Hi Everyone,

We made it! From Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to Hilo, Hawaii in 14-days.

The following is a day-by-day log of highlights and such. Some of it very likely won’t make any sense to you. But use your imagination anyway and see what you can conjure up. Perhaps the pictures I’ll post soon will help fill in the story. Or maybe not. Regardless, we appreciate you coming along for the ride in spirit.

Bottom line. We had a GREAT sail and are very thankful to Kevin and Marisela for inviting us to join them on their FIFTH Pacific ocean crossing.

With a big hug and lots of Aloha from the good ship Kālewa Tahiti-tied in Hilo.

Kālewa Pacifc Ocean Crossing Summer 2014

DATE/DAY: 6/14/14 Saturday

LOCATION: departed La Cruz at 1630 (PV time)

CONDITIONS: flat

RIGGING: main and jib

MENU: something yummy that Marisela made!

PHOTOS: departure

***: Conch shell blowing off Punta Mita

DATE/DAY: 6/15/14 Sunday, Father’s Day

LOCATION: dropped anchor at Isla Isabela at 0907 (PV time)
Las Moñas islands
Pulled anchor at 1530

CONDITIONS: sunny and crazy hot!

RIGGING: main and jib

MENU:
Snack: Marisela’s bean dip from leftover beans, chorizo, and the cooked salsa she’d made that afternoon AND grilled corn.
Pistachios.
Dinner: M’s grilled cheddar cheese and ham sandwiches.

PHOTOS:

***: Snorkeling, HOT walk on island, rainbow.
Another hot night. Sweated profusely and awoke in a pool of dreams.
Lightning all night off starboard side toward landfall; it accompanied us till dawn.

DATE/DAY: 6/16/14 Monday

LOCATION: at sea sailing to Cabo

CONDITIONS: bouncy at night, motoring most of the way

RIGGING: main and jib

MENU:
Oatmeal with raisins, dried apricots & butter and brown sugar for Kevin and Tony. With the fruit and yogurt for Sj.
Around noon, Marisela cooked herself up a yummy looking dish of chicken and this and that and two rolled up tortillas.
Margaritas for Kevin and Marisela, Beer for Sj & T.
Lunch: quesadillas
Dinner: Mexican penicillin i.e. Tortilla soup. Excellent!!! Sj & M first at the table, then K & T.

PHOTOS: dolphins!

***: Marisela saw tuna-sized dolphins during her nighttime watch.
LOTS of dolphins around noon. : ) Guys watched Superman under dodger.

DATE/DAY: 6/17/14 Tuesday

LOCATION: Tied up at 1300 local time at CABO SAN LUCAS (2-hours behind PV)

CONDITIONS: bumpy night ride, middle of night reefed main (then about 4 knots) and backwinded the jib, then motoring

RIGGING: main

MENU:
Marisela’s yummy breakfast sandwiches (with egg).
Nachos with margaritas and beer at restaurant during the game.
Boat treat: M’s cantelope agua fresca

PHOTOS: Pedrata coming into Cabo, at Soccer match

***: Saw a big seal when motoring into Cabo! México versus Brasil !!!

DATE/DAY: 6/18/14 Wednesday

LOCATION: in Cabo San Lucas

CONDITIONS: HOT !

RIGGING: n/a

MENU:
Brunch in town at a local fastfood place: huevos rancheros.
Joint Fab Four dinner at Mexican seafood place then cute little place up the road. Marisela got Pozole that she was wanting (normally it’s a breakfast dish, but the cute restaurant had it for dinner)

PHOTOS: Cabo

***: Practically heat stroke! Pool hang.

DATE/DAY: 6/19/14 Thursday

LOCATION: left Cabo San Lucas harbor at noon

CONDITIONS: crazy windy after turning the corner North

RIGGING: main and jib

MENU:
In town: fruit cup with tajine (pronounced: tah-heen)
Lunch: rice cracker & peanut butter
Dinner: hot dogs

PHOTOS: Pedrata when leaving Cabo, Kevin with needle fish

***: fish on deck

DATE/DAY: 6/20/14 Friday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: wind around 20 to 25 knots after made turn North of Cabo

RIGGING: main and jib

MENU:
Breakfast: Churizo, potato, eggs & tortillas.
Dinner: Meat chili and rice.

