Detour to Oahu

Monday/Tuesday.  I've never seen it calm south of Niihau in my ten prior trips past there.  This time was different.  The wind never filled in, and Moku pe'a continued to motor sail toward the Big Island until late Sunday afternoon when we reassessed the situation.

We had been under power since the boom broke off of Kalalau.  That's approximately 22 hours of powering, and nearly half our fuel was gone.  The weather forecast called for continuing calm for at least another day, and we knew we might need at least 15 hours of fuel to get through the lee of Kona.  The numbers didn't add up, so we altered course 20 degrees to port and headed for Koolina on Oahu to refuel.

Good thing we did.  We had four hours of blissfully quiet sailing, but otherwise powered the entire way to Koolina arriving just before 5PM Tuesday.  We even had to empty the emergency 5 gallon jerry jug of diesel into the tank to ensure we'd make it.  Amazing.  We didn't use this much fuel on any leg in either of Moku pe'a's South Pacific voyages.

I had a great time last summer on my powerboat adventures in the Pacific Northwest.  Perhaps this was King Neptune's way of getting back at me for my dalliance on the dark side of the force.  "You say you like powerboats?  Hah!  Try this!"

I called the Koolina office when we got within cell phone range.  Their self service fuel dock was open 24/7, but we couldn't get a slip without 2 day's advance notice.  We pulled in, filled fuel and water, and departed at 5:30.  Moku pe'a anchored for the night off Electric Beach two miles to the north.

--

Sent from Gmail Mobile

Heading for the Big Island

Sunday.  Moku pe'a got underway for the Big Island just after first light, motor sailing along Niihau's long northwest coast.  

I sailed right along this tranquil coast in each of the seven "Round the State" races I participated in back in the '70s and '80s, and saw then what great a great cruising ground it could be.

I haven't been disappointed in the four times I've returned to explore.  Niihau is off the map for most, so you always have it to yourself as long as you are careful to avoid the island's residents, who aren't particularly friendly.

Quite a few birds were working the surface, so we put out a handline and caught two large Kahala, which we threw back since I'm not familiar with the ciguatera situation in the area.

We expected to be blasted by trade winds as we cleared Niihau's southeastern point, but found flat seas and six knot winds which made it necessary to motor sail.  That was surprising.  Hopefully it won't be too long before the breeze fills in.

--

Sent from Gmail Mobile

Niihau

Saturday.  Moku pe'a motor sailed most of the way to Niihau with only about an hour sailing thrown in.  The chart isn't detailed enough to show if there is deep water between Niihau and Lehua Rock, but Wayne Reis told me that he has been through there with his boat.  We gave it a try and found a wide pass with never less than 60 feet of water.

My favored anchorage under Niihau's Pu'ukole Point looked calm, so we dropped the sails and powered in, anchoring in fourteen feet of water about 200 yards off of the beach at 3PM.

Michael and I were cleaning up the sails right after the engine went off and both saw two four foot long white tip reef sharks dart under Moku pe'a.  I guess we're not doing a lot of swimming here....

We launched the dinghy and powered in to shore landing on a clear stretch of beach that had the largest monk seal I have ever seen ashore about 50 yards away. He didn't even budge as we came ashore.

We were on a quest for glass balls, and first walked along the shore to Niihau's windward side where the pickings should be better.  No balls, but Michael did spot three healthy looking pigs rooting in the bushes by the beach.  He also found a human tibia among the rubbish along the shore.  He would know. He is a physician.

Moku pe'a's determined crew searched for nearly two hours and didn't find any glass balls.  I've visited Niihau three times before, and always found at least one.  The balls are fewer and searchers more plentiful now so it's not surprising.  We still had a great time beachcombing.

Back aboard Moku pe'a we could see that the northwest swell was starting to increase as forecast.  Our anchorage was open to the northwest and was pretty shallow, so we opted to depart and find a deeper anchorage for the night.

We anchored in 25' off of Keawanui Beach about 3 miles further down the coast just before sunset.  I had anchored here twice before and knew we'd be fine there if the swell came up.

The next morning there was a sizable swell running and about three foot waves breaking on the beach.  Moving was the right decision.

--

Sent from Gmail Mobile

Na Pali

930AM.   Off Polihale Beach, Kauai

Moku pe'a motor sailed down the Na Pali coast this morning in the calmest clearest weather I've ever seen there.  It was tempting to stop and go ashore in Kalalau and Nualolo, but we are a bit behind schedule so we carried on.  Spinner dolphin and a few turtles welcomed Moku pe'a along the way.

We are now crossing the channel to Niihau where we will spend the night before heading off to the Big Island tomorrow. I'm a bit concerned about a small northwest swell that is forecast to come up tonight. My planned anchorage under Pu'ukole Point is only about 12 feet deep and is open to the northwest. We will probably go in there this afternoon, do some exploring, and find a deeper anchorage for the night. 

--

Sent from Gmail Mobile

Repair Completed!

2PM.  At anchor in Hanalei Bay.

Just got word that the repaired boom is on its way back to us and should be here in Hanalei by 3PM this afternoon!

We will have a busy afternoon re-rigging the boom, fishing in the outhaul and reef lines, putting the mainsail back on, and getting ready for sea.  Hopefully we can depart for points west first thing tomorrow morning.

We will likely skip Nualolo and go directly to Niihau.  If we spend one night there instead of the planned three, we will be back on schedule.  The wind forecast supports this timing and it looks like the 3 day passage from Niihau to the Big Island will be in light to moderate trades.

I may have connectivity and be able to blog tomorrow between Kauai and Niihau, but will be off the grid from then until we make landfall on the Big Island four or five days from now.

