SVSoulsticeAdventures: Maui

Maui!!!

Well, we made it across the I’ll end you ha ha - Alenuihaha channel on Juneteenth and approximately 18 hours later, arrived into the early evening of June 20th to the Lahaina roadstead. They call it a roadstead because it not really a bay and is exposed to the open ocean with the swell and wind waves. It is in the lee of Maui so it does not get the effects of strong trade winds like windward locations.

We had intentions (and for cruising itineraries we were taught when we first started to say intentions and not plans ) to stop at La Perouse after our channel crossing. It is a gorgeous anchorage in a bay on the Southeast corner of Maui. The south swell that kicked up, 1st of the season, changed our intentions. We continued along the leeward side of Maui scouting out the other potential anchorages I thought might prove enjoyable and safe prior to arriving in Lahaina. Unfortunately, due to the south swell, they were all quite rolly. They all had marginal anchoring conditions as well, which is the majority of Hawaiian anchorages, by the way, so we aborted them all. It can be disheartening to realize you cannot explore where you might like to, but sailing is similar to other sports we like, where Mother Nature dictates your itinerary. We made a valiant effort as they say but decided to just go to Lahaina which is more protected and does offer mooring balls.

Our decision-making also was influenced by the fact we had the beta (rock climbing term for the inside info) on Lahaina. Dave and Lydia, good friends, currently have been in Lahaina since May 2020. We were all in Mexico in February and March 2019 with plans to head to the Marquesas when COVID hit. They left Punta de Mita in Mexico and headed to Maui, Hawaii, where Lydia has been living for the last 10 years. Stephen and I chose to stay in Mexico. We kept in touch and we actually have been friends with Dave for >10 years with previous time spent in Montana together. Dave got Stephen into sailing in Montana and of all places on Flathead Lake!!!

We informed Dave and Lydia that we were going to head to Lahaina. They greeted us warmly in their dinghy and helped us get settled on a mooring ball in the mooring field. Our friend, Mike Jacoby, on SV Easy an Ingrid 38, made the channel crossing with us as well and he also took a ball. It was nice to get settled after a longer passage than expected and to have familiar faces greet you.

Lahaina is a touristy town but does afford you all the amenities such as grocery stores, fuel, and laundry facilities. And the magical Banyan Tree park right next to the harbor. It has the oldest Banyan Tree in the center. The Lahaina Banyan tree was planted in 1873 by William Owen Smith, an American missionary, who planted it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Christian missionaries arriving on Maui.

Besides the missionaries who infiltrated Hawaii in the 1800s, currently, Lahaina is packed with humans, who I imagine are desperate for their post-COVID 19 vacations!! I know even when Stephen and I finished up working in Nevada, we knew of several co-workers who had plans to vacation in Hawaii this summer as it was the one place they could. Now that is not without lots of hoops to jump through with getting COVID testing but still… Despite the efforts to minimize COVID on the island, the Delta variant has made its arrival in Hawaii. This is only to be expected by The Hurricane of Humanity we witnessed there. Unfortunately, due to the masses, the locals have already mentioned the damaging effects on the coral reef by unloading many bodies in the water to enjoy the beautiful marine life. One of the newest studies discusses sunscreens and their damaging effects. So not only is it due to obvious effects of carelessness standing on coral, touching the coral, or even accidentally kicking it with your fins, but the sunscreen we wear to protect ourselves from deadly skin cancer. See oceanservice.noaa.gov Sunscreen Chemicals and Coral reefs.

During our stay in Lahaina, we had a great time reconnecting with Dave and Lydia. We had many enjoyable evenings spent on Cornelia, their new Westsail 42. They were so generous and we were able to borrow their truck for some errands and enjoyed some fabulous hikes. Stephen and I were able to find another county pool that is FREE to swim laps, what a treat! The mooring field in Lahaina is too BUSY with lots of charter boats and has some serious current to be a safe swimming zone. Although, there is some great surf breaks you can paddle straight to from the mooring field but we still need to get boards. Stephen wants a surf SUP and I want a nice foam beginner board. Guess what is crazy?? Boards are expensive here and hard to find- weird right? Oh, you can find them online for better prices but no one really ships to HI or it costs a fortune. Alaska folks know how this goes too! All those shipping exclusions at the bottom of the page- Bummer! I will keep hunting or may need to suck it up and pay a bit extra.

After a fun week and a half visit in Lahaina, we moved to Honolua Bay, 12.5 miles northwest of Lahaina. It is a very popular bay with a marina sanctuary but that also means charter boats drop hoards of snorkelers in the water! BUT after around 4pm you have it to yourself and then around 0830am, they start coming back. One of our most amazing marine life experiences did occur in Honolua Bay and that was two manta rays that came into the bay to feed on plankton. They swam in circles and barrel-rolled and did a graceful dance while filling their manta bellies with some nutritious food. They allowed us to enjoy their underwater dance and we mimicked them. Our imitation of them seemed to amuse them and they became friendly and continued to stay close to us as we snorkeled with them and did some deep water dives to show our attempts to be as graceful.

We are now working on our next move as you only have 72 hours to anchor according to the DLNR rules and only 3 hours on the mooring balls here. The charter boats DO NOT like you on a ball AT ALL and immediately ask you when you are leaving if you are on one. They don’t own the balls but act like it. They are not allowed to anchor either they say? Question if company policy? I do see why though and that is to protect the coral and not trash the area with anchors dragging through or snagging on coral. During the day, at least 15 different boats, come and go in this harbor, most being large 60ft catamarans packed with people! This does not even include the folks who come via car and walk down to the bay to snorkel. With that being said, it then becomes a very small bay with little room to anchor. We did dive to make sure our anchor was in sand and when we would swing it would not damage or touch coral. We helped Mike on SV Easy too. We are the only sailboats in here and unfortunately, I don’t feel another sailboat would fit in here to anchor safely. We will enjoy our time but then move on.

NOAA weather reports an increase in the trade winds again with a Small Craft Advisory through the weekend generating elevated, rough seas ( today is Friday 7/2). Additionally, the south swell returned again and is forecasted to have 4-7ft waves!! This is awesome for surfers but not really for us sailors looking to anchor in a leeward shore ( usually the safer side btw) and may change our plans to head to Lanai or Molokai at this time. It will make the anchorages unenjoyable with being very rolly with marginal anchoring conditions. No Bueno! Also, the south swell churns up the water and so visibility is not as good, therefore snorkeling and diving will not be as good either. We will need to decide to return to Lahaina, which despite our connections, we are kind of over the tourism and busyness, or abort those islands and head to Oahu possibly. We were going to skip Oahu because we will eventually be there for several months and head straight to Kauai but it will break up the 198 nm journey to Hanalei Bay. Decisions, decisions, decisions…. We are very grateful for our lifestyle and are very aware that these kinds of disappointments in the big picture are quite petty.

One of last nights in Hilo

Passage to Maui

Hello Mr. Dorado!

Beach south of Lahaina, beginner waves for beginner surfers

Dave took a picture of Soulstice while sipping coffee on the bow of his boat in the harbor in Lahaina. He gets to see all the surfers too and just hop off the break wall with his board and surf.