Tao goes Aussie, Part 2

Now that Tao is officially Australian, what does that mean for the crew and our adventure? We have been mulling over cruising plans for more than a year and have been deeply divided about this very emotional topic. Frequently, we discuss the other half of a circumnavigation of the Pacific- NE Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and back across the Pacific via Alaska to the west coast (the next leg around to complete the other half of a global circumnavigation just did not appeal to us as the Pacific). However, for now, we both agreed the time was right for us to move back to land. After 4 years of preparation and 5 years of marvelous, phenomenal, life-changing cruising, there are still many additional adventures in life we want to attempt (not to mention, over this last incredible year, we've missed Grizzly!). So, although we have absolutely loved our dream trip, the downside of our big plan to continue cruising across the Pacific was that we knew at the other end we would likely have to look for new owners for Tao- or at least have that option available.

A tumultuous time, we organized Tao and marched forward with our additional tasks; wedding planning, applications for Chris to one year intensive Master’s of Education programs, and yoga. Early on Chris had pushed us to make a decision about a date to fly back. We didn’t have all the details, but narrowed down approximately when would be good to provide us enough US pre-wedding planning and graduate school interview time. Chris found some decently priced and timed flights from Sydney and we purchased them. We hoped to have enough time to head to Sydney early and see sites along Australia’s eastern “Gold” coast along the way. We continued with selling big ticket items, final wedding dress fittings, more yoga, and worked with our boat broker (Anita Farine), providing detailed information and beautiful pictures of Tao to be added to her online page. The marine garage sale was a poignant whirlwind, and we continuously organized our gear, dividing what to carry with us and what to ship slowly east. As we pulled the blue tape off the glistening newly varnished woodwork, our broker brought an interested party to look at Tao. We took extra time to show her around the details of Tao that other interested parties would indeed want to know about. It was a busy and painful time. Suddenly, and not surprisingly, our stateside flight was just around the corner and we didn’t want to leave Tao any earlier than necessary, so we made reservations on TransCountry train for a one day trip from Brisbane to Sydney. We washed the upholstery once more, transferred what had been the invaluable bicycle and trailer to its new owner, relocated the pile of boxes we had packed at our storage unit to a shipping company, closed out the storage unit, returned keys to the marina and laid down for a few moments of unsettled rest.

 Saturday 12 January our alarm woke us at 0330. Darkness was shrouded with clouds and a misting rain. Not good weather to carry several 50-lb bags and a wedding dress (carefully covered so Chris would not get a glimpse) the half mile uphill to the TransLink train station where we planned to catch a city train to the city center to board our 12-hr CountryLink train set to depart at 0630 for Sydney. Fingers crossed, we called a local taxi for a 0430 pickup and took our last look around. As Chris waited in the mist, Shawn ran back inside and unable to stop herself, lemon oiled a few more spots of the interior before finally snapping the lock shut on the weatherboards. Together with our gear in the wet darkness, we touched Tao once more, and tears already shed, without looking back, we headed for shore. Punctually, our taxi driver, an Indian named Ruby, lighted our sad mood with his constant chatter and crazy driving getting us to the city center in record time leaving us plenty of lead time to return our TransLink passes, collect money still on them, and catch our cross country train.

  

 

The 12-hr train ride was surreal, racing away from busy city into open countryside of rolling hills dotted with eucalyptus (aka Gum) trees and ocean crashing into land to the east. Record temperatures soared igniting blazes across the country and we watched from air conditioned comfort of our seats as we sped (though slower than normal due to heat restrictions) along the railway. Very little cell service, at one of our stops we received a message that our broker was showing Tao that afternoon at 1400. We were a little perturbed that we had not been previously informed of this, and had buttoned Tao up as we would for months of absence with canvas covers and shade tarps in use, but were happy that Tao would have visitors so soon after our departure. A mere six hours later as we pulled into Sydney and exited our train we received word from a voicemail that the viewer had already made an offer and committed by signing a sales agreement and paying a deposit of 10%!!

