We arrived in Honolulu at the Ala Wai Harbor just in time for 4th of July festivities. We had arranged with the harbormaster to check in on July 3, including a boat inspection. These guys are serious about any boats planning to stay 2 or more weeks. We passed (thank goodness as who knows where we could go otherwise) and were assigned a spot on the cross dock (Dock X) for the next 2 weeks. We pulled right in front of a boat called Moments. We hadn't met but knew this couple had been cruising Mexico and we felt we knew them already through friends of friends. They immediately included us in their plans for 4th of July (it might have been that Dave made a deal to buy them beer in exchange for a spot in their fridge, works everytime). BBQ with friends, fireworks show, and a quick jig at the yacht club to end the evening festivities. Not so very different from the last 4th of July, spent in the Santa Barbara Marina. I can hardly believe we've been cruising for more than a year at this point!

The Ala Wai is the largest harbor in all of Hawaii. It was close to a mile just to walk from our spot at the X dock to the main street. The main street puts us right at Hilton Hawaiian Village, the start of Waikiki. Not a bad spot to be. A number of buses run through this area and we took advantage of this to explore the town.

First stop, Bishop Museum. This came recommended by the cruising guide and some other cruisers we met on Lanai. A great spot to start understanding the history of Hawaii. They also had a very cool traveling guitar exhibit. However, the star of the show was their planetarium where they had two short presentations on the Hawaiian night sky and the Wayfinders method of celestial navigation.

Feeling quite cultured we continued our metropolitan exploration with a trip out to Pearl Harbor. Knowing its one of the most visited National Monuments, we got up early to ride the bus, to get in line, to get our free tickets to the Arizona Memorial. Tickets in hand for the 11:30 boat trip we had a few hours to kill. Fortunately there are a couple other museums to choose from on site. Each of course for a price while you wait. We chose the Battleship Missouri. Definitely worth the cost, the history and memorial is worth a visit. We timed it right and made it back to our group gathering for our short film and boat trip over to the memorial. Unfortunately they had some technical difficulties and couldn't show the film and apparently it was blowing 40 knots so the boat trip was cancelled. (We're sailors and in my amateur opinion it was not blowing 40 knots, but who argues with the US Navy?). Anyway, lesson learned no more getting up at the crack of dawn for tourist activiities!

We also were able to get some boat work accomplished. There is a West Marine on the bus line and a large one at that! Dave climbed the mast to fix his very favorite feature of the boat, the roller furling that failed us on our way over from Lanai. That fixed we had plenty of time to watch more world class soccer. Congrats, Germany! What a great final game. We celebrated by exploring the bars along Waikiki... a mini bar crawl you might say.

After so much excitement we rewarded ourselves with a beach day. Picnic lunch packed, white sand, warm clear blue water. It couldn't be more perfect, unless you had a nice air conditioned hotel room with running water and a real bed. So we did that too! Happy Anniversary to us. I used up the remainder of my hotel points and we spent a lovely two nights in the Hilton Waikiki. The friendly guy at the front desk even sent us up complimentary champagne. 6 years is just the beginning of this wild adventure I call marriage. We look forward to many more.

Time flies when you're in the big city and we extended our stay just a little longer. Our savings accounts are diminishing and its time to think of where we'll land to make these grow. This was one of the deciding factors in coming to Hawaii and we think Oahu will be the best option for us and the Crazy Love (we have big plans for her). We started looking at apartments and neighborhoods just to start getting an idea of the area. We explored one of the local farmer's markets and stopped in China Town for produce provisioning.

Our neighbors on the B Dock (yes it connects with the cross dock, go figure) had a progressive potluck party. They were kind enough to include us transients on the X dock. It was fun to get to know some local boaters and a great way to end our first stay in Honolulu.

There are so many factors we're undecided on, its tough to begin making future plans. We have a few months to figure this out. We're off to explore more of Oahu and on to Kauai to continue our cruise of the islands. We plan to make our way back to Oahu in September to figure out our future here in Hawaii.

After five days at anchor in Honolua Bay, we headed around the east end of Molokai via the Pailolo Channel. This was a sporty crossing - 15+ kt winds with 5-8ft waves - but nothing like the Alenuihaha Channel. It was easier mostly because we did this crossing first thing in the morning rather than in the middle of the night. The crossing itself was less than 10 miles. When we rounded Cape Halawa we were able to ease the sheets and fall off the wind. Then the beautiful sailing happened.

