Pacific Odyssey - Leg 1

We have arrived earlier than expected at Nawiliwili Harbour on Kauai. Today was a day of great sailing; we were moving along between 7.5 and 9.5 knots for most of it. We woke up to gentler winds with a gentler motion but by the time lunch came around we were out of the lee of Oahu and there were strong tradewinds from the northeast. Port watch was on dishes and floors and it was a workout to keep the water from spilling out of the basins, the dishes on the counter and the mopping bucket from sliding away. Up on deck the activity was also very intense. The trysail was lowered and a double-reefed main was raised. The foresail and the jumbo were already up but we lowered the two courses. The wind was blowing 20-30kts and water was spraying over the entire deck, dousing trainees and making it down into the hold. The courses and the trysail needed to be spread out and folded to fit into their respective bags and deckbox but the wind was so strong that it took at least 8 people just to hold down the sails let alone try to do what needed doing. Everything worked like clockwork though, the trainees have done the sail handling and the folding of the sails so often now that things went smoothly. Skipper was impressed and pleased with how well the crew worked together; by crew, I mean both the permanent crew and the trainees, we are all the crew. What seemed like chaos in a howling wind was really teamwork at its best. The decks were wet most of the time, it became a challenge to stay dry trying to get from the foc´sle hatch to the stern. At one point Sara, Karen, Katie, Tavish and myself, with Simon sleeping on me, were completely covered by a random wave over the starboard quarter. Up until that point, the stern had been the only safe place to sit. Simon was woken up, completely wet and not impressed. Tavish was startled out of his peaceful snooze on deck, jumping around as if something bit him. We all had to change clothes as we were soaked. Water regularly came up through the scuppers with the rail also nearly in the water. We continued on a starboard tack in strong winds until we were just inside Nawiliwili Harbour, at 1930hrs, where we lowered our sails and tied up. The wind is still blowing strong and the Hawaiians we spoke with on the dock said that this is unusual weather for this time of year. The sun didn´t shine as intense today because of the clouds, giving our sunburns a chance to heal. The stove was acting up today and Gillian had to restart it 4 times. Finally after some fiddling around with open hatches and stove pipes, the stove stayed on and supper was started. We ate at 2000hrs, delicious lasagna and salad. It worked out well, as it was more enjoyable to eat our meal tied to the dock; our salad stayed on the plate. We have a few days here. I heard there are 2 vans of trainees and crew heading off at 0530 to the Napali coast at the northern end of the island. We were allowed off the boat this evening; most of us took a stroll along the waterfront to the ABC store (the Hawaiian convenience store) for a cold drink or ice cream and along the beach. It is quite a beautiful beach, nice to walk on and play at. Tomorrow I will take the kids there to swim. Last offshore we were able to get some surfboards and offer lessons to the trainees who were interested. We are looking to see if this can happen again. Skipper has made contact with Ambrose, our surfing contact from 3 years ago, and he is excited to do it again. It is late, time to sleep. The hold and the foc´sle are quiet, everyone is asleep. Good night, Bonice