21.15 N
146.57 W
Distance Travelled: 144 NM - 633 NM to Honolulu!
Another good mileage day! Although less than yesterday, it is more impressive because we did not have any current supplementing our speed. Yesterday afternoon the winds and seas calmed down, but picked up again in the early evening and took us through the night. The wind seemed to rise and fall in spans of 10 knots (from 15 - 25 knots), so we were constantly fiddling with the sails - double reefed main and dialing the jib in and out. We seem to have picked up a large cross swell that has Ka'sala rocking and rolling and the sails thundering and banging as we ride through it. We are travelling wing on wing, directly down wind. This sail configuration is awkward in these conditions because the boat is not as stable as it would be on a reach (when the wind comes from the side). Why aren't we reaching then? It would mean falling off our track at least 30 degrees.
We are focussing on our approach to the Islands and Doug is monitoring weather faxes and reports. We have several choices for our approach to Oahu. We can pass through the Alenuihaha Channel between the Big Island and Maui, or continue north and pass through either the channel between Maui and Molokai, or Molokai and Oahu. A lot of it will depend on wind and sea state - something we won't be able to really take into viable consideration until at least Sunday. We will likely see Maui on Monday.
Tomorrow we will be passing through another time zone at 150 degrees and will be on Hawaii time! When I think of the passage so far, it seems to have flown by. In 2011, when we sailed from Mexico to Hilo on the Big Island, it took us just over 23 days. It will probably end up taking the same amount of time to get to Honolulu, which is 2 degrees farther west and north. Not bad. But as my Mom always said: Don't count your chickens before they hatch! Hopefully the winds will keep in our favour!
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