It was night now in a new city, with all our gear, we made our way to our pre-booked “Great Southern Hotel,” a half mile walk from the train station and attempted to catch our breath. This was way too fast. Tao was supposed to sit around and wait for our return! Checked into our room, we got internet and found more awaiting us. The buyer was in a hurry and had offered us slightly less than our asking price. Anita was being persistent that this was great, we should accept immediately and had already emailed us a sales agreement and set up a sea trial, survey, and haul out for Monday. Chris was ecstatic and ready to sign. Shawn, less trusting (and maybe less ready to let go), was pissed. We own this beautiful vessel, we have the upper hand, we do not need to be rushed or bullied into signing anything. Plus, the difference in price was not much to Anita (who we had discussed with at length that we were not willing to go much below our requested price) only a bit less in her pocket, but it would pay her ridiculously large percent! Equally stubborn, Shawn slowed everything down and requested the details, who is the buyer, why are they in a hurry, why do they think any less than our requested price is okay? Could we counter offer? And slowed it down even more by saying we would respond by the next evening. 
 

 

One day we had to enjoy Sydney, Sunday 13 January, and now all was overshadowed by impending decisions. The morning dawned grey and stormy, reflecting our moods. We jammed in with tons of other tourist onto the free shuttle just up the street from our hotel and were whisked to Sydney Harbor. After making our way through hordes of tourists watching fire throwers, aboriginal didgeridoo players, and countless other interesting diversions, we finally found a place to have lunch (nowhere served late breakfast) outside. Situated on a little finger of land nestled between the famous Sydney Opera House, we had a looming view of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Determined to soak in Sydney as much as we could during our brief visit, we decided against an adventure to any of several close Bikram studios. Instead, as we watched ferry traffic, walked along the shore, through the opera house, adjacent gardens, and climbed atop the Sydney Harbor Bridge Pylon where clouds finally descended upon us, conversation went around in circles about accepting or declining the offer.

 

 

 

Oh Oz, not a sight you would see in the US!

That evening from our hotel room we spoke again to Anita. If we wanted to sell to this buyer (she was very persistent about this likely being the best offer we could hope to get) we had two options; either we hold steady with our requested amount and expect to lose up to what the offer was in nit-picky things the buyer might find in the survey or we accept the offer- as is meaning that we will not sell for any less no matter what they find in the survey. The latter seems to show good will between buyer and seller. If we were to go ahead with the sale, and hence the survey and sea trial, Anita all of a sudden requested proof of insurance- which seems like a late request and something she should have previously collected from us, but we were able to provide her proof of it digitally. We weighed our options again and again, and reluctantly (at least Shawn) we decided to move forward with the sale. The next morning, Monday 14 January, from the Sydney Airport, Chris filled out, digitally signed, and e-mailed the sales agreement contract with an added condition regarding the buyer paying for propane gas set up that we knew would have to be upgraded to comply with Australian regulations. We requested that Anita be clear with the buyer that we were firm at their offer price. In a dreamlike state, we boarded our flight, headed first to Fiji, then continuing on to LA.



Photo from the air of the Malolo Group of Mamanuca Islands in Fiji where we anchored many nights in deep Musket Cove

 

Enjoying brief moments of Fijian sunset

During our flight, Tao was surveyed, hauled out, and taken for a sea trial. Once we got to LA- still Monday 14 January with the time changes- we had troubles getting in touch with Anita to find out how all had transpired. Finally she contacted us saying all was well and that the buyer had decided to go ahead with the offer. After some prodding, she provided us more details regarding the survey (demonstrating to us once again that surveyors indeed miss big issues and tend to focus on items quite unimportant for true safety at sea) and sea trial. Apparently, there was concern about water in the cockpit during the sea trial, but when the extremely windy conditions were described to us, it was obvious that Tao had been way over-canvased and she would have moved much more efficiently with no water entering the cockpit if they had simply reefed the mains’l...

 

Our first week was a rocky re-entrance into the US, overshadowed by lingering requirements of the deal gone through. Bill of Sale filled out and notarized, USCG deletion process (how traumatic does that sound?!) started, international money transfers and snail mailing original documents across the Pacific. It may not sound like much, but it was indeed emotionally taxing as well as our broker hounding us for additional papers to prove the Australian Import and telling us the buyer wanted to move aboard immediately, yet our bank account hadn’t yet received a penny of payment and we were working like dogs to get things moving through appropriate channels, still wondering if we were even ready to sell.

