CHANGES With reports this month from Pamela's trip from San Francisco to Hawaii and
back; Indy's near miss and lessons learned; Nari Nari breaking in a new solo skipper; Kolea breaking in four feathery new crew; a look at the sometimes extreme lengths cruisers go to just to make it to the start of the Baja Ha-Ha; and a flavorful assortment of Cruise Notes.
Dennis and Julian — there's nothing like an ocean crossing to enhance the father-son bond.
Everyone's feeling it. I was feeling it big time in January. We've all been stuck in a time warp for a very long time. But suppose you had a boat … If you have a boat, it's a very good time to sail away to Hanalei, Kaua'i. Hanalei Bay is a true paradise, the farthest anchorage west on the island of Kaua'i, which is about the farthest west of the Hawaiian Islands, a couple thousand miles west of California, and about as far away as you can get from where I've been stuck for the past year. Like Orr, the understated hero in Catch-22 who systematically figures out how to escape World War II by getting shot down over the sea and rowing to Sweden, I devised my plan of escape: Get new sails for Pamela, and new house 'Pamela' at anchor under one of Hanalei Bay's frequent rainbows.
batteries so she always has a proper supply of ice; and replace the busted SSB radio that left me isolated in the Pacific High on my last voyage to Hanalei in 2018. Then overhaul the outboard for my dinghy, Pamelito, and provision with a three-week vegetarian meal plan. With such a plan made, I then set forth in full-on execution mode. I quit my job, retiring a second time from the world's most innovative and valuable company, and departed San Francisco in April with my youngest son, Julian, who also quit his job to launch a season of travel. On a strong ebb, under a gibbous moon, we blasted through the Golden Gate. I hadn't been to sea in three years. I wondered if I still remembered how to sail. Will I hold up? Will the ship hold up? Are all the ship's systems working properly? It was Julian's first ocean passage. It took him a few days to find his sea legs. The weather was blustery and cold, with churning seas and a gale running down the California coast. Day four is typically my first happy day at sea, and on that day we started eating our green-leafy stuff with hearty stews, then felt good enough to bake bread in the ship's oven in our quest to perfect the art of sailboat pizza. It was 10 days before we could shed our wool sweaters and long johns. Then, gradually, we reached the trade winds and were surfing down the waves. The coconut oil in the ship's pantry began to melt — we were in the tropics at last! For 22 days, we meditated. Like Kerouac's Dharma Bums, we contemplated the duality between escapism on the high seas and mankind's most urgent social issues. Son and father spent many hours in authentic discourse, and wise son taught wise father many things. The chart plotter showed a long stretch of ocean before us, then one morning revealed the Hawaiian Islands a few hundred miles ahead. Then … landfall! From 20 miles out at sea on a blue sky morning, we spied Kalalea Mountain overlooking Anahola — interestingly enough, the opening shot in PAMELA
PAMELA
Pamela — Crealock 37 Dennis Maggard Breaking Free Sausalito There's a sense right now about breaking free — getting out there, away from where you've been sequestered for the past year and a half. Are you feeling it?
the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. Harrison Ford knows: For real escape, no place beats Kaua'i. Even more so when you arrive there from the sea after a 22-day passage. The last couple of times I've sailed into Hanalei Bay, I couldn't actually see the land through the moody rain clouds along the Na Pali Coast. But this particular voyage was blessed by Poseidon. We followed the coast down from the Kilauea lighthouse past Secret Beach, then around the Princeville head into Hanalei Bay, blustery as usual. There before us lay the sharp peaks of the shoulders of Wai'ale'ale dripping long strands of waterfalls into the black and green taro fields. It had changed a bit since last time I was here, but for the better — Black Pot
