I believe one can see about 10 miles in any direction.
I got in on Sunday. Sunday was mostly about provisioning the boat, taking inventories, and organizing the food so it is easy to get to as the days roll by. Later, Jared and I took in a nice swim at a nearby beach. The water was at the right temperature - very refreshing. Later that night we took Phil to Chuck's seafood and steak house. The excitement of leaving the next day was palpable and people were just a tad boisterous.
On Monday, there were lots of last minute things to tidy up. Putting in the jack lines, setting up the spare fuel tanks, stowing away things in the right places, amongst others. Thankfully the luggage arrived, it was 25 hours late, but it did arrive. The team was pretty understanding and vowed never to fly Hawaiian Air again :). We picked up a few more things from Safeway and headed back. By that time, the boat was getting fuelled and the water tanks were getting fueled. After a last lemonade and ice cream at the harbormaster's we set sail.
As the evening rolled, we tried on different kinds of sails to see what would be most effective. The lights above Waikiki were bright and the mountains looked cool. There was a naval vessel in the distance with lights off and we were doing our best to keep an eye on it. There wasn't too much traffic apart from that.
Surprisingly, sea sickness hasn't really affected anyone too much. And, as people adjust, the shifts are working more and more smoothly. I sleep exceedingly well. The bobbing of the boat is much like rocking a baby's cradle. Surely, this will change as we hit weather or I am going to have to use some caffeine. On that note, I can't believe I haven't had my morning Peet's in a few days. If you notice a three-week blip in their stock, you know what happened.
Tuesday, yesterday, was pretty hot. And, it didn't look like we were making too much progress and had to use the motor quite a bit. I'd say we were averaging about 5 knots. That changed as night fell. And, we had 20 knots of wind when Gavin and I were on the 10 -2 am watch and the boat was getting overpowered so we changed the sail to a 150, which kept things more manageable. And, our sail speed is often in the 6 to 8 range since then.
We did have a few visitors. There was a beautiful albatross that sat on the solar panel for a while. And, missed a crew member with its "stuff" or surely he would be drenched in white stuff. There were a few flying fish at sunset. And, that reminds me, sunset was mind blowing - like an inferno on the horizon. I took a lot of pictures of that. The albatross came back later to sit on the bow for quite some time. No Ka Oi is otherwise called an Albatross B&B since she keeps returning now and then.
Today, Wednesday, has been the perfect day. Everyone has overcome any sleep deficits or any mild sea sickness, the sun was just right, Phil put together an awesome steak and mashed potato dinner. There is Cali-for-NIA music playing and Guinness is the drink of choice. So you know where I am headed....
Until soon,
Gautam
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