Crossing the Alenuihaha Channel

We motorsailed all day yesterday, reaching Upolo Point on the NW tip of the Big Island around 4:30pm. Then we turned left down into the Alenuihaha Channel to Nishimura Bay, where we anchored for the night just as the sun went down. On the last leg, we were in the lee of the island, and in the stronger winds, sailing along at 8 knots. It was fun.

Our friends on Infini opted to sail the whole way, planned to cross the channel during the night, and carry on to Lahaina, on Maui.

We had a nice dinner and got to bed early for our 4am reville. The Alenuihaha Channel can be extremely rough in prevailing winds--bounded by two high islands (Hawaii and Maui), the wind whistles down through the channel at 10-15 knots higher than prevailing winds. So the trick is to scuttle across as fast as possible in the wee hours of the morning, before the sea breeze picks up.

We were underway by 4:45am this morning, and are now enjoying a not-too-boisterous motorsail across the channel. Our ETA for the other side is about 10:45 am, and for Lahaina, about 2pm.

We plan to stay in Maui for a couple of days. We've reserved a car for 2 days, so we can see the island and also visit our friends formerly of s/v Peace and Aloha. Dave met P&A in the San Blas in 2000, and they have since completed a circumnavigation, sold their boat, and are now building a house on Maui.

After Maui, we plan to stop overnight on Monday night at Moloka'i and then go on into Pearl Harbor on Tuesday. We have already obtained a security permit to enter Pearl Harbor (by faxing our boat documents, including a completed Coast Guard Safety Inspection Report, to the appropriate authorities), and confirmed our reservations one more time at Rainbow Bay Marina--the Navy Marina in Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor will be our base of operations for the next 4-5 months.
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At 10/14/2010 5:38 PM (utc) our position was 20°23.24'N 156°09.89'W