Bye Hanalei

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. ~ Mark Twain

I do love Mark Twain's Quotes and quotes in general and if you follow the blog that will be obvious. These one-liners or few sentences can reshape your perspective or keep you on track. I may have even put this one in the blog in the past...

Stephen and I leave tomorrow mid-morning for Alaska. It will be a 3-week passage give or take due to wind, currents, and sea state. It has been almost 2 months since we left Nevada. That is the difficulty about this sailing thing as you cannot predict how the weather will be… some folks left in May last year so we were encouraged we could have had an earlier departure but the weather did not shape up until this week. Another month of work would have been financially nice but also we had a relaxing 2 months of preparation as compared to previous boat returns. 

Ko Olina Marina in Oahu provided us with lots of new friendships on the dock and camaraderie. Also the ability to accomplish boat tasks easier due to locale. And then being in Hanalei Bay, Kauai this last 2 weeks has made me feel like our cruising season started already. The beautiful bay here is fabulous to open water swim and the water temp is 78 and so CLEAR! It is a gigantic swimming pool. Paddleboarding the bay and up the river is so much fun! Beach fires and walks around Princeville and the Hanalei Valley have been great. We even had connected with folks we met last year here and it is just a reminder that this activity has provided us with long-lasting friendships! These are the type of connections where you could call someone up in 5 years and say hi and still feel comfortable reuniting. 

Random meetings happen all the time in this lifestyle. At our campfire last night, 76 yr old independent Katie who walks her dog every evening on the beach decided to join us because she thought we were nice people. She brought a camp chair from home and sat by the fire. We welcomed her presence and she has been here 20 years and lives a block away from the beach. We awaited the Supermoon to arrive together!

We are always sentimental when leaving before a passage and thinking about why we are doing what we are doing and all the wonderful friends in our lives that have helped us along the way. 

Stephen and I share a similar perspective on life and that jives with the Mark Twain quote.  We both have a general thirst to explore this planet and find creative ways such as sailing to give us an alternate reality on the experience. 

Enjoying other places on this big globe to include the ocean brings us closer to Mother Nature. And even when people ask us where we are from we say Earth. This is to take a more unified, collective stand. We even got an Earth flag and Global citizen flag this year. See a pic below. Our friend, Steve on SV Jeannanne liked our flag so much, that he got one for his sailboat. 

Besides being grateful for being alive and the desire to enjoy our beautiful planet we also want to give gratitude to our amazing friends. We just want to say thank you to everyone who has been supportive of our journey. We appreciate all of you! I feel like there has been so much negativity and certainly, the world seems cataclysmic.  Our focus will be very narrowed to just respecting Mother Nature over the next 3 weeks. Is this a distraction from what is really going on or is the crazy world a distraction from achieving a sharper focus on what is important? 

I do not suppose either one is right but contemplating them both warrants some attention. 

We are ready to head North! Friends heading up that way sent us a funny msg from their Iridium about all the clothes they have on now!! Today is the last bikini-wearing day I know, hahaha! We are very aware that the green, lush tropical peaks that currently surround us will change to jagged, abstractly carved steeples and cathedrals of rock to admire soon. Change and adaptation always help you evolve and practice balancing on this tight rope we call our lives! So here is to a new adventure and fighting over some bean bag time:) 

Best, 

SV Soulstice ~ Jen and Stephen 

Alex and Mariah on SV Courage - HUGE help because loaned us their car, helped us out with some tools, and even an extra hydrovane part for the passage. 

Enjoying Saimen in downtown Hanalei

Check out SV Jean Anne's flag:)