North Shore of Molokai

The north shore of Molokai has the highest sea cliffs on this planet - so we are told. The truth doesn't matter because they are unbelievably tall even from several miles offshore.

Molokai has strict rules about going ashore. Basically they don't want haoles (that's us) coming ashore except in places where they can watch us.

Okala Island

About half way along the north shore is a high island a few hundred yards off the steep-to shore. The cruising guide says the lee of this island is a good anchorage. We had a hard time getting the hook to set in the sand bottom, but when we did it felt safe enough.

Matt and Rachel on Aeoli joined us in the anchorage a few hours after we arrived. We had dinner, Rosie's Indian curry, aboard Aeoli the following night. Yummy stuff.

The morning after our dinner party the oddest thing happened. The wind started blowing out of the West. "The west?" you ask. Yeah the west. My theory is that the east wind hits the cliffs and wraps around into the little corner where we were anchored. It was blowing so hard the boat was heeling at anchor and spray was blowing into the cockpit - the Beaufort scale suggests the wind was around 30 knots. Fortunately the anchor held long enough for us to get the kayak out of the water and escape for a calmer spot.

Kalaupapa

The calmer spot was only three miles away. We anchored about a quarter mile off the beach bordering the former leper colony. There's still a substantial town here despite no road access. I wonder, how do they get building materials here? How do they make a living? We didn't get to find out because we weren't allowed ashore. We didn't try to go ashore, but we assumed we weren't welcome based on advise in the cruising guide.

We stayed two days here. Didn't get off the boat. We read, played games, and enjoyed the sunshine.

Papohaku Roadstead

Upon leaving Kalaupapa, heading west, we had some groovy sailing. The wind was 10-15 from the east, so we moved quickly to the Papohaku Roadstead at the west end of Molokai. We had a hell of a time finding a sandy patch to drop the anchor. The sea floor here has a lot of rocks and coral. The sandy patches tend to be just a few inches deep with a rocks underneath. We stayed here two days after we finally found a deep enough sandy patch to set the anchor.

There's a resort on the beach. It appears to be maintained, but there were not many people around. We didn't go ashore here either. Didn't even pump up the dinghy. I did attempt a little spearfishing. Its harder than it looks. My aim is not good.

Lono Harbor

This unused little harbor is well protected from the wind and the waves. Apparently it was built in the 50's to load sand onto barges for transport to Waikiki. This practice was outlawed in the 70's, so the harbor is unused today. We did land the dinghy here, but there's not much to see. We took a walk on the beach, but mostly hung on the boat waging war against a number of bees before bashing our way over to Lanai.

Kalama Nui

The wind blew like crazy the entire trip from Lono to Lanai. It was a wet and wild upwind sail all 20 miles over to Lanai. We expected that we'd get calmer winds after crossing Kalohi Channel, but even in the lee of Lanai the wind blew like crazy. We tucked into the little Kalama Nui Cove and anchored in 25 feet. The holding here was excellent with a black sand bottom that got along very well with our 7.5kg bruce.

Good snorkeling here. Lots of small aquarium fish and some larger parrotfish and orange spined tangs. I even saw a sea turtle and a shark. Sorry to say I didn't have the camera for those sightings. I tried quite a bit more spearfishing. There was lots to shoot at but I still couldn't hit anything. I'll keep practicing, I promise.

Manele Bay

About six miles from Kalama Nui, as the crow flies, is Manele Small Boat Harbor. The wind was dead the morning we made this short trip, so we motored for three hours to get there before lunch. We anchored for two days outside the harbor, and then spent three days in a slip after we spoke to some folks familiar with the harbor.

Manele Bay might be our favorite spot in the whole state. The harbor is clean, uncrowded, unbelievably quiet and perpetually sunny. A half mile walk from the boat took us to a beautiful beach and there is a Four Seasons resort a short walk from the beach. The perfect spot to watch some world class soccer.

