both Michael and I ended up in "stink hole", just one point shy of victory after counting out our hands.  Who ever scored the first point pegging in the next hand would win.  It was epic.

The trade winds usually die off after dark in Nishimura Bay, but they didn't last night.  It gusted to almost thirty knots all night long.  Michael and I took turns going forward to check the anchor line for chafe and easing it out a few inches each time.

Moku pe'a's 33 pound Bruce anchor and 70 feet of 3/8" chain at the end of her nylon rode held her securely like they always do, and we awoke at sunrise ready to face the Alenuihaha Channel.

After pulling up the hook we put three reefs in the mainsail and deep reefed the jib in anticipation of heavy winds. The wind angle on course was perfect, deep broad reaching but high enough to keep the jib full all the time.

The GRIB files showed the strongest winds on the Maui side of the channel, but we found that the winds were heavier near Nishimura Bay.  They probably averaged 25+, and never dropped below 20.  Moku pe'a loves that stuff, and she scooted across the channel completing the 42 mile crossing in 5 hours.

Moku pe'a passed a tug pulling a barge heading in the other direction and I spoke to her skipper on the radio.  They see conditions like this all the time, but he commented on how rough it was.

We had hoped to anchor for the night in La Perouse Bay, our normal stopping point after crossing the channel, but high surf there nixed that.  We continued on checking out Makena, which was also too bumpy, and took off across Maalaea Bay, where we saw 30 knots of wind.  Moku pe'a finally found a satisfactory anchorage off Olowalu.  The hook went down at 5PM after a long and tiring day.  It's my first time anchoring here.

It was a bit tense aboard the mighty Moku pe'a today after last night's cribbage game.  Each crew member treated the other warily, but with respect.  At the moment the crew is still on speaking terms.... barely....  Fortuitously, I am currently reading "Mutiny on the Bounty", which should provide practical guidance if the situation gets out of hand.

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