Things finally started feeling better 28 January when we were provided the new owner, Preston’s, e-mail. Chris wrote a very nice note congratulating him on his new boat and offering our information if they ever had any questions (one of the things that we really missed out on when we bought Tao was a decent connection with the previous owner). The next day, Chiara, Preston’s Italian partner wrote us a wonderful e-mail and she included pictures of their particularly large dog Mannie aboard Tao. Now we knew that Tao was going to be well looked after and loved, allowing us to start the difficult process of letting go. Since then, Chiara has been frequently in touch (usually during the 6-week stints when Preston leaves the boat to go back to Darwin and work as a tug boat captain) asking all sorts of questions allowing us to keep connected to Tao- now renamed Ithaca. It has been quite bittersweet but we never wanted Tao to be one of those unloved boats sitting in a marina awaiting some attention from an otherwise occupied owner. Chiara has started a blog through which we will be able to follow Tao's continuing adventures (http://storiesfromithaca.com/).

Over the past two months we have been unbelievably busy, and Shawn has been avoiding writing this post as it really solidifies that our adventures with Tao and on the ocean for now are currently on hold. However, we hope to spend time reconnecting and processing our amazing journeys as we get re-acclimated to land-life. Please check back for updates- next we'll fill you in on our amazing Mexico wedding!!

Mamanuca Islands Fiji and Kauai's North Shore

We have been fond of saying things like, “You are welcome to visit us, but you only get to choose the place OR the date, not both.” Our cruising style firmly requires not to have any set dates, because they tend to create a lot of stress when trying to keep to them amid constantly changing weather. Of course cyclone (hurricane for you northern hemi dwellers) season is one of those dates that is not too flexible, at least it is a month long target. However, there is always an exception to the rule and we found ourselves committed to be in Nadi, Fiji to catch a flight to a close friends wedding on 4 October 2012 (Chris as groomsman for a close undergraduate friend, Matt Gehrke). Since we bought the tickets while in Samoa, our cruise track and timing decisions have been shadowed by a set date putting a bit of a squeeze on our time. So yet again, we continue to struggle with not having enough time to explore as in depth as we would like. Realistically though, if we want to keep our goal of reaching Australia this season, it has been important to keep pushing, and we realize that we have been amazingly lucky to fit in as much as we have. Several times thus far in Fiji, we have both felt the Universe aligning for us allowing safe weather passage, more time than we thought in several areas, catching up with some super fun fellow cruisers, and yes, even making our pre-chosen flight date. We are so grateful for everything we were able to do and see and recently have felt like some guardian angel was helping to align moon, stars, and planets to allow us to see and do so much.

Our trip to Hawaii, though difficult to arrange and expensive, was marvelous and totally worth it! Admittedly it was a whirlwind and we didn’t fit as much in as we had hoped (such as daily yoga, visiting yoga friends in Kapaa or visiting our frequently utilized HAM station that is based there), but it was truly special to be able to part of Matt and Carmen’s beautiful Kauai wedding, and Shawn even caught the bouquet. Of course Chris caught some great Hawaii surf with Matt and all the fun surf friends that showed up from far corners of the world for the wedding. In addition, besides Shawn finally succumbing to a cold, as we laid over in Honolulu we were able to visit Chris’ grandmother and his father Dave, mail 2 boxes of our collected souvenirs back to the mainland, as well as drop a package full of gifts for folks on Fanning Island off at the Kwai (it showed up when we were down there and is headed back again in the next few months). Shawn even managed to fit in a Bikram Yoga class the day before we flew back to Nadi, Fiji.

 

It sure takes a lot less time to fly from Fiji to Hawaii than to sail from Hawaii to Fiji- 12-hrs and you get a day back versus 6 months and so many unique irreplaceable experiences! Of course, we also lost the day again flying back across the date line. And we were actually lucky to be let back into Fiji, because apparently we were supposed to visit immigration before we left to get permission to come back in with what they consider a one-way ticket. It is so hard to follow all the rules and we really do try. Regardless, they allowed us back in and Tao was fine after her 10-day rest. We flew in just a few days after a beautiful weather window for heading west (which both Convivia and Britannia took to Vanuatu), so we gladly resigned ourselves to enjoy a little bit more of Fiji while awaiting the next window. We spent the next 4-days at Vuda Marina recovering from our vacation from our cruising lifestyle as well as preparing the boat by implementing some sewing projects (including Drifter and weather cloth repair and making a tiller cover), filling propane, and adding diesel for the first time since we left Hawaii in May (only 15-gallons!).