--

Sent from Gmail Mobile

Relaxing in Hanalei, Again

Last evening Michael saw his first green flash as the sun set over the ocean to the west of Hanalei.  I saw it clearly too, a half second emerald pulse of light just as the sun disappeared.  This morning we asked the crew of the ketch anchored just outside of us if they saw it.  Nope, and one crew on their passing dinghy said, "I don't believe that it's real."  It can't be real if you don't look.....

It got dark, Michael got out his IPhone, and turned on his "star finder" app.  With it for guidance I saw Mercury for the first time ever and using binoculars saw three of the moons orbiting Jupiter.  I know what you are thinking, but I was completely sober.

It was a crystal clear evening and after the moon set we could see the loom of flashing lights over Kauai's mountains to the south.  A look at the NOAA radar confirmed that it was lightning flashes from a storm seventy miles away.  A very enjoyable evening.

This morning an Open 60, Dogbark, entered the anchorage and dropped the hook right next to us.  Dogbark used to belong to my old Coast Guard Academy sailing teammate Al Hughes, who we ran into in Canada's Gulf Islands late last summer when I was aboard Thankful.  Dogbark now belongs to Al's shipmate for their R2AK victory a few years ago, Graeme, who is now cruising the Pacific with his wife and two daughters.  I dinghied over to say hello, and was pleased to learn that he is using my cruising guide, Noodle's Notes, for his Hawaiian Islands adventures.

We spent the day fixing chafed lines caused by the jagged aluminum boom and readying the boat to receive the repaired spar.  No word yet on when we are likely to see it.  Michael did some fantastic baking;  I'm not going to be losing weight this trip like I usually do.

As I write this there is a pod of spinner dolphins frolicking in the anchorage behind us.  Gals in string bikinis are SUPing by every few minutes.  There are worse places to be stuck for a few days.

--

Sent from Gmail Mobile

Repairs in Hanalei

Yesterday at 4PM Moku pe'a was sitting serenely at anchor in the keyhole at Haena.  It is one of the loveliest spots in Hawaii.  I was below typing the day's blog post when we heard someone yell from the water.  A guy on a surfboard paddled out to tell us that the Governor and the Head of DLNR would be there inspecting damage repairs from last years' flooding early the next morning.  He suggested that we not be there if we didn't want to get cited by DLNR.

It is my normal practice to spend one night in Haena before proceeding down the Na Pali coast to Nualolo at its western end.  Day anchoring in Haena is allowed, but overnight anchoring is not.  I know the rules, but always figured that a single overnight was no big deal if I departed first thing in the morning.  DLNR was casing the place though to make sure everything was just right for the Governor's visit.  I likely would have been busted for sure, so we had to leave.

Hmmm.  Which way to go.  An hour to windward back to Haena, or rush 10 miles down the coast to Nualolo before the sun got too low?  We opted for Nualolo, quickly got underway, and hoisted a full mainsail to get us quickly down the coast.

The wind swirls close under the Na Pali cliffs much like it does on the north shore of Molokai.  We wanted to stay close for the scenery though.  Just as we approached Kalalalau we got a particularly large gust accompanied by a forty degree wind shift.  I was driving, saw the shift as it hit, but couldn't turn the boat quickly enough to prevent the mainsail from jybing.

In a jybe the wind catches the mainsail on the other side from behind.  The mainsail and boom flew across the boat gaining speed and momentum until the mainsheet stopped it suddenly (it's not called "boom" for nothing).  The sudden stop placed a bigger bending moment on the aluminum boom than it could handle, and it broke cleanly in two just aft of the mid-boom mainsheet block attachment.

This kind of accidental jybe happens occasionally, and usually doesn't cause any damage.  This time we were not so fortunate.

A "preventer", a line that holds the boom out so it can't fly across the boat during an accidental jybe, would likely have kept us out of trouble.  In my haste to depart Nualolo I failed to rig the preventers as I normally do, and did for our crossing from Oahu.

We started the engine, put the boat head to wind, got the mainsail down and pieces of the boom secured, and assessed our situation.

We couldn't use the mainsail without the boom and couldn't repair the boom by ourselves.  It was not prudent to proceed further from civilization without a mainsail, so we powered back up the coast to Hanalei arriving back in the anchorage in a driving rainstorm just as it got dark.

On the way back I called Mitch Haynie on the phone.  Michael and I had spent the previous evening at Mitch and Jenna's enjoying a fabulous dinner and great conversation.  Did Mitch know of anybody on Kauai who might be able to help us fix the boom?

No, he didn't, but Mitch has a close friend, Mel Wills, who would.  Mel is the operations manager for Holo Holo Charters which runs tour boats out of Hanalei and Port Allen.   Mitch called Mel, and Mel said he knows just the right guy, Mike Malone of M&S Marine.

This morning Mel called Mike, and Mike said he could help.  At 8AM we dinghied ashore with the broken boom, borrowed Mitch's truck, and drove to Kekaha on the other side of the island where we met with Mel and Mike.

Besides running Holo Holo Charters, Mel is a seasoned sailor.  He's done nine Transpac races, some of which I competed in.  We have a lot of mutual friends.  It's surprising that we haven't met before.  I could tell he knew what he was doing when the first question he asked me after I told him the circumstances of breaking the boom was, "Were you using a preventer?"  Ouch.

Mike took a quick look at the boom, indicated that it should be fixable, and disappeared with it back into his shop.  He said it should be ready in a couple of days.

This is a work in progress, but it is looking like the mighty Moku pe'a may be back on her feet pretty quickly.  This timely and relatively painless recovery wouldn't be possible without the generosity of good people like Mitch, Mel, and Mike, and we are very grateful for their help.

--

Sent from Gmail Mobile