PHOTOS: orange moon rise (Sj’s iPhone), dolphins

***: LOTS of dolphins!
Marisela was getting beat up in her bunk.
In the galley, Sj & T serenaded Marisela to the tune “My Guitar Gently Weeps.”

DATE/DAY: 6/21/14 Saturday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: wind around 10 knots, motoring in the morning, flat, lots of clouds

RIGGING: main

MENU:
Breakfast: “leftovers” – Kevin had rice with an egg, Sj and T each had a Marisela-made omlette with leftover beef chili and cheese and tortillas.
Lunch: BLT’s.

PHOTOS: Pedrata with Kindle, Tony with hammock

***: Sea life: SAILing fish. One lone turtle with a dry circle on its back.
Kevin’s Ground Hog story. Sj & M painting nails down below.
Improv show on the Lido deck. Sunset green “double-dip.”

DATE/DAY: 6/22/14 Sunday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: flat, still motoring

RIGGING: main

MENU:
Oatmeal
Lunch: Chili Rellenos, Mexican beef aranchara.
Dinner: Tacos with freshly madeverde salsa and simple guacamole.

PHOTOS: Tony in hammock with Pedrata, Marisela under dodger and Kevin Port side playing guitar, Tony & Kevin Sunshine song, Pedrata mirror & with bottle message letter.

***: First group mail call.
Marisela’s phantom nighttime boat.
Breakfast forward while Kevin playing the guitar.
Tossed first message in a bottle (all 4 wrote something).
Thousands of fish held up lighters to Kevin and Kālewa.
Austin Powers III.

DATE/DAY: 6/23/14 Monday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: cloudy, now sailing (Marisela’s fav conditions – flat, going around 8 knots), the direction was around 270 (on the compass)

RIGGING: main and jib, then CODE ZERO in morning and then again in afternoon

MENU:
Ramos Fizz in the morning
Group meals down below:
Lunch: Nachos – oven baked with refried beans, olives, jalapenos & cheese.
Dinner: Thai curry noodles with veggies and chicken.

PHOTOS: Pedrata in green backpack, and Tony playing guitar.

***: Ramos Fizz “breakfast of champions.”
Out of the blue Kevin called out, “I’m so pretty!”
Sunset on the Lido deck with Tony serenading Sj & M.
Marisela’s 2 questions.
Crossed 2,000 knot mark at dinner time.
Nighttime code zero sounds.

DATE/DAY: 6/24/14 Tuesday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: Code Zero sailing (i.e. at night LOTS of phantom talking/gibberish)
Sailing around 8 knots or so, wind 12+ knots

RIGGING: main and code zero until 10 a.m. HST

MENU:
Oatmeal
Lunch: grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches (with jalapeno mayo for Sj & T).
Pupus: cheese, salami platter with a pear and an apple, crackers.
Dinner: homemade clam chowder.

PHOTOS: Pedrata at computer with Tony, Sj mango tongue, Marisela in galley with reflection, Pedrata in brace and at the wheel of the boat and under the step in cozies.

***: 1Q84 quote of the day, “Like fish that live at the bottom of the ocean, most of her dreams weren’t able to float to the surface. Even if they did, the difference in water pressure would force a change in their appearance.” Mail call: México beat Croatia

DATE/DAY: 6/25/14 Wednesday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: 12 to 13 knot winds, moving around 9 to 10 knots. Cloudy day. Hauling! Cold on deck. (220 nautical miles this day?)

RIGGING: main and Code Zero until 2 p.m. HST, then switched to spinnaker

MENU:
Breakfast: Marisela’s unique creation of pan-fried enchiladas (top secret combo!)
Lunch: Leftover enchilada.
Dinner: Leftover clam chowder.