Saturday 20 October we motored out of Vuda, Chris wrestling with our “drunken” autopilot Captain Tilly, and then had a nice upwind sail approximately 10-nm SW to Musket Cove in Malolo Island, during which Chris played with his new GoPro camera and Shawn somehow managed to get quite sunburned in an overcast but summer Fiji day. A week quickly passed by in the safe anchorage, packed with at least 30 boats each night. We met several fun people, talked to other cruisers that also await weather windows (many toward NZ), went to BBQ’s on shore, and generally enjoyed the safety of the deep anchorage as a low pressure system passed south of Fiji. One day, we even adventured in Tao out of the reefy protection to Namotu Island at the outer edge of Viti Levu’s reefs, where Chris surfed a small swell and we both enjoyed some clear water snorkeling. Unfortunately, winds picked up to make the anchorage a lee shore and we had to make haste out of there in the early afternoon back to Musket Cove, but a few days later Chris was invited to dinghy over again for some more stellar surf. 

After spending a few nights anchored in a bit shallower (37-ft versus 58-ft) “secret spot” that Chris found after rowing around in Fatty, we grabbed a mooring for a few days in hopes of being able to check out with a group bound for NZ. We took the opportunity to deep clean Tao and remove Rocky in preparation for offshore passage. Unfortunately the outer island checkout fell through for our time-frame, so we reattached the anchor and sailed 20-nm downwind to Lautoka to formally check out of Fiji on our own schedule, during Fiji business hours of course. Although we would love to visit all of our friends in Vanuatu, we feel the need to make westward tracks to stay ahead of cyclone season. So far the weather window looks great for the approximately week long passage from Fiji to New Caledonia. If the weather window closes, we’ll have the option to duck into Noumea for some protection. If the window stays open, however, though we would love to explore there as well, we may bypass New Caledonia and continue on to our goal for this season: Brisbane, Australia!

Weather and Plans

After our yoga day on the N shore in Nabari at the Meleang Tabwai Secondary School (MTSS), we returned to Tao where the water jugs were filled and the rain had finally relinquished. Still, dark thunderclouds lined the distant sky, and there was now not a breath of wind. We usually filter the freshwater from Fatty into large buckets on deck, but today, the buckets were already full and Fatty was riding extra low in the water. Chris had the brilliant idea to use Fatty and her copious fresh water catch as a bath; what extravagance, and quite an amazing view from the near water level tub! The next day dawned sunny and the stillness continued. It turned into a work day as we diligently checked items to-do-before-leaving-Fanning off the list: change Moni's lines, check rig tension, check prop and rudder zincs, upload uncharted reef waypoints into the GPS, plot our course, download more weather data, manage our photos, air out cushions, and the list goes on. Tuesday morning we had planned to go to the main village, Tereitaki, on the other side of the channel and check out of Kiribati. But the day flowed differently. Before we were able to organize ourselves for the day, Michael from Fianna rowed across the channel for the first time to visit, so we spent the morning catching up with him. Soon after, Quixotic moved to our side of the channel and motivated an "everyone-is-leaving-soon" cruisers potluck. We reluctantly let go of our "plans" for the day and went with the flow.

