Adventures on Maui

Position:  20 degrees 52 minutes north, 156 degrees 41 minutes west, at a slip in Lahaina harbor, Maui

Wow – we’ve been on Maui for over two weeks and it has flown by.  Our first night on Maui was spent in La Perouse Bay – turns out to be a good surf break, but was super windy when we stopped there!  Here’s a picture from the back of the wave, where we were anchored.

Next morning we moved over to the next bay, in hopes it would be less windy.  Turns out there was a surf break there as well, so after checking around the whole bay, we anchored next to the surf break.  Tim was below decks napping, when I noticed a jet ski approaching us… friendly tourists coming to say hi???  Not so lucky…  Apparently we were anchored in a Natural Area Reserve.  The enforcement agent for the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources practically catapulted himself onto the boat and informed us that we were anchored illegally and he could seize the boat and arrest the captain on the spot, but that he was only going to issue us a citation.  We explained that we understand the importance of protecting the natural resources, and would never have anchored there had we known, but our cruising guides did not mention any restrictions in that bay!  He issued us 3 citations and we're supposed to appear in court on July 7th....  Skip (our friend on the boat Dolphin) got the same citations.  ARGH!!!!  So we learned the hard way that you must check with the closest harbormaster about whether  it's ok  to anchor in any particular spot in Hawaii.  Meanwhile, we’ve also learned that our cruising guides for the Hawaiian Islands are not to be relied on for sufficient info about where we’re allowed to anchor.  Lots of folks have told us how *unfriendly* the state of Hawaii is for cruising boats, and we’re finding that to be true in many ways. 

Because of the citations, we had to go to court to settle the matter – we couldn’t just pay a fine and leave town.  We managed to get our court date moved up to yesterday and it was an interesting morning in the local district traffic court on Maui!  A bit nerve-racking  for us because at first the judge was going to give us an automatic two week continuance – he wanted us to consult with a public defender because the offenses carried a potential penalty of up to one-year jail time.  Luckily, the court clerk noted that we were not state residents, and so we were sent to confer with the public defender out in the hallway!  Then there was the issue that he wasn’t supposed to represent both Tim and Skip, because that is one of the rules… so they had to both agree to waive the right to separate attorney, and then they each took a plea agreement which amounted to a $80 fine for one charge (a petty misdemeanor) and they dropped the other charges.  Yipee!!!  We are sooooo relieved to have this over with – we weren’t sure what the outcome would be or how long it might take to resolve!

Skip and Tim walking out of Courthouse - finally free of that worry!

In any case, here in Lahaina, we’ve been really enjoying ourselves…When we first got to this town we took a mooring from the Lahaina Yacht Club – here’s a video to show how rolly the boat was on that mooring. 

So, after a few nights, we checked with the harbormaster, and were promptly allowed to move to a slip (note – all our cruising guides said don’t bother, there are NO slips for transient boats!)!  It’s a cutesy little town, with lots of touristy shops and also tons of art galleries!  



Dolphin (skip's boat) and Midnight Blue sidetied at the dock in Lahaina



There's a rainbow behind the boat every afternoon!





Yup, this is what Hawaii is supposed to be like!

There are also surf breaks all over – Tim got to surf a big south swell that hit this week, plus there have been plenty of little waves everyday.  I’ve been surfing a bit – trying to learn how to ‘go left’ on a wave – till now, I’ve only ridden waves going right.  Here’s some photos of the break right in front of the our boat.  It’s super crowded during the day with lots of surf lessons.  Gives a whole new meaning to the surf ‘lineup’.  They’ll have about 40 people on boards waiting their turn to be not only pushed into the wave, but the surf instructor actually holds the board while the person rides all the way in!  Pretty funny!!!

Surf school's in session!

Jane's new favorite break

Our friend Dantel (Skip’s wife) was here last week – we went on a mai-tai tasting tour (he he he!).   We also went on various island explorations – the Maui winery, the Road to Hana, and snorkeling at new beaches. 



Mai Tai #1





Lahaina has some beautiful sunsets!



Tim and I did a trip up Maui's biggest volcano, Mt. Haleakala.  First we went on a guided tour of a Nature Conservancy preserve with some native forest lands and birds!  Then we went up to the summit – it was really windy – gusting up to 50mph!  So we decided not to hike into the crater… too cold out.



Haleakala Crater




It's cold up here!



And this might be the highest elevation we've ever been at (not counting airplanes!)



This weekend Tim’s friend Grant will come over to Maui to visit – he’s never been here even though he lives on the Big Island and can see Maui most days!  Then Tim and I will make our way to Oahu, and from there we’re thinking we’ll try to head to the Line Islands at the end of July…at least that’s our current thought!