Overnight to Honolulu

The sail from Manele Bay to Honolulu was a bit frustrating. It should have been dreamy downwind sailing, but the roller furling jammed again, so we couldn't use the jib. Ugh! Without the jib, we can't balance the sails enough to use the windvane. That means hand steering. Double ugh! I don't mind steering by hand, I just don't want to do it in the middle of the night. On the upside, the roller furling didn't completely fail until we were 25 miles outside of Honolulu so the hand steering was only for the last 6 hours of the trip.

We arrived at Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach at about midnight, so we had some time to kill before dawn. With the jib jammed, we couldn't even heave to. Shucks! We dropped the main and floated. The wind and waves pushed us offshore so we motored in shore a few times during the night. After dawn, we called the harbormaster's office for instructions...

More in the Honolulu entry.

The Crossing

Getting to Maui meant crossing the Alenuihaha Channel. It has a reputation for big wind and big waves so the forecast was appropriate at 25kts from the east with 5-9 foot waves. Fortunately it is a downwind ride.

We had planned to leave in the evening, but after saying good bye to all our new friends in Radio Bay it was already dark. We decided to leave in the morning at first light and that's what we did. There was a nice land breeze to sail out of Hilo Bay, but it quit within a few miles of the breakwater. We motored for an hour and then the sea breeze (or was it the trades?) picked up. We had light, steady wind for much of the afternoon, but as we approached Upolu Point the wind built. We went from full sail to a double reefed main with a sliver of jib in a matter of 30 minutes. We had found the trade winds and they were just as forecast - 20+ knots from the east. Our course was west-north-west, so it was nice broad reach sailing. After sunset, we left the Big Island in our wake and started to see the lights of Maui on the horizon.

Conditions in the channel were pretty hairy, as forecast, but having just crossed the Pacific, we had a good time of it. Call us cocky perhaps, but these were conditions we'd seen before, and we knew we could handle them again.

We had some rain on the crossing too. The skies were mostly cloudly so it was a dark night, but on the horizon we could see a series of dark clouds coming toward us. The rain would come as the dark clouds came overhead, and then stop a few minutes later when the cloud passed. Twenty minutes later another dark cloud would blow over us. This continued for most of the night.

Carolyn and I kept a much better watch for this crossing. When we crossed the Pacific, we both slept all night long and didn't worry about anything we might run into. The channel between Hawaii and Maui is heavily trafficked so we had someone on watch full time. That meant one of us was always getting wet in the cockpit. It wasn't so bad though - the boat was steering itself and this would only be a one night passage as Hilo to Lahaina is about 125 miles.

By dawn we were passing Molokini and we were well into the lee of Maui so it was appropriate for the trades to be replaced by light variable winds. Going from 5+ knots of boat speed to less than two was a big disappointment and really killed the morale on Crazy Love. We weren't feeling very patient, so we motored much of the rest of the 15 miles into Lahaina. Before we arrived in Lahaina, I checked email on my phone. Our friend Ronnie had managed to get a slip for us in Lahaina Harbor!

We pulled into the very busy - with charter boats full of tourists - harbor and into slip 34. Ronnie was standing at the boat ramp giving us a standing ovation. It was a special welcome for us as he was one of the big inspirations for us to even consider the crossing from Mexico to Hawaii. We tied Tahitian style to the marina walkway - two bow lines to the dock, mooring bouy tied aft to keep us off the dock. After a painless checkin with the harbormaster, we were officially in Lahaina. I could already tell Lahaina was going to be awesome: the air was warm, the skies cloudless and blue, and the town was right next to the harbor. The next two weeks turned out to be awesome and we're now very much fans of Maui.

Lahaina

Lahaina's Front Street was feet away from our new home. A tourist retail paradise. T-shirt shops, ABC stores, restaurants, you get the idea. Even though I was given free samples of firming cream every walk down this street, I have taken the high road and hold no grudge.

Lahaina Harbor has no facilities for cruisers - showers being the big one. The harbormaster's office did say we might check in with Lahaina Yacht Club as they often offer cruisers use of their facilities, especially if we're renting one of their moorings. Well we weren't and we are not members of a yacht club, but we tried anyway and were fortunate to catch a break. The Lahaina Yacht Club was very hospitable with fabulous showers and I might say the best food at the best cost on Front Street. Dave and I also seem to always run into a brewery. We really did just happen upon the Maui Brewing Company tasting room, I can't get enough of their coconut porter!

