We have never been to Hawaii and did not know what to expect. We imagined hotels and resorts, groomed beaches and busy commercial areas. We did not expect the simple, friendly coastline which is mostly public beaches and beautiful parks filled with songbirds, wandering cats, wild chickens, the beautiful and endangered Nene geese, naturalized stoats running everywhere and brilliant blue, red and green geckos (also introduced). The colors of the flora and fauna are bright and exuberant. The locals are similarly dressed in bright and beautiful tropical prints and fill all the beaches and parks, gathering in extended family groups, playing on, in and beside the water. Life feels easy, friendly and relaxed here. Perhaps the pandemic allows more people to spend the day playing. The lack of tourists and local trade must be hard but there is an underlying ease that is catching.
The cruisers here are a friendly and supportive community and it is easy to get to know our neighbors. Twice a week, in response to the pandemic and the need for social distancing, there is a ”dinghy roundup” a happy hour for the cruisers. Cruisers jump in their dinghies with whatever snacks and drinks they want and everyone ties up to an abandoned mooring buouy and visits while sitting in their own dinghy. Children on family cruising boats clamber from dinghy to dinghy while the adults chat, sharing voyage stories, expertise and advice about projects, offers of help.
There is also a morning radio net run by whoever is willing. When one boat leaves, another person steps in to take it over. The net starts with a roll call of whoever is listening in, news on who is arriving and leaving, who needs rides, who needs to borrow tools, help on projects, stuff for sale, any other advice or information that people care to share, when and where the next gathering is etc.
We make friends with the “3 Germans”, two boats that are anchored here with German crews who we hope to keep in touch with (we are all heading to Alaska or British Columbia), an Irish couple, a French couple, our neighbors from California who have arrived from the South Pacific and are waiting for the Covid lockdowns to end so they can head back there with their 8 year old son. There are more boats than usual, we hear, as ‘refugees’ from all the countries in lockdown arrive almost daily, trying to work out what to do next and where to go with hurricane season is beginning. The wealth of knowledge, stories and multiple years of global cruising is inspiring to us as we contemplate our own future on the water.
We host a couple of dinners and share hikes. We also rent a car for 3 weeks to spend time visiting all the incredible natural wonders here. We often have another cruiser or two with us as we go exploring and are able to share the resource of a car with the other boats needing to get propane, fuel, extra provisions for passage-making. I am reminded of backpack traveling, by the ease and speed which new friendships form. This feels like a rarely experienced privilege as an adult- the freedom to be more spontaneous. It feels like an affirmation of why we went cruising.
Our lives feels so much richer for the people we are meeting along the way and we hope some of these friendships will be lasting. Part of the beauty of this lifestyle is that the longer you are out here, the more people you meet and re-meet along the way in other anchorages…..It is a pleasure to pull in to a small bay and see “old” friends from a previous anchorage.
We are also fortunate to have the help of a lovely local family here who are friends of friends and take delivery of numerous boat parts and shipments of stuff we have been missing. E.g. shoes that have fallen apart, charts for our upcoming trip to Alaska etc. Dan, Beth and daughter Avery act as tour guides and are endlessly generous in introducing us to the delights of Hawaii Island life.
Rosie “runs away to land” for several weeks and essentially moves into their beautiful house surrounded by lush jungle and waterfalls. It has the feeling of a well loved and relaxed beach house complete with screened doors and porches, right on one of the biggest surfing beaches. Avery, Rosie’s age, is home from college because of the pandemic and the two of them hit it off and spend lots of time together. This has an added benefit of leaving Paul and I time alone on the boat. It is amazing how spacious the boat is with just two of us onboard and we all get some much needed space, both physical and mental.
We walk and swim everyday in the most astonishing landscapes.
We have also been lucky to share the anchorage here for a couple days with the the 140′ sailing vessel Kwai which just returned from the Great Pacific Garbage gyre with a full load of plastic garbage and ghost nets.
This incredibly important ongoing project is led by Ocean Voyages Institute, and will be sailing just north of them as they head back out. If we happen to see nets or significant garbage out there, we will let them know as they head back out looking for the gyre which moves about and can be hard to find. “Like looking for Moby Dick” says Kiko, crew member on the Kwai.
Sailing Tomten 