PHOTOS:

***: 1733 nautical miles . . . going back in time.
“The air is feeling more moist,” said Captain Kevin.

DATE/DAY: 6/26/14 Thursday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: cloudy, sailing 13 to 15 knots sailing speed at times

RIGGING: main and spinnaker

MENU:
Tony’s pancakes with REAL maple syrup, fried egg(s) and bacon.
Lunch: tuna ala Kevin, tuna ala Sj, and turkey ala Tones.
Leftover pan-fried enchilada (and pretzels and an apple : ) for Marisela.
Dinner: doctored-up macaroni and cheese.

PHOTOS: half-way celebration, ballons in the ocean behind boat

***: HOT showers for the crew!
HALF-WAY celebration, i.e. chicken flinging with Hermano Pollo making eye contact with Marisela’s glasses!

DATE/DAY: 6/27/14 Friday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: started sunny and then turned cloudy, no ball at sunset but beautiful colors

RIGGING: main and spinnaker, 1915 HST stowed spinnaker and switched to regular jib

MENU:
Oatmeal
Nibbles. Pringles. Nuts. Dip.
July 4th meal of cheeseburgers and homemade french-fries with the last two potatoes.

PHOTOS: spinnaker stuff, Kevin telling the “cherry pit” story

***: 2nd bottle toss at noon HST.
1111 nautical miles at 1930 HST.
4th of July meal.

DATE/DAY: 6/28/14 Saturday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: cloudy (no “sun” at sunrise), turned sunny and hot, wind was around 17/18 knots in the evening, first time we had some rain, sailing a steady 8-knots.

RIGGING: main and jib, changed to spinnaker at 0530 HST, then back to regular jib to mellow things out overnight

MENU:
B’fast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Marisela’s Mexican tuna salad – diced tomato, jalapeno, cucumber (no seeds in these 3), diced onion, black olives, olive oil & lime juice with saltines and tostadas.
Dinner: Marisela’s experiment with rice, curry, chopped veggies, cilantro, and a can of Progresso soup.

PHOTOS: Pedrata and rubber chicken shots, rainbow

***: Broke the 1,000 nautical miles mark.
Full rainbow.
Marisela’s science experiment.

DATE/DAY: 6/29/14 Sunday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: sunny happy cloud day, perfect SUNday

RIGGING: main and spinnaker

MENU:
Breakfast: oatmeal
Lunch: Last two Bimbo buns for half-sandwiches with cold cuts (turkey, salami, cheese, onion, tomato).
“You have to have good buns to be a Bimbo.” +Sj
“Bimbo has good buns.” – Tony
Dinner: Chicken, bean tostadas with cheese, salsa verde, black olives, chopped lettuce and mashed avocado.

PHOTOS: Beer bucket shot

***: Broke 800 nautical miles on this day.
First rainy night.
Kevin’s getting ready to be home.

DATE/DAY: 6/30/14 Monday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: sunny the squally

RIGGING: main and spinnaker, dropped and then raised it now and then for the many passing squalls . . .

MENU:
Breakfast: Tony’s pancakes using this and that. Topped with a variety of things: maple syrup, Scandinavia berry preserves, peanut butter, and cream cheese.
Lunch: Leftovers. T – curry rice dish encircled with cucumber slices. K – brown rice ala Marisela. Sj – rice cracker with mustard and cheese also encircled with cucumber slices. M – ceasar salad.
Dinner: Spaghetti with artichoke hearts and last of fresh veggies.

PHOTOS: rainbows

***: Crossed over into the 500s.
A little “slower” per Kevin. CLEAR, CLEAR SKY Monday night, so many stars and Milky Way bow overhead : )))

DATE/DAY: 7/1/14 Tuesday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: clear and sunny, wind 14-20 knots, sailing a consistent 10-knots
(overnight when Sj was on watch, the waves rolled from starboard to port—sometimes reminiscent of being on Mapuana)

RIGGING: main and spinnaker (had it on Monday overnight)

MENU:
Breakfast: Marisela’s huevos rancheros. YUM !!! Sj’s fav!!!
Lunch: Kevin & Tony – leftover pasta, Sj – oatmeal.
Dinner: leftover pasta and salad with last of the lettuce.
Snack: popcorn

PHOTOS: Marisela with headphone-tissue-guard on®.

