By the First Mate

By the First Mate

Boats coming and going.  Some leaving, some staying.  Chuck is on the lanai splicing a dockline which snapped a few weeks ago. The days have been mild and pleasant in port but there have been several boating incidents the last few weeks related to heavy weather.  We mentioned March for a possible target date to depart sailing around the Islands but we think we will wait a bit longer.   

By the First Mate

Boats that haven't moved in years, even before we left are now being worked on with a focused bustle that has been fun to watch. During the day boats all around are being worked on.  Varnishing, painting, masts being climbed and boats being outfitted. Then every night at sunset Chuck and I get to sit back and watch them go out and play. 

We have  been blessed to spend the winter here and have a ringside seat to the Ala Wai Opera, playing nightly. 

By the First Mate

Pancakes for breakfast.  Recovering from yesterday.  We had a great time driving the shuttle between yacht clubs.  The Waikiki Yacht Club shuttle is a pontoon boat that will hold 21 people. It gets really entertaining when at least half are drunk. We didn't lose anyone overboard so it was a good day. 

By the First Mate

By The Skipper:

"Kona Winds" in Hawaii, traditionally refers to the occasional southerlies but is also commonly used to describe any variation from the normal Northeast trade winds.  Yesterday, we were experiencing South to Southwest winds gusting to 25 knots.  This morning the winds are almost due West, though not as strong.  According to passageweather.com, the winds will diminish and swing around to the North, Northeast, then by the weekend, due East.  Next week is predicted to be dominated by light and variable conditions.

The prevailing Northeast or Easterly Trade Winds are what make Hawaii's weather so pleasant.  They also make for consistently great sailing conditions.  When the weather is "Kona" it makes for damp, clammy, overcast conditions; usually with little or no wind but when the wind does blow Kona it brings showers to Waikiki.  In trade wind conditions, the rain squalls blow in from the Northeast and hit the mountain range that runs the length of the island, dumping their rain on the windward side - Kailua and Kaneohe, leaving the South shore mostly dry.  When the wind turns Kona, those squalls from the South dump their moisture on Honolulu frustrating sunbathers on the beach at Waikiki and ruining fresh varnish in the harbor.

The hardships of winter in Hawaii: The temperature not yet 80f at noon, tanning session interrupted by rain showers, sailing conditions unreliable...

OTOH, Laura picked up groceries for a lamb curry for supper d8^)

By the First Mate

By the First Mate

Within a few weeks of moving aboard Lealea Chuck handed me a tattered and worn copy of a book called "Log of the Mahina".   It is a relatively quick read and takes the reader on a journey through the South Pacific in a time when sailing and navigation was not as simple as hitting a button on your roller furler or GPS.  I had much more respect for the Vega and its capabilities after finishing the book.

   

While recently sorting photos I came across a picture of "Mahina" whom we spotted during our stay in Friday Harbor.  The current owner is now teaching his children to sail in the boat his father bought  from John Neal.   The boat was in great shape and obviously well loved. 

    

By the First Mate

 

By the First Mate

By the First Mate

  

By the First Mate

 

By The Skipper:

Working on a way to make our site more interesting and user friendly, especially the blog.  YouTube is changing formats soon so our YT channel will be looking different; not convinced it will be an improvement, but time will tell.  Look for changes to the Voyages page, possibly, to be replaced by our YouTube channel page.

Meanwhile, we are looking into ways to improve this blog to make it more flexible and interactive.  We may change site building tools or go to a different blog software.  I do not know yet - just beginning to get into it.  One suggestion was to try Wordpress. 

At this writing we are getting about equal traffic here and on YouTube.  I am not sure how much is duplication but it might be good to consolidate the feedback some way. One thing we are looking for is a better way to share Lauras photography while keeping it here on our own web site. We do not see good way for Laura to share her still photos on YouTube.  We just do not like slide shows on YT.  We go there for video and we think most other people do too.  We will be looking for better ways to present her photos here. Of course, as always, we welcome your suggestions.

By the First Mate

By The Skipper:

Laura and I had a rather unusual Honeymoon when we were married in 1999.  We arranged to join the crew of HM Bark Endeavour, the Australian replica of the ship Captain James Cook sailed on his first voyage of discovery in the late eighteenth century, for a three-week voyage from Vancouver, BC to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.  One of our shipmates on that voyage, Fran Taylor, aka "Fran the Gran" has traveled the world in tall ships and has written a book about her experiences.  Yes, Laura and I are mentioned.  It is a great read and we highly recommend Wind in My Wings for a wonderful first hand account of contemporary tall ship sailing.

