Next time we SAIL to Hawaii!

As we flew over the pacific ocean headed for Hawaii on a flight that took almost 6 hours, Shay and I talked about the 2-3 week journey it would take to make the same trip by way of sailboat. The vast blue of the sea looked equal parts paradise and intimidating from our tiny airplane window. 

Our honeymoon for 10 days in paradise was about to begin and all I could think about was sailing offshore. I imagined our sailing experiences; toasting a sunset from the cockpit, taking my shift in the wee hours of the night and listening to the wind thru the rigging, fishing for Mahi Mahi, being obsessed with weather forecasts, sail tweaking and the joy and struggles of creating our own world on our moving island in the Pacific, floating, soaring, flying… sailing along toward our first tropical destination.

The other side of the coin is of course the fears I have about the logistics, the weather, our preparedness. I know enough to know we have so much more to learn. 

So in order to add some excitement to a dreary winter and stave off our frustration about not owning said sailboat we recently attended US Sailing's Offshore Safety Seminar on Bainbridge Island. It was an exhausting and thought provoking weekend of seminars and hands on activities.

We had seminars and classes on COB (crew overboard) drills, sail repair, weather, navigation, keeping crew rested, safety aboard and so much more.

The overriding message however was about wearing life jackets. This was drilled into the participants in a variety of ways and by the end of the weekend we are firm believers in the necessity of a good fitting life jacket. We also got to play with flares, fire extinguishers, and as a finale, a jump into a life raft! 
Which was not as fun as it sounds. 

After donning all our foul weather gear and life jackets we jumped in the pool and wow! was that a shocker! I had no idea I was wearing my life jacket way too loose. Tightening it in the water was almost impossible and it kept riding up my face and trying to float away. Not a comfortable or comforting endeavor. Then with all our gear and inflated life jackets, 6 of us worked together to get into a life raft. It was physically challenging and I face planted into the 4 inches of water at the bottom of the raft on my graceful entry. Not my finest moment. 

After getting everybody aboard we sat around in our wet gear, in a wet raft, claustrophobic and cold. It DID bring home the message that a life raft is really the last place I would want to be!

Having experienced first hand these challenges in a controlled environment I have a greater appreciation for life safety gear and the demands of using this gear in frigid water during an emergency.

We also met many great people from US Sailing and from the Port Townsend area. My favorite speaker was Carol Hasse from Hasse Sails. She is such a wealth of information, combined with her humble, grounded demeanor it was a joy to spend time in her classroom. Shay enjoyed it so much she signed up for Carol's class this year on sail repair in Port Townsend.

While I have committed myself to learning more about weather and how to create a weather plan. I feel comfortable with my internet sources for sailing Puget Sound but I'd like to know how to create a weather plan without internet access and be better able to read the weather from the cockpit.

After we land in Kauai and during the endless wait to depart the airplane I pull up NOAA weather  on my iPad and read the forecast so I can begin to grasp what the local weather scenario is for Hawaii and for the next couple of days. 

This becomes a ritual very morning in Kauai. I pull up NOAA, watch the radar, familiarize myself with the particulars of Hawaii's weather pattern this time of year. This was also helpful in choosing our beach for the day as the northern and southern weather on the island differed substantially.  It was a fun way to start the day while drinking Kona coffee and watching the view of the ocean from our lanai. 

Our vacation in Hawaii was fabulous. We hiked and kayaked and laid in the sun, snorkeled and explored, and prepared local fish and fruit to eat. It was wonderful to be warm. To wake up and put on a swim suit, instead of 3 layers and a rain coat.

It really brought home the truth that our bodies do better in sun and warm temperatures, we feel energized and happy. I don't have to struggle to stay warm, my sinus's are clear and my body relaxes.

The pull of paradise; its weather and beauty is indeed strong. 

On the flight home we drift in our own thoughts. Watching the islands recede, I feel sad to return to rainy Pacific Northwest but excited to begin the next phase in our journey. 

We turn to each other and whisper, "Next time we visit Hawaii it will be on our sailboat."

Fingers crossed.