***: Broke 400-miles.
Lost a rubber chicken over the side : (
Tony’s syphilis letter.
ONLY day without music on the Lido deck.

DATE/DAY: 7/2/14 Wednesday

LOCATION: at sea

CONDITIONS: rainy off and on, the water is getting “bumpier” as we draw closer to Hawaii

RIGGING: main and jib, wing on wing

MENU:
Oatmeal
Lunch: quesadillas with the last of the Frieda Kahlo beans and chicken.
Treat: pineapple upside down cake
Dinner: fresh sushi (and for the boyz, a shitake-mushroom-gnocchi-asparagus-blue-cheese-topped-casserole started before we caught the fish)

PHOTOS: Pedrata at navigation chart showing Hilo, chicken close-up over the freezer, Pedrata getting ready for Hawaii, guys with fishing lines, catching a mahi mahi, Marisela’s sushi dinner

***: The wind was considerably warmer in the early morning hours. When Tony came down to get me he said, “The air’s really warm. I’m just wearing this.” He had on a t-shirt, my Dad’s long sleeved shirt, and long pants. (rather than a jacket or sweater or wool cap)
Kālewa encountered a presumed-to-be “logger” at 0400 HST.
197 nautical miles to go at 1100 HST.

From the 3rd mate, Sj:

At 0400 HST during my solo starry sky watch, a large noise on the starboard side vibrated up to my toes, torso, and ears as it thunked repeatedly, passing from the bow to the stern, leaving the movable rudder up in its wake.

A logger? A fish? An errant snorkeling giant? We’re still not sure.

2nd mate Tony Baloney, aka Hermano Pollo, came bouncing up from down below. First contact had been made not too far from his family jewels as he lay sleeping in the forward starboard bunk. “What happened? Wake up Kevin!,” he shouted as I was touching Kevin’s left heel (which was facing the stern as it rested on the starboard dodger bunk).

“What the!?!” Captain Kevin cried while pulling ear plugs out of his ears.

A beat later, the auto pilot jumped ship, the dials playing the hokey pokey.

Thank goodness the spinnaker had been stowed a short 4-hours earlier when Kevin and Tony were on watch, this 3rd mate thought to herself.

The navigation panel showed Kālewa’s speed as .01 knots.

What the?

Captain Kev quickly brought the jib to the starboard side; Hermano Pollo pulled in the sheet. Another THUNK! as the main sail decided to join in the fun. This final exclamation point got Marisela’s attention. She too joined us on deck with eyes wide open.

It didn’t take long for Captain Kevin to get things back under control.

“Now I’M awake,” said 1st mate Marisela as she made herself comfortable in a deck check.

After a few more enjoyable minutes taking in the little dipper that clearly shined off the starboard stern, I swapped places with her and went below. No more bumps in the night besides the standard sloshes and water slaps. I slept like a baby. Safe in the Millet’s well-built, comfortable, and original boat, Kālewa.

DATE/DAY: 7/3/14 Thursday

LOCATION: at sea until arriving in Hilo harbor at 1530 HST.

CONDITIONS: clear and sunny, lighter wind, sailing a consistent 5 to 6-knots until pulled out the spinnaker (then sailing around 7 to 8-knots)

RIGGING: main and jib (until spinnaker was brought out around 0930 HST)

MENU:
Breakfast: beautifully sliced fresh pear and apple by Tony, oatmeal
Nibbles: nuts, last pear and apple, and roasted chayote – Yum!
Dinner: Ken’s House of Pancakes in Hilo : )

PHOTOS: Hilo in the distance, hanging on the forward deck, GoPro arrival shots

***: Tony spotted Mauna Kea first at 0700 HST (about 45 nautical miles away).
Completing Sj, T & Pedrata’s FIRST ever Pacific ocean crossing and Kevin and Marisela’s FIFTH!!!
Meeting up with good buddies, the Okutani family, at Ken’s !!! All the way from Sweden!

LOG PAU for the moment!

We’re planning on departing Hilo tomorrow morning (yes, July 4th!) for the final leg – back to Kālewa’s home, Kauai-nei.

Captain Kevin says that we should arrive some time on Saturday.

Until then!

+Sj out