Trans Pacific Sailing

[Kalalau]

Yesterday I got a phone call from a friend who moved to London. He used to live on a boat in San Diego Bay and had quite a few friends in the boating community here. (A few years ago I sent him Hawaiian music tapes, he sometimes has fun opening the windows, pointing the speakers out and giving the street a Hawaiian serenade). Anyway, 2 separate boatloads of his friends are now cruising toward the south Pacific. One group headed toward Australia left a couple of weeks ago, another headed toward unspecified southern islands left just yesterday. Both groups going down the coast to Cabo then on from there. That was the same course the Hoku Le'a took returning to Hawai'i a few years back. Thinking about the vastness of the Pacific and the storms that can blow over her the voyage seems like quite a death defying adventure. Yet those Polynesian navigators did it all without any modern devices.

[matapule]

Lopeti, there are people who make this crossing all the time without incident. This is not the best month to head southwest from Cabo, but it is not too bad. March is an optimal month, so February is a shoulder month. The potential for a storm from the northeast is the problem. Once they get about 500 miles off the coast of Cabo, they should be out of any possible danger.

Safe voyages to them.

[Kalalau]

I guess its true most voyages go off without incident, you usually hear about those that don't on the news. I have flown to Hawai'i quite a few times but in all those crossings, looking down I have only seen one ship. Its quite amazing seeing other planes going to & fro. And at night...I would so dig getting invited up to the cockpit to see the stars over the ocean in total blackness, the little airplane windows don't do it much justice. I knew a carpenter who said he used to sail by himself, Hawai'i to San Diego and back, that seems absolutely incredible to me, what huahuas!!