Honolua Bay

This trip was my and Austins second overnight excursion we took just for ourselves. No guests, nothing to worry about, infinite amounts of fun and adventure to be had. We started the morning by going into the harbor washing down the boat and filling up the water tanks. Then we went to grab supplies. By the time we arrived back to SVZV I was sweating and itching to set sail on our newly polished boat.

Since we got a later start to the day, we motored up to Honolua Bay. With the wind and current, motoring was definitely our fastest option. Motoring is fun for me, because it’s fairly straight forward. Point the boat in the direction of your destination and don’t hit anything. Austin took us out of the mooring field and into The Bay and I was responsible for the stretch between that. While I was at the helm Austin set up a fishing pole and tried to catch us some dinner. The fish were onto us that afternoon and we weren’t able to bring any in.

Tunas favorite place to relax while we are underway. Obviously unbothered by the motion of the boat.

When we arrived at the bay I was overjoyed to discover that we were the only boat there. We had one of the most beautiful spots in the world all to ourselves. To say I was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for this island and whatever forces brought Austin and SVZV into my life would be an understatement.

We anchored SVZV and stern tied her in a spot close to the rocks and reef that was shaded by the tall cliffs surrounding us. After dropping anchor, it was my job to swim out, locate the mooring, dive down ~15ft to grab the chain, and attach our stern line to the mooring. After a few attempts and a handful of curse words later, the boat was secured. As someone with no free diving experience, 15ft was a proud accomplishment for me.

Our first order of duty was kayaking around the crystal clear waters surrounding us. And if any of you know Austin, you will not be surprised that he immediately paddled us towards the waves and had us surf the kayak down a handful of them. We finally caught a decent (well, decent for my standards) sized wave and “rode it down the line”… whatever that means. It was so fun! After our kayaking adventure we had a fantastic steak dinner and enjoyed the rain and the cold of the bay.

The next morning I woke up to the sunrise. As I sat in the cockpit snuggled in warm clothes, Tuna sleeping on my chest, listening to the sprinkle of rain bouncing off the dodger, I was, yet again, overwhelmed. I swear there hasn’t yet been a moment that I am not in awe of my life and how lucky I am. It’s something I don’t think I’ll ever “get use” to. And why would I? I never want to take a moment this for granted.

The sail back was a breeze.. pun intended 😉 The wind was blowing hard enough that we only needed to let out half of the head sail and we were cruising at ~7kts. Although I could definitely benefit from the experience, I love it when we don’t have to use the main sail. No need to fuss with any sail covers or try and pretend I’m not using all of my might to hoist the sail. Even with just the head sail out, I did get to practice tacking/jibing and I’m proud to say I need less direction every time we do it. After an amazing trip I can’t wait to go out again!

Sharing Is Caring

As Austin and I first started sailing, I got use to doing it just the two of us. I felt comfortable asking questions and making mistakes. I absolutely loved having company on the boat and getting to share our lives, but we would rarely take people out sailing. We had a few things we needed to fine tune before cruising. It seemed like every time we crossed one essential task off the list, we found another to add. As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, we finally started to make a dent on our seemingly never ending list of projects. It took us longer than expected, but I was excited by our progress and thrilled we would have the opportunity to sail more often.

My stepfather and 11 year old sister were the first guests to sail SVZV. Unfortunately, my sister found the whole experience to be painfully slow and boring. She considers a day shes near the water but doesn’t get to swim a day wasted. As expected, the rest of us had an incredible time.

Anticipation had been building in the hours before we left. We had tied a small anchor to our dingy so we didn’t have to tow him behind the boat, and it was our first time using the new system. After testing the new anchor set up, securing the boat, and getting everything ready to sail, we had been sitting in the sun for a little over an hour. I could feel the excitement vibrating through the air as we pulled the anchor up and motored our of the mooring field. When we finally hoisted the sails and shut the engine off the sound of the wind and waves casted a tranquil haze over SVZV and all aboard. It’s moments like this where it’s hard to believe this is truly my life.

After that experience, I wanted to take every opportunity possible to take people out sailing with us. Don’t get me wrong, I have an incredible time sailing with just us two as well, but it’s a special feeling to share something new and exciting that I’m beginning to love with others. We are finally getting to the point where we can take of and sail as we please, which has been such a relief for both of us. It is an unbelievably difficult test of ones willpower and self discipline to have a boat and not be able to use it often.

I’m setting a goal for myself to accomplish by the time travel restrictions return to normal in Hawaii (who knows when that will be): I want to have enough sailing experience and confidence to take my friends and family out when they visit, but this time I will be the captain and Austin will be my first mate.

Slowly getting the hang of this sailing thing

5:30am

I like to wake up when it’s dark. I watch the clouds begin to glow as the sun peaks over the West Maui Mountains. The cool ocean breeze wakes me up, calmly dragging me out of my morning fog. The silence of the island engulfs me and takes over my mind, clearing all of the thoughts and worries that constantly ring in my ears. The salty sweet smell of spawning coral further trapping me in the moment. For an hour, the beauty of the earth is all there is.

There is a certain stillness in the morning. A stillness that is so tangible I can break off a piece of it and carry it with me throughout my day. I use this small moment of clarity to keep me centered. I use it to keep me grounded. I use it to keep me grateful. I use it to keep me going.

The best thing about the sunrise is that it’s infinite. No matter what does or does not happen, the sun will rise in the morning. Whatever I did or have to do, the clouds will glow a brilliant pink over the mountains to start another day. I’m just lucky enough to have a million dollar view of it.

First Time

Sweat dripping from my forehead stinging my eyes, the sweltering sun above burning my skin as if it were only yards away, I wrapped the furling line around the wench and muscled out a few more cranks, tightening it as much as I could. We had been in the sun for a few hours at this point and it was taking its toll on me. My day started with a brisk jump into the ocean and a scrub of the bottom. We needed to haul SVZV out and repaint the bottom, as our current paint was so worn down it required scrubbing every other week and a lot of elbow grease. After that we stowed everything away, took off the sail cover, pulled up the anchor, and motored out of the mooring field. I was thrilled to go out sailing on SVZV for the first time, but this was my first sailing experience where I wasn’t a guest and I needed to help, so I knew it was going to be a great learning experience and a lot to absorb.

First we brought up the main sail. Looking back I can easily identify the process we went through, but at the time I was completely lost. There were so many moving parts and foreign words I could barely follow Austin’s instructions. After jumping the main halyard to help bring up the sail, I moved back to tighten the luff on the wench. Next we unfurled the head sail and headed downwind. Sitting in the shade sweaty and winded, it took me a moment to notice the silence.

The boat was effortlessly gliding across the water and the only thing I could hear was SVZV splashing in the water. It was so calming and tranquil I forgot I was exhausted a moment earlier. I was finally able to take in the beauty around me. I could get use to this. Since then I have become more comfortable around the boat while underway, but I have a long long long way to go.

Made a Friend While Diving