Some more pics

Here are some pics that should have accompanied the last post...

North side of Big Island - hazy, but amazing valleys & waterfalls from far offshore

Another of the *7* valleys on the north shore of Big Island



Midnight Blue anchored in Nishimura Bay - remnants of the old sugar company loading wall, and the ancient Hawaiian navigational stones on hill behind the boat



the Navigational Heiau (ancient hawaiians used it to navigate between hawaii and other polynesian islands)

Me and Tasman hanging out on Midnight Blue

Early birthday celebration for Robyn on the boat!

Brian, Tasman and Robyn at Waipio valley

Waipio Valley overlook

Made it to Maui

Position: 20 degrees 35 minutes north, 156 degrees 25 minutes west, anchored in La Perouse Bay, Maui

We're not getting phone reception in this anchorage, so may be unavailable by phone for a few days. Yesterday we made the passage from the Big Island of Hawaii to Maui. The passage was great - we left in the dark a little after 4AM, but it was soon light. We motored a couple hours till the wind kicked in and then it was not too strong and we had a nice sail (a beam reach for once!). Now we're anchored next to a macking surf break - it looks pretty windy & out of control, but Tim and Skip paddled over this to check it out anyhow.

Before coming to Maui, we'd been anchored for ten nights at Nishimura Bay -- a very windy and small bay on the northwest corner of Hawaii. The passage from Hilo Bay to Nishimura Bay (11 days ago?!) was a bit rough - I was seasick the whole way, having forgotten that I get seasick since I made it the whole way from Mexico without being seriously sick. We went the north way around the big island. First, we left in the dark, and had difficulty making out the channel markers to get out of Hilo. Then we had various squalls and rain and confused seas for the first few hours. Then the winds kicked in we pretty much flew around the island, and right as we neared the corner where we were to anchor the winds really picked up. We made our anchorage just before sundown and were greeted by one of the crew of the 42-foot wooden boat Libertia, who had been cruising Hawaii's islands since leaving Seattle last November - it was good to see a group of 20-somethings keeping the wooden boat tradition alive. The three co-owners had been *given* the boat (sounds like it was on its last legs) and they worked on it in a boatyard in South Seattle for 11 months building a cabintop and deck and fitting it out for cruising. We shared the anchorage with them all week.

We finally got a chance to have our friends out on the boat - Tim's friends Grant and Andy came aboard to visit (bringing with them their dog Toni - a great boat dog). On Memorial day we took Grant for a sail (Andy gets seasick, and we weren't sure of the dog's seaworthiness yet). Good thing Andy & Toni took a pass, cuz it was a very lively sail! We weren't sure how the wind would cooperate, and suffice it to say, it did not cooperate. We sailed south till we were out of the wind and becalmed (about 5 miles?) then we decided it would be more fun to stay in the wind and keep sailing so we headed back north for the anchorage, but it was one of those days where each tack seemed to set us backwards?and the boat was covered in salt hours later when we finally got back to the anchorage.

Then Wednesday it was Robyn, Brian and Tasman's turn to visit. We opted to just hang out in the anchorage and have a *boat day* with them, and not subject them to sailing in the howling 30 knot reinforced tradewinds. Even still, the wind in the anchorage was a bit overwhelming. Had it not been for Tasman (age 7) urging us to go for a swim/snorkel, we might have taken a pass. But we putted in to shore in the dinghy and snorkeled along the protected shoreline & saw pretty fish and a really cool sea star with thorns!? And a flounder! Then back to the boat for lunch and carrot cake I made for an early birthday celebration for Robyn. I then went up to Waimea to spend a last few nights with Robyn & Bri and Tas before we left the Big Island - they took me to see Waipio Valley the next day - it was beautiful. Mom & Meta & Nan - we've got some new converts to play *May I* - we stayed up too late both nights playing cards :-) And I got to play in a pickup game of Ultimate Frisbee with Brian - my first time running in a very long time - surprisingly, it felt great! I'll have to look for pickup games on the other islands.

The day before we left Nishimura Bay, our friend Skip on S/v Dolphin sailed in bring with him a large Wahoo (called Ono here in Hawaii) he'd caught that afternoon. He offered us a large chunk and we helped him cut it up and vacuum seal it and were rewarded with a nice fish lunch. And when we got in to scrub the bottom of the sailboat (it's amazing how much stuff grows on there in a short time period - but it wasn't bad since Tim had just scrubbed it before we left Hilo), we saw two manta rays and got to watch them feeding on the bottom.

Will have to post more pictures next time I have a real internet connection!