It was great to catch up with Ronnie who had been working on his boat for the last couple months on his way to Australia. You can read his story here.

We took the opportunity of having a slip to get a few repairs done on our boat. Ronnie put us in contact with West Maui Sails. We had a ragged looking jib after the passage and a few batten pockets on the main that needed some love. These guys picked up our sails from the harbor and we met them at their loft. Completely understanding a cruiser's budget, Barry and Brian pointed out suggested fixes and let us put some hours of our time into the work as well. We learned a great deal in this process and feel a bit more confident if we need any sail repairs along the way.

With the jib down we also replaced the roller furling line (the one that had chafed through during the passage) and did an end over end of the jib halyard in an attempt to lengthen the life of this line.

While in port we did get in contact with Victron Energy and they are sending us a replacement shunt for our battery monitor. Since this is coming from Europe we had it sent to San Diego and will make do with the volt meter in the meantime.

Next issue: there was a discrepancy with the voltage at the batteries and the voltage at the electrical panel. The electrical genius of the crew (that would be Dave) took things apart and found yet another smoking gun in our electrical chaos. We were able to replace the culprit (battery cable) while in port.

Paia

With all that work done, now it was time for a little fun? Many people ask us how we do it, living on a small boat with separate bunks...well we take a break every now and then. We booked a room at the Kuau Inn in Paia on the other side of the island for a couple nights for what I feel was a much deserved and earned break.

The vacation from our cruiser's life started with a bus ride to the other side of the island to pick up a rental car from what I found was the best local rental rate in town. We were to meet the owner at the mall where he was picking us up from the bus station. Dave was sure once we were driving into the country and passing an old used refrigerator at the front of the property that we were soon going to be a tale on the next episode of America's Missing Tourists. This was not the case. We got a great rate and our car completely blended in with the locals. I completely recommend Maui Cruisers Car Rental.

The Kuau Inn is an old Plantation House outside the town of Paia that we made a home out of for the next 5 days.

They have a wonderful shared large kitchen where we were able to make dinner in on a few nights. A perfect setup for us. Aside from lounging around the great lanai we got out for a few explorations of the island as well. The Road to Hana was beautiful and we attempted to catch a sunrise at the summit of Haleakala National Park. I might suggest planning a sunset for anyone coming into town. We hit a foggy morning .... and its cold, really cold (but beautiful).

Before returning the car, we used it to do some errands. We hit the Home Depot, Walmart and the grocery. Almost like real life!

The boat's loaded up and we were to be out of Lahaina Harbor on Thursday. Even though the winds off the coast looked gusty (I'm beginning to realize this is Hawaiian coastal cruising) we made plans to head to Honolua Bay at the west end of Maui. But not till we had a meet up with some friends we met back in La Cruz who just came up from the Big Island and came over from Cabo just before us. We're hoping to run into Aeoli again soon.

Currently we're back in cruising mode anchored in a little piece of paradise called Honolua Bay where I've already spotted the Hawaiian State fish about a hundred times, swam with a sea turtle, octopus, and a couple eels, not to mention a dozen other beautiful aquarium fish.

What a wonderful feeling to sail (ok motor) into Radio Bay. It is a very protected and calm anchorage. So calm I almost couldn't sleep at night, almost.

Since we arrived at night on May 20, the next day was check in with customs, immigration and agriculture. The cruising guides said to only send the Captain ashore. Dave was nominated.

A couple things cruisers should know when they arrive:

1. Everyone can go ashore (at least all US citizens).

2. The Custom's officials are very efficient and also handle the agriculture check in.

3. The harbor office is very friendly, the anchoring permit is only $9.24 a day for boats up to 40 ft, however they only accept a cashier's check or traveler's checks... this meant a 3 mile walk (round trip) on sea legs to a Western Union.

4. No key necessary for the showers and bathrooms on the docks.

5. Go ahead and rent a car if you plan to stay more than a few nights, it will be easier.

6. They do have cameras and know when boats come and go even though it doesn't look patrolled. We were planning to leave Tuesday night but left Wednesday morning and they called us for their $9.24! (Which by the way we did mail them after obtaining another cashier's check.)

