Honomalino to Lahaina HI

The definition of cruising on Marcy is still “working on the boat in exotic places” and we are definitely a cruising boat. We've been in Hawaii 6 weeks and we have spent only 8 days in places where we can swim from the boat. But oh, how good that swimming has been!



Peter has cleaned all of the battery terminals, painted some rusty things, and gone up the mast for maintenance items. Ginger has been scrubbing all the hidden corners of the boat with an old toothbrush.



Since our last refit in Buenos Aires 6 months ago we have traveled over 10,000 nautical miles, many of those miles in very windy conditions. So, it came as no surprise that during a daily inspection of the rig Peter found a problem. On our trip around the south end of the Big Island we cracked a turnbuckle toggle on our intermediate shroud.



It's a good thing that Peter found this before the other side broke! It is one of the important pieces that keeps the mast up. With the impaired rig we left the excellent anchorage on the SW side of the Big Island and motored up the voggy (volcano fog) Kona coast to Honokohau Harbor to get a new part.



What a relief to tie up to the guest spot in the calm waters of the harbor with the mast OK.



The water was so clear we had to double check the depth sounder to make sure there was enough water for our boat. The bottom looked much closer than the actual depth of 14 feet.



It's a clean harbor with turtles and eagle rays circling for handouts from the fishermen.



And we had front row seats for the sport fishermen daily weigh in.



At the end of our week we enjoyed a visit from Randy and Lynn. We knew Randy, KH6RC, because he's one of the net controllers for the Pacific Seafarer's Net. He helped us before we arrived in Hawaii by making a dentist appointment and by giving us a ton of local information making our stay here easier. After lunch and a trip to Costco(!) they brought us back to the boat just in time for a tuna weigh in. What a treat to meet Randy in person after talking with him so often.



With our new turnbuckle toggle installed and supplies on board we set out early Saturday morning for Maui. We had a windy channel crossing and arrived off Little Beach at Makena.



We dropped the hook in a patch of sand, Ginger dove in and snorkeled the area to find a spot where we wouldn't damage any coral. With hook down we were just in time to enjoy the sunset on the famous Maui red dirt.



And the sunset over Lanai.



We detoured to Molokini in the morning to check out this famous snorkeling spot. The state has installed 20 mooring buoys 6 feet below the surface. When arriving at the island a person needs to dive for the mooring pennant to hook the boat up. No problem, any excuse is a good reason to get in the water here. After our quick swim and a stitch up job on one of our main sail slides we slipped our mooring and sailed for Lahaina.



Reportedly it's difficult to anchor off Lahaina because of strong currents, poor holding and deep water. Luckily the Lahaina Yacht club offers courtesy moorings which are available to visiting yachts and we happily picked one up off the harbor entrance in water 60 feet deep.



The first day we couldn't get the outboard started so we rowed in to meet friends for dinner. It took quite a few hours of Peter's time to get the outboard working after 2 months of storage. It's a long trip from the moorings. We could barely see Marcy and the paraglider that likes to circle Marcy as we arrived at the dinghy dock.



The surfers were out in force.



And there was a wrecked sailboat on the reef reminding us to check our mooring line for chafe regularly.



Peter adjusted to life in touristville.



And Ginger was happy to finally get a lei.



The boat work continues - our motor repair done by the mechanic in NZ failed and needs to be re-done here. Not ideal at anchor with big waves but Peter is meeting the challenge.



And the work goes better when a cool off is as close as the side of the boat.

Marcy in Hawaii

At first, Radio Bay in Hilo seemed a bit like prison for sailboats. Marcy was not allowed to move around the area. Amazingly, we were not allowed to have any visitors. And the crew were only allowed to leave the quay and the restroom area under security escort. To leave the port to go shopping or explore we were required to call the security station, and someone would be sent to escort us through the port to the street. Our first challenge was to try to get our African cell phone working – no easy task in the mall. Finally we found one provider who offered a SIM card that worked, and we became heavy users of port security. As we got to know them - Moku, Pretty, Leah, Lena, Honeygirl and Bryner - we found that they were a cheerful and hardworking bunch. We looked forward to our daily interactions.

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We set the awning to protect us from the fierce sun and the daily rain (we were on the windward side of the island here) and Peter started in on the inevitable list – including cleaning and greasing winches and reattaching stanchions.



Beautiful little finches brightened up the mornings. We saw turtles and many fish cruised through.



A family nursed an old Ericson to the quay. The son, Tyler, swam their stern line ashore and told us of their tough crossing from Southern California. The headstay was broken, engine dead, chartplotter failed, and transom cracked. The list on Marcy suddenly seemed very doable. The kids borrowed our canoe as the parents brought wet gear on deck to dry. It was nice to see how patient Tyler was with his little sister.



The skipper of the Hilo pilot boat, Mike, stopped by and introduced himself. He was a great help to cruisers. He knew all the sources for hardware, helped refuel by jerrycan, and even dispatched a piglet that was ravaging his garden, and brought it down for pork sandwiches for Peter.





Mike also brought flowers for Ginger and beer for Peter. What a welcome for sailors!



On days we could get out and walk, we enjoyed Banyon Drive. Ginger wasn't sure what sort of meeting was in process, but it sounded good.



Ginger gave the cute neighbor girl, Coral, a new sun hat.



Coral came over to watch a movie, to get her nails polished, and to help bake banana cake.



Finally the repairs were done on the Ericson “Blow Me Again” and the family set sail for Guam. Still no engine or chartplotter. Spirits were high as they were towed out of the bay.





Repairs were “finished” on Marcy, also, so a day or two later we also headed out. We sailed down overnight to the south end of the Big Island, turned north and coasted up the lee side. We found a nice little cove, Honomalino, and dropped the hook to swim and hike for a few days.



Just ashore of Marcy, Ginger found a blow hole in the lava.

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The bottom is perfectly visible 20 feet down. We jump in the water in the afternoon heat and snorkel around the rocks. Part of the reason the water is so clear here is that there is a drought on this part of the island. Mindful of the water shortage we carefully rinse off with few cups of fresh water. The last rain here was months ago.



It is great to be anchored in a tropical water again.