Heading Out

We finally have everything ready to go and have pushed enough to overcome the inertia that had set in with the owner of the boat.  It is easy to see the allure of continuing to hang out here, the weather is nice and the location is great but it is time to get going.

I did manage to finally get down to the beach yesterday for some swimming.  The water was pretty incredible, nice and warm and beautifully colored.  As I did, I felt a bit of inertia building myself, a few more days of swimming on the beach and I may not want to leave either.  Time to get going.

This isn't helping me leave

The weather looks pretty reasonable for the next several days so we have decided to skip a planned stop in Hanalei Bay on Kaui and just head north from here.  The winds are pretty steady and strong from the east so we will have a few days of broad reaching before we can get up to the southwest wind that will let us have an easier downwind sail back to the Pacific Northwest.  Skipping Kaui should let us get to it by the time it sets up on a nice northeast direction in a few days.

You never know what will happen beyond a few days but we will start with the best ufo we have and deal with what comes after that.  The friends who left on Sunday have apparently all had a few days of being seasick in the first few hundred miles so that does not bode well (they are all pretty seasoned sailors).  I have a few things to take to help with that the first few days and I am usually fine after that.  here's hoping that trend continues.

I don't have a great way to post updates along the way but I will be testing out my new Delorme InReach satellite tracking/messaging device and it will post position updates here:  https://share.delorme.com/AlexWalter.

Optimistically, the trip should take about 25 days.  It could be a bit shorter if the high pressure area stays to the east and longer if it backs to the west.  Planning is helpful but ultimately you have to get out there and deal with what comes along.

I have arranged another trip for a few weeks after I get back.  I'll be headed down the west coast on a near coastal trip.  Things seem to be coming along well.

Prepping in Hawaii

I arrived in Honolulu on the 4th of July to meet the boat (S/V Sea Otter a 37' Island Packet) and her owner Mike.

He has been staying at the Hawaii Yacht Club near Waikiki for the last several weeks since his arrival.  It is a pretty nice location right next to Waikiki and the folks here are all pretty laid back and very friendly.

Hawaii Yacht Club

I ran into some old friends who are also here on their way back to Seattle.  They left on Sunday but we got to hang out a bit on the 4th and catch up briefly while watching the fireworks.

Seattle Sailors

Th local 4th of July fireworks are launch from the entrance to the harbor which is only a couple hundred yards across the water from our location here.  It afforded a pretty much perfect view and it was quite spectacular.  A great way to celebrate.

Pretty great view

Nice of them to celebrate my arrival

Friday afternoon and Saturday I spent checking out the boat and going over all the gear to identify what would need to be done to get underway.  The list wasn't too bad but it would keep me busy for a couple days.  I needed to replace the radio antenna to get it working,  a small rigging replacement, cleaning (head issue), rig a headsail, fix chafed lines on the wind vane controls, fuel up, purchase and stow provisions and a few other odds and ends.  Mike was still in cruising vacation mode so it took a bit to get some momentum going for the work projects.

I was surprised at the lack of basic boat services at the large marinas (fuel, haul outs, etc.).  It definitely made some of the chores into larger projects than they should have been.  To fuel up the boat, we ended up having to go several miles up the coast to another harbor for fuel.  Even then, we were only able to get it because a local fellow from the yacht club here had an account there and came with us.  It is not open to the general public.  I have no idea where other folks go for fuel.

Weather planning has been a daily activity.  There has been some instability in the weather pattern over the last week or so but it seems to be stabilizing and should be okay by the time we leave.  Provisioning is always an interesting experience as you fid different things different places and widely variable prices.  If you like SPAM (I do not), this is definitely the place for you.  There is a crazy selection of all sorts of different flavors, some of which I am sure are only available here (I can't imagine anyone else eating them).

Really??

Some things are really inexpensive here (like the papaya I have for lunch) but authors are crazy expensive.  Rainier cherries (a favorite of mine) were just starting to come in season back home and I had some before I left.  I am glad that I did because I definitely won't be buying them here.

Holy crap!!! They aren't even gold plated.

Our third crew member (Matt) arrived yesterday and we got a few things done but he was fresh from a music festival with no sleep so most of his day was spent napping.

Last night was the weekly Monday night BYOB (Bring Your Own Barbecue) at the yacht club.  It was a fun time socializing with folks around a big communal grill.  A big part of the fun was seeing what everyone else was cooking and wishing that I had thought to bring some of them (grilled pineapple, peaches, spinach).  We had some nice grilled vegetables and some super tasty Opa which is also really inexpensive here compared to the mainland.

