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| Pocket beach, windward side of Oahu |
How do we describe a place as beautiful
as legendary Hawaii? It is interesting culturally with much to see
and do on and around the water. Add to that consistently breezy,
dreamy, sunshine filled days. As for cruising, the Ali Wai Marina is
the only public marina central to Waikiki, with two yacht clubs: the
Hawaii YC and Waikiki YC, both very cruiser friendly and hosting
events throughout the week like Friday night bands and “best burger
ever” BBQs! Fellow cruisers just in from the South Pacific come and
go regularly. We stayed for several days first at the HYC and when
the slip became unavailable, moved a few hundred yards over to the
WYC where we remained until leaving for Kaneohe Bay. We were tied on
the end of D dock which provided super close-up views of every
sailboat race, rowing shell competition and paddling practice as they
cruised past within inches of True North. The YCs are filled with
kids skilled at using every kind of water craft. Surprisingly, while
the marina is surrounded by high-rise buildings and the city on one
side, it is fortunately very quiet within the marina with beautiful
sunset views looking outward to the ocean on the other. A strange
thing about cruising Hawaii considering the many boats here is that
services available to cruisers take some digging to find. Apparently, the only
fuel dock on Oahu is at Keehi, a 1.5 hour motor/sail away and procuring
maintenance takes many calls, unlike in Mexico where the docks thrive
with economical services of every kind.
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| The landmark Waikiki hotel with The Rainbow |
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| Evening paddling, Hawaii Yacht Club in background |
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| King Kamehameha float in parade |
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| Fireworks at the marina for King Kamehameha Day |
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| Doug and Gregg at HYC |
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| Friday night band at HYC |
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| Burger Friday at HYC |
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| Waikiki Beach |
We couldn't wait to get off the boat to
walk on arrival which is how we spent most of the first day, after a
celebratory cold beverage at the HYC. Gayle flew over to meet Doug
and together we four took off like a shotgun to see some of the
sights: a walk along the full length of Waikiki Beach and a welcome swim, and a hike up Diamond Head for
starters. Next, a leisurely drive around the island to the north
shore with stops at Hanauma Bay for snorkeling and the big bonzai
pipeline up north, the many ooh-ahh sandy beaches, Haleiwa Joe's for
mai-tais, and finally dinner at one of a dozen shrimp truck stands.
The rest of the time we got around on foot and by taking “The Bus”,
which operates all over the island with schedules and bus stops
conveniently found on an iPhone: to Pearl Harbor, Iolani Palace, and
West Marine, of course. Fortunately, our must-do list contained only
small maintenance items.
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| Doug and Gayle on our way up Diamond Head |
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| Honolulu from Diamond Head |
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| Diamond Head Lighthouse (no, not on top!) |
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| Hanauma Bay snorkeling site |
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| Gregg, Gayle, Doug on our car tour |
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| Autographs on The Garlic Shrimp Truck |
During our second week in Waikiki we
connected with John, a Cincinnati school chum of Gregg's,
currently teaching at the University of Hawaii. Next, we met Tom, an old friend of
my brother John who graciously included us in his family outing to
the Hawaii Polo Club on the north shore where his daughter rides
skillfully. On another day Tom drove us over to scout out the Keehi
fuel dock where we would need to fill up before leaving, and on yet
another day invited us to come along on a highly enjoyable day-long
group kayak outing that he leads from Kailua Beach on the east side
of the island. We paddled out through the surf to two pretty islands
a couple of miles off the coast to swim and to walk the island paths.
Mahalo, Tom!
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| Ceremonies before the first "chukkar" at the polo field |
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| At the island on our kayaking trip |
After lots of miles walking
all around the south end of Oahu, swimming, snorkeling and visiting
with other boaters we left on June 15
th for the peaceful
Kaneohe Bay on the east side of Oahu.
We
set full sails for a whole day of breezy trade winds. Kaneohe Bay is
strikingly scenic with a backdrop of brilliant green mountains full
of vertical rivulets which form dozens of waterfalls during the rainy
season. We were assigned a med moor tie on the bulkhead for a few days at the small
Kaneohe YC marina just a few steps from the swimming pool.
Skipper was happy! The KYC is full of small-town charm. The
grounds are pristine, the atmosphere friendly and very active with
family and kid events on the water. Tomorrow, we leave for
Hanalei Bay on the north side of Kauai where we will do some final
provisioning, find a good few hikes before being boat-bound again,
and pick up our crew Karsten for the return passage to Anacortes.
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| True North stern to the bulkhead at the very active Kaneohe Yacht Club |
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| Waynella and Tom join us on True North for dinner |