The following morning we meticulously performed some detailed weather analyses to determine the most favorable timing for departure. As we have yet to find useful discussion or forecast (from the seemingly exhaustive list of saildocs from which we pull down our weather data; if anyone has this data, please enlighten us) of the area we are about to enter, we poured through the last week of collected weather data and tracked the development and movement of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) by plotting where our Pacific Forecast text stated it was located. The ITCZ (aka Doldrums) is a belt of permanent low pressure near the equator where the NE tradewinds and SE tradewinds converge, characterized by calm and variable winds accompanied by thunderstorms and squalls. Light, variable, or no winds punctuated by 30-knot squalls with the possibility of heavy thunder and lightning are far from ideal sailing conditions (at least for us), so we would like to minimize our exposure to this constantly shifting area (check out our Planned Cruise Track post to see an approximation of where it is usually located). Our plots of the ITCZ movement clearly indicated that the day we experienced continuous heavy downpours, lightning and thunder, and subsequent fluky winds (which even came from the west (?!) for a time), the ITCZ axis had moved directly over and even a little bit north of us. With this knowledge, we went back through previously downloaded GRIB files and noted that this disturbance had indeed been demonstrated by the wind barbs in the forecast. Looking at newly downloaded GRIB forecasts, we see a similar, but larger, disturbance brewing between 2-deg N and 3-deg S next Tuesday and Wednesday. Whether under sail or motor in such light and variable winds, it would be impossible for us to avoid this disturbance.

With our conservative "wait for the weather" attitude, leaving this Saturday as we were revving up to do is unfortunately (at least for keeping to our "plans") no longer the plan. Although frustrating because we know there is so much awaiting us to see farther along our cruise track, and each day that ticks by at this point we forgo seeing something else, we agree (yet again) that waiting for the right weather window is of ultimate importance. So, we'll wait and continue to gather detailed daily weather data. We think that we were lulled into believing the winds here just always blew since we'd been here over 3-weeks and seen nothing but solid 18-20-knot ENE winds. It has been a gentle reminder of an important lesson: in addition to already keeping on top of overall basic weather in areas with which we are not completely familiar, we need to start looking at detailed weather data at minimum a week before we really actually want to push off. On the up side, it's not like we've nothing to do to keep busy. Another swell is forecast to get here the 16th through 19th. We will continue to watch the ITCZ movement, and instead of having a long list of things we still want to do, we will spend the next week actually preparing ourselves and Tao to be ready to pull the anchor whenever the moment is right.

Tao's 2012 Cruising Plans

Cruise Track Overview:

Several people with whom we’ve spoken have asked how far it is to Australia and where we will be stopping between Hawaii and there. When we provide the names of the islands we hope to stop at we often meet blank stares. In an attempt to share our plans with everyone interested, we’ve made the above basic map outline of our planned cruise track, which will inevitably be reworked as we go. Our longest mileage passage will be right out of the gates (Hawaii really is all by itself in the middle of the Pacific Ocean) between Kona and Fanning Atoll of the Republic of Kiribati (pronounced kiribas). We hope to spend a couple weeks there catching some surf, meeting the community, and then watching for a weather window to head south to the Northern Cook Islands. If it is not too far up wind, we hope to make Pehnryn Atoll and then sail SW toward Suvarrov Atoll. Approximately 2 months after setting sail from Hawaii, we hope to reach the US Territory of American Samoa to re-provision. Shortly after, we will continue west in the archipelago to enjoy the independent nation of Western Samoa. From there, it will be on to Tonga, a Kingdom of 170 islands, followed to the west by Fiji, an independent republic consisting of 332 island and islets. Having heard stories of the multitude of beautiful protected anchorages only a day sail from each other, it is in Tonga and Fiji that we hope to do the bulk of this season’s cruising. Finally, around October we plan to make our way to New Calendonia and hopefully visit the Isle de Pines in time to await a safe weather window to make our final (and second longest) passage to Brisbane, Australia. In total, this proposed cruise track is nearly 4,500-nm of sailing over a 7-month period. We estimate that we will be sailing approximately 1/3 of this time and at anchor or exploring ashore for the remaining 2/3s.

Background to our decision:

Always attempting to keep open to whatever comes up, we’ve been steadily working toward several options since we landed in Hawaii last June. We have tossed around several ideas, including:

1. putting Tao on the hard in Hawaii and starting a yoga studio/land life on the Big Island,
2. sailing or shipping Tao back to the mainland and then Mexico where we could reasonably keep her on the hard while we transition back to a land life, and
3. selling Tao (which pains me to even write let alone think about seriously) in Hawaii, or California, or Mexico and move on to our next adventures.

