Ancient Hawaiian house ruins
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Monday, July 6, 2020
Okoe Bay
At anchor in Okoe Bay, Big Island
At 230PM yesterday I awoke from my nap, went up on deck, and saw Puanani powering into Okoe Bay about 2 miles away. A few minutes later Bo and I pulled Maka'oi'oi's anchor and powered the mile to Milolii where he waited offshore in the big boat while I took the dinghy in to get Marcy. Our timing was perfect. She and I arrived at the small boat landing simultaneously. Being 4th of July, and a beautiful day, there were about fifty people swimming and jumping off the concrete pier. I couldn't power into the pier without risking chopping some little kid up, so I killed the engine fifty feet out and paddled in. The transfer of Marcy, bags of gear, ice, and provisions from concrete pier to dinghy and dingy to Maka'oi'oi went seamlessly. Nothing and nobody dropped overboard - a minor miracle, and we were quickly on our way to Okoe. Maka'oi'oi arrived there at 330 to find Clay and Mark still screwing around with Puanani's anchor. We got lucky on Maka'oi'oi and had a good set on the first go.
Team Covid Staycation Cruise had cocktails aboard Puanani to celebrate a successful enjoyable passage and returned to Maka'oi'oi for an outstanding chili dinner.
The water here in Okoe is the clearest I've ever seen, the corals vibrant, and there are lots of fish. This morning found the crews of both boats swimming and snorkeling around the bay. Clay found a mooring chain on the bottom closer to the beach so they moved Puanani to it.
Some of the gems of this area are the ancient Hawaiian ruins that abound. These relics haven't been destroyed because there is no road access and it is private property. Right off the beach is a stone lined brackish water well that was unfortunately destroyed by the 2011 Fukushima tsunami. I was lucky enough to see and photograph the well when it was in good shape. A mile to the south lies a 50 yard long rock slide and a number of stone house foundations and rock walls. The area is so well preserved that it looks as if the residents just disappeared recently. There are also a couple of rock lined brackish waters wells that are in good condition.
Late this morning the Maka'oi'oi crew hiked down to have a look at the ruins. I've seen them a dozen times, and never tire of them. It was Bo and Marcy's first visit.
This afternoon the squadron's officers are playing with Bo's new "Skorkle", an underwater breathing apparatus. One can't dive as deep or as long as with a typical scuba tank, but the draw is the ability to refill the air tanks on board the boat with a hand pump. "Skorkle" and I have become quite close as we have been sharing a bunk for the past couple of weeks.
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Saturday, July 4, 2020
The Smoothest Crossing Ever
The trade winds slowly filled in the Alenuihaha Channel, but they never got above nine knots, and the seas were almost Kaneohe Bay smooth. Maka'oi'oi charged across the channel on a close reach in unbelievably stunning conditions. This channel is one of the roughest in the world, but we caught it on one of its best days ever.
The boobies seem to like Maka'oi'oi. Just before sunset we had two of them land on the bow pulpit for the night. They were gone at dawn this morning, and fortunately they didn't make any deposits while in residence.
At 8PM we sailed out of the Alenuihaha and into the lee of the Big Island. It is usually a big void of air behind 14,000 foot Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, but sometimes there is wind there, and this was one of those times. After a couple of hours of powering the wind filled in from the southwest at 14 knots, and we screamed toward Okoe for six hours. The wind died again, then filled from the north. That breeze didn't die off until we were just 5 miles from the coast.
I came on watch at 6AM this morning to find Mauna Loa looming large ahead of us. I spoke to Lori as soon as we got in cellphone range. It was great to talk to her. She has been following Puanani's progress on their tracking page, and she told me that they are 30 miles directly behind us.
At 815 this morning Bo came up on deck and noticed something floating behind Maka'oi'oi. I spun the boat around thinking it might be a glass ball. It turned out to be a hawksbill turtle lounging on the surface. He had a grotesque hump on his back. I've seen that before at the turtle rescue center in Marathon, Florida. Some turtles get a bubble of gas trapped in their shells which causes the hump, makes them more buoyant than normal, and prevents them from diving. Poor guy, he seemed fine but didn't dive when we approached.
Shortly thereafter we discovered a personal fish aggregation device (FAD) buoy about seven miles off of the coast. We could see fish below it as we passed but we didn't hook up. We also passed the official FAD buoy three miles outside of Milolii. Once again, no hook up. It looks like we will need to count on Puanani if we want fresh fish for dinner.
We anchored in Honomalino Bay at 1030AM. This is a lovely anchorage about a mile south of Milolii. We chose to anchor here because we will be picking Bo's wife Marcy up at Milolii Landing this afternoon. After we gather Marcy we will head the three miles south to meet up with Puanani in Okoe Bay.
It took just over two days to complete the 300 mile passage from Niihau to the Big Island. I've made that trip more than ten times now, and this was the most pleasant weather, and smooth sailing, I've ever seen.
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Friday, July 3, 2020
Boobies on Bo’s Boat
We got lifted as expected and by 4pm were headed directly towards our destination at Okoe Bay. Kauai and Niihau disappeared behind us and Puanani sailed over the horizon to the west. We were all alone on the open sea.
Our heading takes us far enough west of the Hawaiian Island chain that we won't see any other islands until the Big Island comes into view tomorrow.