By the First Mate 

By the First Mate

By the First Mate

We spent yesterday straightening the boat and washing the carpets.  One of our neighbors has recently made the jump from landlubber to liveaboard and expressed an interest in seeing our boat to get some ideas for her Catalina 27.  We don't often have visitors aboard so watching peoples reactions is interesting.  We've seen everything from undisguised horror to sheer delight.  We love our boat, it's our home.  Our neighbor left with a glint in her eye and a few ideas of her own.  Knowing her it won't be long before she is calling her boat "home" as well.   

Ala Moana Beach Park-"Tree Art"

   

By the First Mate

By the First Mate

 

    

By the First Mate

By the First Mate

By the First Mate

 

By the First Mate

By the First Mate

By The Skipper:

Work!?! Before he was Gilligan, he was Maynard G. Krebs on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis".  If you remember that, you are at least as old as I am.  If you never saw the Dobie Gillis show you really should check it out on YouTube.  Classic Bob Denver.

You may be noticing some changes around the web site.  While we are waiting for sea conditions to improve in the spring, we are working on this site and on our videos.  It does not feel so much like work but it is a productive activity that brings in a few dollars.

Laura is busy editing and uploading her photos.  She is also working on a new video series on cooking at sea and is recording her recipes so we can post them on new pages we will be adding to the web site.  Meanwhile, I am working on editing the video footage from our recent cruising in Hawaii (It is digital, of course, so there is no "Footage" but I do not know what else to call it).  Another project I am working on is sorting and editing articles I have written.  We will be adding new pages to the site to accomodate Lauras photography and recipes as well as my essays.  It is a lot of material so please be patient and check back often.

Please let us know what you think of the changes we are making.  Like the new banner?  We are wondering if we should put the individual page titles up there as well.

By the First Mate

 

By the First Mate

By the First Mate

Spent most of yesterday labeling cans and re-stowing provisions.  More of the same planned for today with a break sometime later for a swim.

Dropped by the fish market where they auction off catches to local restaurants.  There were several fish on the block I had never seen before, very cool. Obviously I don't know much about fish.  Each fish has a small chunk cut out of the tail to display quality of meat. I couldn't see the difference but the buyers sure could judging by the different auction prices.   Some of these fish went for several thousand dollars-each.

The tag 152 is the weight.

  

By the First Mate

Year of the Dragon

By the First Mate

   

By The Skipper:

We spent a (relatively) quiet New Year's Eve listening to Garrison Keillor, Home Prairie Companion, broadcasting live from Honolulu while sitting in the cockpit waiting for the fireworks at Waikiki.  We managed to stay up past midnight this year; something we have not done in quite a while.

This morning, we are having a leisurely breakfast and discussing plans for the next few months.  Weather patterns do not look good for the South Pacific until summer but that is when we want to leave for Alaska, so it may have to be one or the other but not both.

Yes. I believe I shall have another helping of flapjacks and coffee while I think about that.  As for the music, either classical or mariachi.

By The Skipper:

Our primary camera has died so we are shopping for a new one.  Looking at the Sony HDR-CX360V.  First, we will try to get the old one repaired (Do they still do that?)  It has been a good tool for the last five years but lacks HD capability.  We will need to do something before we head out again.

By the First Mate

By the First Mate

  

By The Skipper:

You may have noticed changes in the site in recent days.  If not, be sure to refresh.  We have moved some pages and re-arranged content while we add more pages, photos and articles. There is a lot of stuff coming up.  We hope you will like it.

By The Skipper:

This morning we watched and helped a bit while friends brought in a crane to re-step masts.  Three boaters chipped in to hire the crane, one ketch and two sloops - one crane charge.  At least that was the theory.  All went well until the saw horses supporting one of the masts collapsed dropping the mast on the already mounted radar unit and, possibly, bending a spreader.  We stayed out of the way sipping our coffee and remembering how easy, by comparison, it is to take down and re-step the mast on our Vega.

While we were thus engaged a young man came up to us and announced "I'm watching your videos!".  He introduced himself as Nathan, one of our subscribers on YouTube.  Nathan has recently purchased his first boat, a Boston Whaler, for fishing.  He said watching our videos had encouraged him.  Maybe he will put up some videos of his own and we can learn something from him.

By The Skipper:

This morning, when I got up, it was cool enough I needed a flannel shirt over my surf shorts and T-shirt when I hopped off the boat, in bare feet, to grab a cup of coffee at the Fuel Dock store.  Laura had gone off for her morning run and swim while I enjoyed some quality time with Bree and watched the early morning activity around the harbor; surfers and outrigger canoes paddling out, late fishermen fueling up and chatting about where to find the fish - the HH FAD buoy is always a favorite for a short trip - or the Penguin Banks between Oahu and Molokai.  By 0800 the sun began to warm the day and the flannel came off and I found myself reflecting on the last four winters we spent on the mainland.