What kept coming up is that neither of us is ready to let go of the sailing dream and lifestyle just yet. We've put so much into it and are so close to that lingering dream of the idyllic “gentle” South Pacific... There are many challenges that we face daily in this lifestyle that will not work for us in the long term (i.e., daily fear of survival, limited refrigeration, no showers, no income). But, it is easy enough for us to put up with those things for the opportunity to enjoy one more beautiful season of unparalleled cruising through otherwise inaccessible Oceania in our well-honed, perfect-for-us, Tao.

The next question is from there to where, New Zealand or Australia? Well, they are both amazing places that we want to see. NZ has been our “dream destination” since before we bought the boat. However, the reality is that even northern NZ is far enough south to greatly increase the possibiliy of encountering unfavorable heavy weather conditions. On the other hand, Brisbane is still far enough north to be located within the tradewind dominated region. Of course, the description of our planned cruise track never seems to be enough, as most people follow up with the question, “So, what then?” Well, we have realized that we are downwind, fair weather cruisers, and like to linger in areas once we get there. Therefore, we do not want to sail against winds or through typhoons to get Tao back around the Pacific to where we started. Nor do either of us want to continue to sail west through pirate infested waters or push through long passages rushing by exotic lands for a “quick” circumnavigation. In addition, we both have other hopes and dreams to pursue that require land based lives in the not-too-distant future. So, our current answer is that there is no better place for Tao to find her next adventure than Australia. The market is good and the sailors are adventurous. We have not quite come to terms with that eventuality yet; instead we are focusing on the borrowed season of cruising before us that having that end will allow. Or maybe we'll have her shipped back from Australia to Mexico. Though, we have always promised to do our best not to own a boat that just sits and grows old, unused…

Another difficult cruising reality is that traveling with pets, though completely worth it, is not easy. If you can imagine, it is even more difficult to get a pet into Australia or NZ than Hawaii- to the tune of 6-months required kitty jail time no matter how much preparatory paper work is done. The combination of the front end work and quarantine time on the back end are unacceptable to all of us. For a short while we discussed having Grizzly stay with a friend in Hawaii while we journey down to Australia, and then having her shipped directly (from rabies-free area to rabies-free area) with only a 30-day quarantine upon arrival in Australia. But, that didn't settle well with us. Although nearly ready to throw in the sailing towel if our feline crew couldn't come along, the idea of a finite limit to the trip made it nearly palatable, as we can chalk it up as merely “being away from Griz for a few months.” With her Gramum's offer of Shangrila-de-Judy care, Grizzly will likely be much more comfortable in a non-moving home.

These are the sacrifices we make to live this charmed lifestyle. All of that and more thought went into our current season's cruising plans. Hopefully, the above map will satiate some curiosity and give you all an idea of what we're thinking. As always, we have no date for throwing off the docklines (because that's the way we roll), but we hope to start our sail south sometime between April 15 and May 15, 2012. Before we can go, several looming projects must be completed, and we will fill you in on those as they happen.

More Hilo and Cruising Plans

Volcano National Park is completely worth getting up at 0345 (wasn't even early enough) to call the Radio Bay escort, meet a reserved taxi, and catch a 0520 bus (free, apparently meant for VNP workers, though we were the only ones on it that rainy morning). We were inside the park by 0630 giving us a truly full day to explore the park on foot. It was raining, but we kept positive attitudes- at least it wasn’t raining quite as hard as the last time we were here and hiked through the Kilauea Iki Crater. We hiked all morning through many different ecological habitats in the misting rain, captivated by the flora dominated by huge unfurling forest ferns and even caught sight of some Kalij pheasant foraging near the trail. A geological highlight was definitely walking underground through the lighted and improved and then the pitch black and wet unimproved Na’Huku lava tubes.

Because the Halema'uma'u Crater is off-gassing, the western portion of the rim trail around the entire Kileauea Caldera has been closed for safety. So we looped back via the Desolation trail and a wonderful view of the off-gassing vent. We even dropped down into the eastern edge of the caldera and saw Pele’s hair (very thin long pieces of volcanic glass) sparkling in the sun strewn about everywhere in the lavascape. Back on the rim, the Art Gallery had been highly recommended to us and did not let us down- with amazing works in all mediums focused around life in VNP and on Hawaii. The afternoon had cleared to a blazing sunny day, so we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch and then hiked along the steaming bluff of the caldera the rest of the way to the Jaggar Museum for Chris to fill his geology mind with yet more information. It was more hiking than we’ve done in ages (can’t move around so much aboard a tiny sailboat) and we fortuitously bumped into Amanda and her son Mykah at the museum and rode back to Hilo with them, pleasantly worn out after an awe-inspiring day.