Radio Bay is a 2.5 mile walk into downtown Hilo. The nearest bar is about a mile walk. After being confined to a 26 foot boat for almost 30 days, this meant our land legs were obtained very quickly and a little painfully. Since Hilo is on the windward side of the island and it gets about 150 inches of rain a year, these walks into town were very often wet, but hey we're used to wet.

The farmer's market is as fantastic as the guides say. The mangoes and the fresh veggies were so very delicious. We began a few of the boat repairs but since they were minor, decided it best to wait for a more convenient dock. Laundry was made possible thanks to Bob on Silverado who gave us a ride to the laundromat. A stop in one of the local breweries, Mehana, was made possible by another newly made friend. In hindsight it would have been much easier if we had rented a car.

We enjoyed Dave's 34th birthday with a few local brews, baseball, and a free burger at Hilo Burger Joint. They really do give you a free burger on your birthday, and a good one at that.

It was a pleasure sharing Radio Bay with Hokule'a and Hikianalia. These are traditional Hawaiian voyaging canoes that are headed to Tahiti and beyond.

After a week on the hook in this peaceful if not very convenient anchorage we decided to head across the Alenuihaha Channel to Maui on May 28.

Before we left Mexico we wrote up an FAQ with the answers we thought were right at the time. This time I'll give the right answers to the interesting questions and add the questions we should have asked:

How far is the sail from Banderas Bay to Hawaii?

The Garmin says the actual distance traveled was 2967 nautical miles. The "as the crow flies" distance was 2789 miles.

How long will it take?

30 to 40 days was our estimate. It actually took 28 days and 18 hours. We thought getting off the coast was going to be the hardest part. We were right. 500 miles off the coast was a bit of an underestimate to get to the trades. It ended up being more like 1000 miles until we had wind on/aft of the beam. We thought we'd get 120 to 140 mile days. In reality we got more like 110 to 120 mile days.

How much fuel?

We had more fuel than we needed. We motored for less than 10 hours, which I estimate burned less than 3 gallons of fuel. Our instincts told us to carry more water rather than more fuel and, for this crossing at least, those instincts were spot on.

How do you keep the batteries charged?

The solar panels were effective, but the skies were often cloudy, so when the sun did come out we made tons of power. Before the battery monitor quit working I saw we were making 7+ amps at 12 volts which I believe is near the maximum output for 100 watts of panel.

The failure of the battery monitor was a disappointment. A little salt water got on the gadget that measures battery current/voltage. The salt water caused corrosion which eventually led to failure. I really like the battery monitor, so I plan to fix it and reinstall it in a waterproof housing. As a backup to the battery monitor, we were able to measure voltage with a multimeter.

How much water?

We had 10, 10 liter plastic bottles stashed throughout the boat. We only drank 8 of them. In addition we had the 25 gallon tank under the v-berth that we barely touched. Then there's the 5 gallon container in the port lazarette that we never even considered. Thinking about it after the fact, we had enough water to last for an 8 week passage, probably more.

We planned on half a gallon per person per day. We didn't end up using that much. Daytime high temperatures were lower than we expected, so we didn't end up drinking as much as expected.

Do you have a watermaker?

A watermaker, even an emergency one, didn't turn out to be necessary. If its just Carolyn and I on the boat, I see no reason we'll ever need one.

What will you eat?

We ate lots of good stuff. Preparing food on the boat was one of the biggest challenges of the trip. The boat was constantly moving, always rocking side to side. Imagine making mashed potatos in your kitchen. You've peeled and chopped the potatos and placed them in a bowl on the counter while you wait for the water to boil. Then your kitchen counter tips 20 degrees and dumps the potatos on the floor because you didn't keep a hand on the bowl.

Carolyn kept a food diary that she'll eventually post.

What will you drink?

We didn't have a drop of liquor, or any alcohol for that matter, during the crossing. We had plenty of water that we flavored with powdered drink mixes.

Do you have a refrigerator?

We didn't need one for this trip. I see no reason we'll ever need one.

What safety gear do you have on board?

I thought that a healthy, capable crew was the most important thing. Turns out I was right.

Fortunately we didn't need the life raft or EPIRB. The AIS was amazing - during the first week it provided confidence that the big ships weren't going to run us over. After the first week, we didn't see another boat until day 29 pulling into Hilo. The Delorme InReach was another great upgrade - we will continue to use it to advertise our whereabouts.