Frankly, I'm feeling oddly uncomfortable about being so, well, comfortable.  True, we lived right here in the Ala Wai for 15 years before sailing to the Pacific Northwest and one might logically think that returning to our home port would be not much different than before.  What is missing, I have finally figured out is stress, or at least the kind of stress that comes from having to make dead lines and take responsibility for the productivity of others; of having to be in a certain place at a certain time.  No more conflicts of interest.  No more juggling personal and business life.  Hawaii has turned out to be very much more pleasant than before.  And what's not to like?  The air is cleaner than almost anywhere else in the US, as is the drinking water.  The weather is as good as it gets anywhere, the sea is clear and beautiful and the sailing is glorious.

So we are leaving.  In a few weeks or months, depending on which way the proverbial wind blows, we will be heading either North or South on another voyage to someplace new.  As soon as we decide, we will let you know.

By The Skipper:



Laura just called my attention to a three masted schooner on the horizon.  I think she must be the Tole Mour, a historic vessel that calls here in Hawaii fairly frequently.  I remember her from her days with the Marimed Foundation.

By the First Mate

By The Skipper:

This morning, Curtis, who runs the lunch counter at the Fuel Dock store, began the day by whipping up potato pancakes for breakfast from the remaining left-overs.  Tenants and PBYC hang-arounds enjoyed  a rare treat.  For those with heartier appetites, the usual omelets,  hash-browns, eggs, bacon, Spam, rice and waffles were available.  Someone is playing a guitar nearby and the morning crew is drinking coffee and munching breakfast while checking out the surf at Kaisers (Small).

The weather is a bit blustery today.  A front is passing through promising strong trade winds and showers.  The temperature is Hawaii winter cool at about 76f. We'll be hanging out with friends and doing a bit of boat work.  If it gets too rainy, I'll work on a new video.

By the First Mate

By The Skipper:

The web site is a mess.  We are going to be doing some serious housekeeping in the next few days.  Laura finally has her own computer and is busy setting up photo albums for upload.  Now we can both work on the web site and videos at the same time.  We hope the results will be worth the investment.

By The Skipper:

Back in our home port, Honolulu after a tiring four-day trip back from Kauai.  We waitied for the gales to pass and departed in light trades.  After a few hours the wind died completely.  We were determined to sail back to Oahu but when the third day dawned with Kauai still in sight we decided to start the motor if we made no more progress that day.  At sundown we hoisted the iron mizzen and pointed the boat toward Barber's Point.  After 18 hours of motoring we arrived at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor and went directly to the Harbor Pub for pizza and beer.


Now that we are back in civilization, we have uploaded a new video to YouTube and are working on more.  Laura has a new photo album to upload from our visit to Kauai and we are working on more new material for the web site.  We hope you like the new stuff.

By the Skipper:

By the First Mate

We are spending the next few days doing small chores in preparation to take the boat to Kauai.  APEC ( Asia Pacific Economic Conference ) begins in a week and Ala Wai Harbor will be swarming with DLNR, USCG, DOBOR, and a bunch of other authorities providing security in the Waikiki area.  We are moored at the entrance to the Ala Wai channel and I think the traffic will be crazy intense.

 Instead of dealing with the above we’ve decided to attend the annual Halloween Party at the Nawiliwili Yacht Club in Kauai.  We have been members of NYC for years and have only been able to participate in one of their events.  Now if I can just get Chuck to put on a pirates hat….

Our time, so far, at the Fuel dock has been extremely pleasant.  Chuck has been working feverishly on our video’s for YouTube and we have both been working hard to improve the CruisingLealea website.  Someone wrote and requested we update the photo’s so I’ve spent many hours selecting some favorites which were added yesterday.  Also, anyone familiar with the Ships Store at the American Vega website will find some new products available so please take a look.

 Chuck and I are looking forward to getting back on the water.  Bree, as yet, is undecided.

By The Skipper:

Laura and I have been invited to speak and give a slide and video presentation at the Hawaii Yacht Club on Wednesday evening Oct 19 at 6:30PM. Open to the public so if you are in Honolulu drop in and say "Aloha".  Presumably, the bar will be open

By the Skipper:
We have been having some serious software issues with our computer which have affected the web site - inability to upload content and blank pages due to software crashes and other gremlins.  Since we are getting ready for sea again, the computer stuff has been assigned a lower priority recently but we think that we have it all fixed now so we can get back to work on the site. Laura has some terrific photography to share and I have been working on some stuff as well.  Soon.