We are using the Swedish watch system of 6-6-4-4-4 hour watches each day. With an odd number of watches every 24 hour period, we end up on a different schedule each day. Bo took yesterday's afternoon watch, I was on from 6-10PM, he was on from 10-2AM, and so it goes.
During my early evening watch a flock of boobies decided that Maka'oi'oi would be a good place to spend the night. One tried landing on the top of the mast, bent the Windex wind direction indicator so it doesn't work anymore, and departed. One successfully landed on the bow pulpit and spent the night. The third decided that the wind generator would be a good place to land.
That turned out to be a bad decision. I heard him make contact with the spinning carbon fiber blades and splash into the sea behind the boat. I don't think the poor guy made it. The wind generator survived, but it is vibrating a bit now.
It was beautiful night sailing in 15 knots, smooth seas, and a full moon.
At the 10PM watch change it started pouring as we entered the lee of Oahu. We powered for two hours until we got into the Molokai Channel and the skies cleared for the rest of the night. The engine just went on again as we are dealing with the lee of Maui. We should be well into the Alenuihaha Channel during my afternoon watch.
We expect to make landfall in Kona tomorrow morning.
No word from Puanani. We've tried the VHF radio, but perhaps we are too far apart.
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Big Island or Bust!
1400 position 21 24N 159 51W. Close hauled, port tack. 256 miles to go to Okoe Bay
The officers aboard Puanani were piped aboard Maka'oi'oi for cocktails and dinner as the sun neared the horizon. Bo decided to entertain two nights in a row since all of our food is chilled and might spoil sooner than Puanani's frozen cuisine.
The islanders returned to check on us just before sunset as we were enjoying our rum and tonics. We made it an early evening as we planned a dawn departure the next day.
We all awoke at sunrise after a peaceful evening, pulled our hooks, and headed south along Niihau's western coast. I sailed close to the shore along this coast in each of the seven "Around the State" races I participated in, and realized then that this would be a great cruising destination. It hasn't disappointed during any of my five visits since.
The trade winds fills in just before we made it to Niihau's southernmost point, and we punched out into the channel with full sail set. It was blowing about fifteen knots from the east, with bumpy seas. Close hauled we were still thirty degrees below our course to Okoe Bay on the Big Island, but this is what typically happens. The wind backs as we get deeper into the Kauai channel allowing us to come up to our desired heading. We are already getting lifted. As I write this we are just ten degrees below our course to the mark.
We put a reef in the jib when the wind picked up about 11AM, and Maka'oi'oi is barreling along in her element. The seas have flattened out, and there is very little water on deck.
We couldn't have asked for better conditions, and are hoping it stays like this all the way to the Big Island.
Puanani is paralleling our course about a mile to the west. We've been speaking with them periodically on the radio, and they are loving the conditions too. They landed a fish off of Niihau and are preparing it for dinner.
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Keawanui
At 4PM yesterday it had cooled off to the point that we could venture ashore without being scorched by the sun. Looking like the invasion of Normandy on D-day, the crews of the squadron made a simultaneous dinghy landing on the sand beach directly inshore of the armada.
We started wandering north along the rocky shore, and just fifty yards from the dinghies Bo nearly stepped on a napping monk seal. Bo was far more startled than the seal was, and we quickly retreated to give the animal some space. Monk seals are amazingly camouflaged when lying on the basaltic rocks along the shore, and it is easy to walk right by them without noticing their presence. We counted a total of nine seals yesterday, and there were probably a few more that we missed.
The other form of wildlife abundant on this end of the island is pigs. We counted eight up on the open plain above the beach. They must be hunted, because the herd took off when they saw us.
No glass balls, but we collected some beautiful shells and had a pleasant hour long hike along the shore. Clay found what we think might be the bone structure from a monk seal flipper.
The fleet's officers were enjoying pre-dinner pupu and cocktails aboard Maka'oi'oi when we noticed a Jeep ashore. We've been spotted, and our forays ashore may be over. No matter, this has been a spectacular anchorage, and the boys have loved it.
Bo served up a magnificent competition quality chili last night, raising the bar once again. What will happen next?
Niihau lies in the lee of Kauai when the trade winds are blowing, and the local wind can come from every direction. That's exactly what happened last night, and the fleet was glad that our anchors were well set in an area with 360 degree swinging room. The shifting winds got up to nearly fifteen knots after dark, more than I would have expected.
After sunrise today Clay noticed a huge ulua under Puanani, and we were treated to a monk seal diving and feeding at a coral head behind the boats for most of the morning.
At 11AM the squadron got underway to do some exploring. The crew of Puanani spent about half an hour screwing around getting their anchor unwrapped from the rock outcroppings. I think perhaps Puanani liked the Pu'ukole Point anchorage and didn't want to leave.
At 1230 the fleet anchored off of Keawanui Bay where, 36 years ago, I collected sixty glass balls on the beach. Shortly after the squadron was secured a school of spinner dolphin came by to pay their respects, followed by a large Jeep ashore. It is nice to know the local residents are concerned for our safety.
We'll depart in the morning for the Big Island, and the next couple of days could be tough as we work our way through the channels between and the lees below the other islands. The weather is looking good with moderate trade winds forecast, but we will be busy with only two of us aboard each boat. I hope to be blogging daily, but I won't if I am too busy or too tired.
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