NO MORE BACK TO WALL

Strong winds and rain in the early hours is becoming a tiresome habit.  This morning at one the rain squalls came through the harbour and the anchor must have dragged through the soft mud, leaving Truce far too close for comfort off the harbour wall.  Fortunately, the wind decreased and everything remained safe until daylight.  Now I know how it feels to have your back to the wall.

After suffering interrupted sleep two nights in a row I decided that I had enough of Radio Bay and Hilo.  In the early morning I made preparations to leave.  The forecast is for strong North Westerly winds, twenty-five to thirty knots.  They will be aft of the beam so nothing too strenuous.

I have decided to make the jump across from the Big Island to Maui.  It’s one hundred miles to Maui and entails crossing the Alinuihaha Channel, a notoriously windy place where the trade wins are funnelled between ten thousand foot mountains on one side and five thousand foot mountains on the other.

By eight I was clear of Hilo harbour and motoring up the north coast of the Big Island, no wind but a lumpy sea and big swell.  By eleven the wind had set in and we were sailing in beautiful conditions along the coast.  What a lovely coastline, the vegetation is vivid green, houses dotted on the hillsides, some large houses with well-manicured gardens and lawns.  As the land rises back from the coast it is covered by clouds, nothing can be seen of the mountains beyond.  Further up the coast we passed the Waipio Valley, a spectacular stretch of high rugged coastline.

We are aiming for La Perouse Bay on the south side of Maui.  This is the first sheltered anchorage after crossing the Alinuihaha Channel from the Big Island.   All being well we should be there in the early hours of Saturday morning, safely anchored.  I am looking forward to Maui, everyone says it’s a beautiful place.