Fun communal spirit around the grill

Mmmm…wish I had thought of that

The daily weather here has been very consistent.  BY that I do not mean that it has always been warm and sunny (it has) but that the weather has been exactly the same for days.  The breeze starts at the same time everyday, the light drizzle comes around the same time and lasts for about 15 minutes (bring great rainbows), the wind shifts around the same time every evening.  Funny to experience.  Another bonus on the list of consistent things have been the great sunsets every evening, quite a show.

Nothing to complain about here.

Hopefully we can overcome the dock inertia that has set into our boat's owner and get out of here tomorrow.  

The Next Adventure

Now that the big bike ride is complete, it is time for other adventures.

My USCG license application is still very slowly making its way through the process but in the meantime I am going to continue to go sailing.  Right now my focus is on compiling additional offshore sailing time so that once the license is finally in hand, I will be well on my way to upgrading it to allow me to do near coastal charters.  This is what I will need in order to take folks out sailing in sunny warm places like the USVI.

The next step on that journey starts Friday with a flight to Honolulu to meet a 37 foot Island Packet sailboat for a trip back to Seattle.  I'll be helping to deliver the boat back home after the owner has been out for the last year.  This trip should take 3-4 weeks but may be as long as 5 depending on the weather.  I haven't made this trip before so I am looking forward to the experience on this route.  There will be three of us on board for the passage.

The owner will be coming along and he has been with the boat for a few weeks in Hawaii already.  We'll be spending the 4th of July at the Hawaii Yacht Club (which apparently has a  nice view of the local fireworks) and the weekend will be spent provisioning the boat and going over all the gear.  Our third crew member will arrive on Monday and shortly after we will leave Oahu for the Hanalei Bay on Kaui as our jumping off point.  After that, the next landfall should be back in Washington.  There is nothing in between for several weeks.

After the lack of communication opportunities on the recent bike ride, I decided to pick up som enew gear to try out on this trip.  I'll be using a new satellite messaging device (DeLorme InReach Explorer) to track the trip and provide two way messaging capabilities.  Ironically, this trip will be much more isolated than the last trip but I should have much better communication coverage. The solar panel I used for the bike trip will now be repurposed to power the satellite tracker.  Hopefully it all works well (and Julie is happy with the ability to get in touch whenever she likes).

50 Day Wrap up and Overview

Now that the ride is complete, I have compiled some stats describing the time on the road.  Not that this comes close to capturing all of what I experienced (both good and bad) but it is a fun way to look back at where I have been.  I have found that a glance back over the shoulder once in a while makes me appreciate the road I have travelled and look forward even more to the road ahead.

By far the best part of the trip has been the people that have been part of the trip along the way.  Starting with Julie, who has been so supportive of me taking off to pursue all sorts of crazy ideas, and Randy who brought great company an perspective on bike touring and all the people along the road who shared their generosity and interest.  It all made what I was doing seem like something special.

While perhaps not practical for an ongoing regimen, I cannot recommend more highly the health benefit of spending weeks on a bicycle.  One of the great results of this trip for me was getting back to a point where concerns about health became secondary to feelings of health again.  In spite of my history, I am arguably in the best (or at least some of the best) condition of my life.  This has been a huge validation of the decisions that I have made over the last 8 months.  Looking back at this trip and others and looking forward to those ahead, I definitely am feeling that how I am living my life is now much more in line with my priorities.  I still have no idea where this path will lead but I am increasingly comfortable with that ambiguity and focused more than ever on enjoying the journey, wherever it may lead.

The Numbers

Total Days: 50

Total Riding Days: 45

Total “Off” Days: 5

Total Miles: 2368.12

Total Riding Day miles: 2335.86

Total “Off” Day miles: 32.26

Average miles per day (Total Days): 47.36

Average miles per day (Riding Day): 51.91

Average miles per day (“Off” Days): 6.45

Minimum Elevation: 15 ft. (basically sea level)
Maximum Elevation: 9,949 ft. (Tioga Pass)

Nights spent in tent: 39

Nights spent indoors: 10

Nights spent on boat: 1

New (for me) National Parks: 5

National Park Passport Stamps: 9

Warm Showers Hosts: 4 (All of them great)

People who rode along for some portion of the ride: 4
People who shared campsites: 4
People who wished luck on the trip: Too many to count

Photo Highlights

The Bike and Me

People

Scenery

Climbing