[password]tompkins
[position]19 38.0N 155 59.7W
[speed]0.0
[heading]000m
[weather] clear and calm
[status] Tuesday, December 1st at 0400. We are anchored in Kailua Bay, 19 38.1N and 155 59.7W, on the Kona Coast of Hawaii. It seems so strange to be aboard a quiet and still boat after all the rock and roll motion of being at sea. Our day had begun on Monday with a string of squalls 25-32 knots, with around 22 knots in the lulls. Then the squalls were gone, and we had a steady 25-28 knots through most of the day. As we closed in to the Big Island of Hawaii, the swells got quite a bit larger and the breeze freshened. Commodore decided to turn off the autopilot to have some fun steering through 30 knots of wind. He caught a few waves which had him laughing with delight. The last day of a passage is always special. On the one hand, you are ready for the shore, but on the other, you never want the moment to end.

We passed Cape Ka Lae, and marked 11.5 days from Nuku Hiva to the South Cape to conclude one truly fantastic passage.
During our passage we motored no more than 12 hours, during one calm spell just north of the equator. We encountered no ITCZ zone at all.

After getting into the shelter of the cape, the seas smoothed out and not toon long after that, the wind went down from 23 knots to just 7.5 knots. We started up the engine to motor sail up the lee side of Hawaii. The sun setting was a huge red ball of fire, which seemed appropriate for this island of fire. Once dark, we could see the lava flows slowly working there way down to the sea, an amazing sight! Once Commodore came back on deck, he spent the next four hours non-stop cleaning the boat up, so there was nothing to do when we anchored except have a little snack and hop into bed.

I want to thank my daughter, Serena, who made it possible for us to share our passage with you via YIT-Yachts in Transit and thank you YIT!
Thanks also to Bob McDavitt for his weather wit and wisdom, it is always good to have him along with us, and thank you all for your interest. Aloha!
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