What do you do all day to occupy yourself?

Keeping the boat moving didn't occupy much of our time really. The combination of boat, sails, and windvane took care of itself. By the time we'd finished a few hundred miles, we got the windvane tuned so well that we didn't hardly have to touch it. The only work we really did was reefing and unreefing the sails.

Cooking took much more time than expected. Cleaning the dishes was also quite a challenge.

Both of us did a lot of reading. Carolyn read most of the Harry Potter series, I read several Webb Chiles books, and we both very much enjoyed Ken Follet's Fall of Giants.

We did play some games on the iPad. In 11 games of Settler's of Catan, I won 9, Carolyn won 1, and the computer opponent won 1. We're really embarassed about that computer victory.

Do you stop at night to sleep?

&

Is there someone always on watch?

We said we'd try to keep watch at night. We barely tried. We did the thing with the watches for the first few nights, but once we stopped seeing other boats we just went to sleep and let the boat wake us up. If the wind picked up, the boat would heel and wake us up. If the windvane slipped, we'd round up, the sails would flog and wake us up. It turned out to work well because we were never tired and the boat was almost always moving along.

How long in Hawaii?

Now that we're here, we plan to island hop until some time in September, then find a semi-permanent slip for the boat and an apartment or room in a house on terra firma. Then we'll try to find jobs to pump some cash into the cruising fund. While we're here we have some fixes to do on the boat too.

What if something goes wrong?

Fortunately on this crossing everything went right. We feel very lucky and are extremely happy with our success.

Is it a wet boat?

Oh wow, if only we had known. Everything leaks. Everything! The boat is 30 years old and we haven't rebedded any of the deck hardware, windows, or the hull/deck joint. I have no idea when a previous owner might have done it either. During the crossing, we constantly had a pool of water sitting on the side deck. That pool of water found its way into the cabin through every hole in the boat. While we're in Hawaii, we'll need to pull everything off the boat and refresh the caulking to fix the leaks. That will be a big job, but its one we'll be able to do ourselves.

What worked?

The Contessa 26 is an amazing boat. Yes, it is tiny. Yes, it does leak. It has also brought us three thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean and not once did we feel that the boat was anywhere near failure. We never had gale force winds, but we did have plenty of wind in the mid-twenties. The waves were alway big and as much as we complained about the motion, Crazy Love didn't mind one bit. In fact I'm pretty sure she liked it.

The WindPilot Pacific Light, we call him The Conductor, is the best crew member ever. The windvane, mounting bracket, and installation cost $4500. It was worth every penny. It steered 99% of the way across - we hand steered while we were motoring.

The sails held up well. We had the sails up and pushing the boat along for four weeks straight. We had a sail repair kit in case of tears or chafe. Fortunately we did not need it.

The 10 liter bottles of water from the grocery store in Mexico were great. We didn't need those expensive 5 gallon jerry cans many cruisers carry. I'm sure they're convenient, but they're too big to stow on Crazy Love.

What didn't work?

The battery monitor failed on us, but that is the fault of the installer (me) and will be fixed soon enough.

The bilge pump. We have one of the Rule bilge pumps sold by West Marine. It was absolutely crazy. It would turn on, pump some water out, and then never turn off. I think the float switch is faulty.

I'm pretty sure our electric tiller pilots are broken, but I doubt a brand new one would be able to keep up with the big steering needed in trade wind waves. If it did work, I'm sure it would draw so much power that it would be unusable on Crazy Love.

The symmetrical spinnaker didn't work for us. We spent an hour setting it during a morning of light winds and it didn't really do much for us. We prefer to run wing and wing which we got a lot (1000+) of miles out of. We'd attach the jib clew to the spinnaker pole and stick the pole out to windward. Then we'd put the boom on a preventer. Running like this kept the sails from flogging and dispensed with the complication of the spinnaker. I doubt we'll take the spinnaker with us on our next adventure.

Our jib furling line chafed through but this was totally my fault. I had the jib rolled up the wrong way so the furling line rubbed on a part of the furling drum it shouldn't. This is an easy fix but we're still considering dumping the roller furling altogether.