Early the next day we met Amanda and her son Jayden for a hike to a surprise destination. The trailhead started near the town of Waimea and after hiking through pastureland, stands of bamboo, and following along a flume of water, we ended up with stunning views of steep volcanic waterfalls at the head of Wai’pio Valley. Chris found another cave to explore and Shawn couldn’t stop snapping pictures even though the magnitude and magnificence of the place could not be captured. Back in town we joined the Amanda for a poke sushi roll dinner (she gave us great tips on rolling) and a soak in their backyard hot tub as the night jasmine wafted to us and the cooling rain fell.

During the following week, we spent 2 days and a night at the north end of the island in Kohala with Chris’ family friends and sailors Toni and Tye (Toni went to high school with Chris’ father). Having extensively cruised the South Pacific, we enjoyed hearing their stories while at their old sugar cane plantation home with fruit, flower, and nut trees flourishing around the yard. They also drove us to see ‘Upolo Valley on the NE tip of the island where we saw an ‘Io (Hawaiian Hawk) floating oh so close. And the next day to Nashimura Bay (which will likely be our first stop after leaving Hilo Bay) with marvelous views across the channel to Maui, on the NW tip of the island.

The Homemade Icecream/Hilo Tropical Gardens Hostel just up the road from the port rented us cruiser bikes for 3-days ($5/day each and free wifi a welcome added bonus!). We used them well to get around town at our leisure even did an entire shop at the local KTA market (quite a feat for Shawn, though Chris loves riding like a pack mule). Most exciting, though, we spent a day snorkeling at Richardson Park (just a bit south of Radio Bay). We spent an astounding hour on a coast littered with huge rounded lava rocks watching the waves breaking on shore with 10 or so large turtles feeding on the rocks below the breaking waves. We first noticed their round heads poking above the water between the breakers. Once closer, as the waves jacked up and the sun shone through them, we were able to see their full bodies swimming through the waves (more graceful than any surfer) to keep off the rocks. It was magical.

We have continued to take several sunny day opportunities to sail Fatty out of Radio Bay into the larger Hilo Bay to explore the river mouths, moored boats, Coconut Island and the Hilo Bayfront. With 4th of July came USCG vessel Kiska home to its dock here in Radio Bay- which meant that we had to move in from our tie on the end of the wall to make space for them to dock. That night fireworks were shot from Coconut Island just outside of Radio Bay. There was a large warehouse and the pier with cargo being loaded on a barge in the way so we rowed Fatty out past them to enjoy the show- only in the few moments it took us to row there, the quick show was already over. Back at Tao we celebrated appropriately anyway with yummy grilled burgers.

We are stalling here a bit awaiting the delivery of Chris’ new-to-us smart phone. Apparently everything takes longer than expected for delivery in Hawaii. We are working on our patience… This has provided us plenty of time to discuss our upcoming cruising plans. The main options that we’ve been discussing include:

(1) sailing NE back to the mainland west coast this September,

(2) sailing south through the Line Islands this Decemberish and then this coming spring continuing SW through the South Pacific (this option has the variability of instead heading first to Micronesia then south toward Australia), or

(3) spending until early next year in the Hawaiian Islands (including the possibility of land-life for a few months) and then implementing option (2) or later in 2012 option (1).

Although we haven’t come up with any long-term answers, we have been reminded that our MO has been to move slowly and see areas, so placing time restrictions and implementing the pressure to “hurry up” is not preferable (and maybe not even possible) for either of us. This pretty much knocks out option (1) for this year because we need about a month to prepare Tao for another cross-oceanic voyage which would in turn mean getting to Honolulu ASAP. So, for now, we are continuing at our preferred slow pace enjoying every day and getting prepped to get back underway.