30 November 2012; Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii Islands.

During the night we sailed around the island of Lana, as I preferred an approach from the south West, setting the ship up directly in the leading lights of the port. Going north around Lana is a shorter distance but you sail for a prolonged time through a whale sanctuary and I try to avoid that as much as possible. I do not know if there are more whales inside the sanctuary than outside but the areas are indicated in the chart with the request not to go there if you do not have to. We did not and so we stayed out as much as possible. Thus far we have not seen that many whales, either they are somewhere else at the moment or they are still on the way over from Alaska.  Scientists are reporting that Hawaii has resident whales and transient whales but as far as I remember the count on resident whales is not that accurate, so it is difficult to say whether there should be a lot of whales around or not.

While sailing around here, we get a good lesson in the local language, as everything has Hawaiian name:   so here we go: On departure from HONOLULU on OAHU we kept LANA (island) to the East, and when turning around the south side of LANA we entered KEALAIKAHIKI channel.  From there we transversed AUAU channel until we came to Lahaina (on MAUI) anchorage. Tonight we will sail south through AUAU channel until we enter ALAKELKI channel. This links in with ALENUIHAHA channel which brings us above HAWAII and into the North Pacific Ocean. From there we head for Hilo Bay.  

Lahaina Tender dock.

Lahaina is one of the tender ports that a fills a cruise ship captain with dread. It is a beautiful little port with a nice tender dock but you have to get in. For that there are two issues; wind & swell and the approach channel. All three in combination can make for a very unpleasant day. Plus the circumstances are often such, that it is “just doable”; e.g. the captain would like to cancel, as he knows it is going to be a rotten day, but at the same time he knows that operational wise, it is just safe and just possible to make the call. That “just” is something you do not like as it means you are operating close or on the margins and you need a little luck , hoping that the weather does not change for the worse.

Lahaina Apporach channel, it is approx. 50 feet wide, so one way traffic is the safest option.

Today we had a wonderful day. No wind and only a low swell to contend with. It could not get better than this. That left only one item left in the equation, the approach channel. It has good buoys and a good leading light and that makes it easy to sail through. What makes it hard, is that the surf is running through the channel was well, with the danger of a tender being carried in on that surf and not being able to stop that momentum on time.  So careful tender driving with an alert driver is of the essence. Because the approach channel is so narrow, the harbor master has instigated a one way traffic system that his office regulates. That makes him my best friend as it makes the tender operation very safe; it also makes him my big enemy as all boats are treated equally. So when a speed boat wants to get out, my tenders have to wait at the entrance, before clearance is given for an empty channel. That waiting results in complaints from the eager shoppers inside who want to go ashore ASAP.

 My challenge lies with communicating this to the guests, who understandably have a hard time understanding why 2 tenders might be bobbing up and down near the sea buoy and nothing is happening except a small boat moving about. So I made my first announcement at 16.55 while still docked in Honolulu and the 2^nd one this morning, as soon as I knew that the guests would start to question the slow tender operation. Although we had four tenders in operation, the one –in, one –out, of the channel slowed things down considerably. But it is a safe operation, so who am I to complain. I just had to try to communicate that to our guests. It all worked out in the end and it was a very good day. As a side remark; what does somebody do who has been multiple times to this place (Roving reporter Lesley)……………..she goes to see the latest James Bond movie Skyfall as some things take priority over everything. So no pictures today of a local highlight. 

That safe operation continued by the day, and we finished by 23.00 without a single mishap. In the evening we had a local dance group on board with local Hawaii, Samoan and Tahitian dances. Three dancers were in the age between 6 and 8, but they could wriggle their buttocks as well as the grown up ladies and men and thus they stole the show.

We pulled out just before 11 pm., and sailed south around Maui, on our way to the “Big Island” Hawaii on which Hilo is located.  The weather looks great again for tomorrow, no wind and not too warm. The no wind part makes me a very happy camper, as Hilo is a very challenging place to maneuver in, when the NE trade wind is blowing.