We stayed in Hawaii from September 2016 through May 2017. It is known as the “winter” because the summer trade winds weaken, and there are short periods of alternative weather flows from the south and west. The following is a quick summary of how we came to stay there. It works in part because few people are doing it.
Pacific Cup 2016 Adventure and Sailing in Hawaii for the Winter
by Tom Abbott
We sailed Avion sailed in the Pacific Cup 2016. As we approached Hawaii, the race committee advised all racers to adjust their courses to avoid Hurricane Darby. We slowed down to let it pass in front of us. The goal of the race changed from speed to safety. We finsihed fifth in a division with seven boats. I was happy that we had no injuries and no equipment failures.
Avion was still in great shape after the race. She had performed well in the heavy winds. She was both seaworthy and seakindly (easy motion in rough seas). We trusted her.
Before the Pac Cup parties were completed, all the other Pacific Cup boat captains and crews were focused on preparing to either sail back to the mainland or get their boats to Honolulu, broken down and put on trailors to be shipped back. We were just glad to be there and relax. The Kaneohe Yacht Club lacation was beautiful, had a swimming pool, compareable to EYC. KYC also had two tennis courts, the bartenders made great Mai Tai’s, and the resturant served fresh local fish at affordable prices. We did not have to leave. What was the rush?
We decided to take two months and sail around Hawaii, before returning. The key in my mind was to find a temporary slip in Honolulu. A fellow member of EYC, Hal Lynam had sailed in the cruising division of the Pacific Cup. He was planning to sail to French Polyneasia the following March, and had arranged for a slip in Kewalo Harbor. He offered to put in a good word for us. We spoke to the Kewalo Harbormaster and he said had a slip available for a couple of months, so we took it. We stayed in Kaneohe for another week. Sailing Avion around Oahu to Honolulu, we felt very lucky to get into Kewalo Harbor. We quickly found we had easy access to a Japanese grocery store, with great fruit and vegies, eggs, dairy, beer and ice. The Ala Moana Beach was a 5 minute walk, where we could swim and snorkel.
We decided to participate in some a local race sponsored by the Hawaii Yacht Club. We registered for the “Lahina Return” race in early September. The course is from Maui to Oahu, with the option of going north or south of Molokai. We left a week early so we could explore some of the harbors on the south side of Molokai. We dropped an anchor for two days in Lono Harbor, and then went to Kanakakai where we got a slip. While there, two hurricanes approached Hawaii. One spun to the south, and one veered north. We called the Port Captain at the Lahina Yacht Club, and he discouraged us from coming, as the LYC mooring field was vulnerable to a storm from the north. The next day the race was cancelled. We rented a car to explore the island, and stayed in Molokai for an extra three days. We decided to proceed continue on to Maui, and to sail the race course back to Oahu. We sailed to Lahina, and got a mooring ball, but after rowing in and out of the harbor several times, we asked the Harbormaster for a slip, and got lucky for 3 nights at a slip. We then sailed up to Honoloa Bay, spent two nights on anchor. We then sailed the north coast of Molokai, stopping under a bluff on the northwest corner for a night on the anchor, near the old Sheraton. We had a nice easy sail back to Kewalo Harbor the next day.
This trip wetted our appetite for more sailing around Hawaii. The weather window for the return crossing to California closes by the end of September. I had just retired, so we had the time available. I asked the Kewalo Harbormaster if we could stay, and he said yes. So, we decided to stay for the winter.
Over the winter, we made eight trips around the six Hawaiian Islands that sailors are allowed to visit. We sailed to Lono and Kanakaka on Molokai, Lahina on Maui, Manele Bay on Lanai, and Nawilwili Harbor on Kauai. We sailed to Hilo on the Big Island, and then around to the south eastern side where we saw the Kilauea Volcano lava flowing into the ocean. We sailed around Oahu, stopping in Haleiwa Harbor on the north shore for several days, and then around to Kaneohe Bay from the north.
Latitude 38 actively discourges sailors from staying in Hawaii. The argument is that all the harbors are all owned and managed by the State, so the marinas are mismanaged and have been allowed to deteriorate. If you can get a slip, it is not a place you want to stay. The classic case in point is the Ala Wei Marina, which has dirty water from the Ala Wai canal, and is in Wakiki, a tourist mecca, far from stores and services. Ala Wai Mearina does have a dock for transient boats, but it is located on the outer most dock, subject to heavy winds and waves. We found this to not be true. We found the all the state Harbormasters to be friendly, responsive and supportive of our adventure in sailing around the Hawaiin islands. Most were able to find a slip for us for 3 to 5 days. Or, in Hilo, the Harbormaster advised us on where to anchor, since there are no slips available.
The water in Hawaii is clear and warm, so I had started to dive and clean the bottom myself. In April, I noticed that the rudder had two small cracks on one side, parallel to the rudder shaft. I did not want to sail back to California with a weak rudder. We decided to take a short trip to Maui and back, to see if the cracks got worse. I found the cracks were larger, and I noticed new cracks on the other side of the rudder. I got on the phone with the designer of the rudder, and he recommended a local fiberglass shop in Honolulu, PDF. The next day, the owner, Jim Maynard visited Avion. We determined that the rudder could be dropped and repaired without doing a haul-out. His crew removed the rudder later that week. In the shop they found that the foam had become wet, but the carbon-fiber structure was still strong. The rudder was repaired with new rigid foam and six additional layers of carbon fiber. The work was completed in three weeks, at a reasonable price. People seemed to emerge when we needed them.
The return trip took 22 days. We hired a weather router, Rick Shema to advise us, as this was my first crossing. We worked our way north, through several wind holes, to position ourselves for favorable winds. At latitude 38, we turned east. The next day, Rick advised us that a slow moving low pressure system off the coast of northern California was generating 30 to 35 knot winds and 16 to 18 foot seas. He recommended that we stall for three days, and hope that it would dissipate. Alternatively, we could go north to Oregon, or south to Santa Barbara, to avoid it. We chose to go north, over the top of it, and aim for the Columbia River basin. We got there at 4:00 am and downloaded charts for the Columbia River. Once the daylight broke, we crossed the sandbar with big smooth rollers and motored 18 miles up the river to the Astoria Marina, where we got a slip at the Atomic Hotel. We stayed a week, relaxing and exploring south-eastern Washington. We also drove down to Portland to meet friends for lunch.
When the next weather window opened up, we sailed around Cape Blanco to Crescent City. We had to fight some very rough conditions under power parallel the waves to get into Crescent City. We spent the 4th of July there at a large Fourth Of July Celebration. We motored the last two days past Cape Mendicino and Drake’s Bay back under the Golden Gate Bridge. We had returned one year later after leaving, within several days of the start of the Pacific Cup on July 12th. We were happy to be back in SF Bay, and sad that the adventure was over, but quietly proud and confident in what we had accomplished. Perhaps even more important, we were still happy as a couple.
Avion is a great boat, but after sailing 8,000 miles in the past year, she is a little tired. We will drop the mast this week and inspect the standing and running rigging. We will swim in the EYC pool, reconnect with family and friends, and rest awhile, before our next adventure.
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