avionbianca   Blog for s/v Avion

We decided to stay in Hawaii for the winter.  Not returning to San Francisco in September, locks us into staying at least another 6-7 months in Hawaii.  April is the earliest weather window to sail back, and that assumes conditions are favorable.  Generally this means that the Pacific High is established on the coast of California.  This year, for example, the Pacific High moved into place very late in the season, the second week of July, just in time for the start of the Pacific Cup.  We will take our chances with the timing of our return, and leave only when a weather window opens.

The key to this decision to stay was reaching agreement with the Kewalo Harbormaster that we can stay in our current slip, C-9, until April of 2017.  We have permission to live on the boat.  Honolulu will be our base, and from here, we will sail around the Hawaiian islands. The C dock is a mix of commercial boats, catamarans, and sail boats, which makes it more interesting than your typical marina.  We have a tarp to provide relief from the sun and protection from the rain; and we love getting in the new hammock to watch the sunset, read or nap.

We have learned a great deal in our ten weeks in Hawaii, and there is much more to discover.  Number one on our list is seeing the humpback whales. They come to mate and give birth. They do a “trickle migration,” starting in December, and by February, whales are supposed to be everywhere. We will sail to Maui to see them.  Secondly, while in Maui, we want to go hike around the volcanic crater, and compare the sunrise and sunset. And thirdly, we want to go see the Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island, which recently started flowing lava directly into the ocean. We will  sail clockwise around the island and try to see the lava flow into the water from the boat.  We also hope that some family and friends might come to Hawaii while we are here, to share this experience.

We are happy to be back on Oahu.  We have been snorkeling on Ala Moana beach again, and this time saw a very big turtle up close. He was checking up out as much as we were checking him out.  Megan had a new little iPad set-up for underwater photography and was able to get two videos of him.

We went to the Blue Note to hear Chick Correa for Megan’s birthday.

On Friday, Tom went sailing on Firefly in a Friday Night Beer Can race sponsored by the Hawaii Yacht Club.

We are interested in the funny little cultural events that happen around us, like the Aloha Parade last Saturday, featuring Queens and Princesses from each island, marching bands and cultural groups (video of Hula group).

Over the weekend I cleaned the bottom with a soft sponge, completed a 250 hour tune-up on the new Yanmar engine.  I made good progress on the ongoing list of boat projects, so  Avion is ready to go.

Avion does not like to sit around for too long.  Stay tuned.