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Hilo to Lahaina – May 19-20

After buckets of rain in Hilo for a few weeks, the sun came out just in time for Angus, my son, and I to take the boat to Lahaina. While Jan returned to Washington State for her daughters’ – Nicki and Robyn – graduation from WSU Vet School, Angus and I snorkeled and visited the botanical gardens on the big island, and spent some  time repairing things on the boat.

Oh well, cruising really is fixing your boat in exotic places.

We also had some wonderful visits with our brother-in-law, Randall, and sister-in-law, Alison, who met us at Hilo after a long voyage from Galapagos. They also plan to head to Alaska, but because of some mechanical issues, may be trailing us — see their tripsailor site for the boat Tregoning.

We left Hilo at about 0940 on May 19 and arrived in Lahaina just after 0700 the following morning. It was a pretty fast trip of some 125 miles in less than 22 hours. As forecast, winds were from the east –behind us – at 15-25 knots. Seas were 8’-10’. Fairly messy, but not terrifying.

We hooked up at a mooring ball provided by the Lahaina Yacht Club. That group is very helpful and provides some free services, including showers. Yacht club restaurant also has a great view. The mooring is a fair distance from the marina – no slips available –where we tied the dinghy up for trips to town.

It is a rolly anchorage and was a bit tricky transferring bags and Jordy back and forth. But there was a great park just near the docks where Jordy loved to play ball, so we made the trip a lot.

Lahaina is the driest spot in the islands and we really did not get any rain there, other than an inconsequential sprinkle or two. Very touristy. More to come about Lahaina later.