North Shore

I've been working my way around the north shore of Kauai, and I like it.  It rains every day, but that isn't much trouble, you just close up the hatches and wait for it to stop.  There are a lot of rivers that run down a steep slope and I've walked up two of them, to nice waterfalls.  There are a few lava tubes as well, I have been staying near a beach called "tunnels" the last few nights and it has a big tube that ends in the beach.  I ventured down a little bit of the Na Pali coast, which is the un-roaded part of this island, a "lost" coast...  But I found it all right, and there are lots of people that hike the trails, so it has been found many times over.  On the way i saw this "new" bird.

 Here's a shot from the beach in the middle of the Na Pali coast, where the winds run strong and full of thunder. 

 These waterfalls are neat, but sometimes they aren't the high point of the hike.  I like walking up the river, feeling the rocks slide underfoot and looking for crawdads.  It is nice to get into fresh water also.  This waterfall had a great big pool at its base, so I got to swim in that. 

 I stayed the night out on the roadstead anchorage next to this beach, and it wasn't too bad, but still windy and the waves rolled the boat nicely.  There are beautiful sunsets that will make you believe out here.  They come right at the end of the day, so you have to wait for them. 

Kauai

I arrived in Kauai, feeling sore of throat and weak in the knees.  I must be losing my touch.  The trip from Honolulu took about 22 hours, but I could have arrived earlier if I wanted, I delayed a little to arrive in the daytime.
I had quite a lot of traffic.  Leaving Honolulu I had to dodge all sorts of boats, while commercial airplanes and fighter jets wove around overhead.  I saw 747s, an A380, DC10s as well as F-15, 16, 18, and F-22 fighters screaming past.  There is such a military presence in Honolulu that I even saw a Canadian Submarine!   At least it was a sub flying the canadian flag. 
There were tons of container ships and fuel ships and barges and tugs as well.  What a mess! 
I cleared Oahu and entered the channel as night fell.  Oahu has a very pretty western side, with cliffs and not a lot of people, it seems.  Right as the sun was setting I could see a Navy tug boat towing an old Navy ship to be shot at (probably) and sunk somewhere in the deep.  They were on a collision course with me, but I managed to make 7 knots at times and pull ahead, slowly.  Then another tug boat came at me later in the night and I turned around to delay my arrival in Kauai and to avoid the boat.  All boats at night seem to try to hit me.  As the new dawn was breaking I was able to witness the most beautiful sunrise, with beams of heaven gently touching down on the land and sea.

Numerous fishing boats also tried to brush against my prow, and I had to pick some flying fish off who were successful in collision.
So it was a long night.  But I got in all right, chased by a cruise ship, and then anchored in Nawiliwili harbor for two nights before heading on to Hanalei bay.  The trip north to Hanalei was the easiest windward side of an island trip I have done yet.  The windward side is usually a torrent of waves from all directions and the boat is super sluggish, but this time it was not so bad.   The wind came from the land and then when i cleared the island the trades came up, but not like they normally do.  There is a bubble of high pressure sitting over this spot and the winds are super light now. 
Kauai is super green and lush, so far as I have seen it.  If i make it over to the SW side the climate may change a bit however. 
For now, I will have to get used to the rain.

SPOT tracker thing

Here is the link to the tracking page...  I'll work on making a link that stays, otherwise bookmark this link so when it gets pushed down the page you don't lose it.


http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0ZI5dehz1OLghFSeVZjx0tbfTtjuS8TFu

Honolulu

I'm alive and in Honolulu.  Its quite crowded, so I haven't been ashore much, and therefore haven't had much internet time.  But here it is.
On the trip over, I was accompanied by some Pilot Whales.  I didn't get any video of them, because when I heard them singing alongside I ran up on deck and left the camera down below.  I spent 10 minutes out on the bow with them leaping and playing in the bow wake (I was doing 10 knots on the waves and 6 average, so it was big wake) and they would come right up to the front to look at me.  They are black, and have very stubby heads, with no beak.  But they look like big dolphins other than that.  So when I finally went to get the camera they left and didn't come back.  I will hang out on this island for a little longer and then go on to Kauai.  These inter-island passages are nice and fun, windy but not too rough.
I also made a video from a while ago, the arrival in Hilo and to Maui.

A farewell to Maui

I'm leaving Maui today.  I've enjoyed it here a lot.  Mom came to visit, then Dad, then my brother (and Katrina) and now I am back on my own.  I've explored this island more than any of the others with a car, and I like it.  The seasons change when you drive 10 minutes around somewhere and the water is fantastic.  I will go to Oahu and into the depths of Honolulu.  What will I find there?  From there I go to Kauai. 
This picture was from Katrina's camera.

Molokai pictures

 More pictures from Molokai (and Maui, still)...!

This picture (above) is the bridge where the highway crosses over the Seven Sacred Pools river, that is very famous...  Its a nice spot to go swim, but a long drive to get there.  

 Here is a mongoose picture, or the head of one.  Maybe Nagina or Nag got him this time...?  And then stuffed Rikki-Tikki-Tavi's little head...  Or maybe he is just so quick that light can't even capture him. 
I think I liked Mongooses more when I was reading about them in the Jungle Book than when I see them in real life.  I thought they would be bigger, but they are small and a little rat like.  And very hard to get a picture of.

 And finally, the cliffs on the north side of Molokai.  This is an expensive sight, since the only way to see it is by boat (and the charters are mucho dinero) or by helicopter. 

 It looks like the cliffs were cut straight through with God's trowel, and then left to the elements for a while.  The water makes these beautiful round canyons that have a narrow entrance and deep cliffs.  Abe says they have a "U" shape, but I don't think they've been touched by glaciers, ever. 

 Of course we swam with the dolphins.  Dolphins are the ambassadors for Cetacia and I was happy to meet one and talk about the interspecies relations.  Or wiggle and blow bubbles and slap the water about interspecies relations.  This is a spinner dolphin.

I

 There is a bamboo forest on Maui and Abe and I decided to crouch and hide amongst the dragons and tigers, so we had a high altitude treetop battle in the sticks.  It reminds me of when I was little and I would go up to a neighbors house who had bamboo, then climb a tree and jump into the bamboo with my arms spread wide.  I could catch enough and bend it over, and it would hold me up.  Then I would crawl along it. 

Molokai with Abe and Katrina

Whoa!  The last few weeks have been full of family!  I crossed a social desert, barren seascape with no people at all to come to an oasis of relatives here in Maui.  Abe and Katrina fly out tomorrow, and we had a nice trip together.  First, Dad was here so we went around the island together in a car for three days, and then we went off to see the waters.  Molokini thwarted us (like it thwarted dad) and we sailed over but didn't go near, since the wind was up.  So we headed north and went to this beautiful bay north of Lahaina, where we swam with dolphins and turtles.  Then we went along the north side of Molokai.  Molokai is spectacular.  It is a spectacle to witness, with great cliffs leaping out of the water all along the north side.  The cliffs are draped in green and so close to vertical a gecko would have trouble.  There are  waterfalls cutting small valleys in the cliffs and sharks in the water.  We saw two sharks while sailing along.  We stopped at a place where the river was clean an full of crawfish and Abe and I ran up the river in a rock-hopping race.  It was wonderful place. 
But sadly it was forbidden that we were there.  I didn't know at the time, but found out afterwards.  Then we headed over to Lanai and played in the beach there and now are back.  I made a little bit of a video as well.