We said good bye to Steady Beat on July 16. She has a new owner and a new life in Hawaii.
Why did we sell her? well simply because we ran out of money. We enjoyed our time on her and together while on the ocean but its time for us to get some jobs. Our plan is to buy another boat (smaller) to cruise the BC coast maybe in a year.
She was great 1st boat for us but it was time to move on.
We had an incredible adventure in Mexico and Hawaii and met so many great cruisers and non cruisers!
It will be an adjustment for us to be back on land but we know that we have been really lucky to have done 8 months of cruising for our honeymoon. We look foreward to cruising the BC coast and catching up with everyone.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Transpac, Transpac, all I am seeing are transpac boats!
So yes the 2009 Transpac boats have arrived with the fastest boat crossing the Pacific Ocean in 5 days and 14 hours setting a new record. There are parties and celebrations everywhere for the boats! Where was our party for lasting 27 days out at sea!!!?
Transpac boat with escort entering Ala Wai Harbour
When we got back form the mainland our chain plates were ready and we put them back on the boat late at night and early in the morning to beat the heat. I have been going to yoga classes at Diamond head and have gone out surfing twice! Roger, our next door neighbour and legend here in Hawaii, was kind enough to offer to teach me how to surf. With the south swell gone and the waves "little ankle bitters" I decided to give it a try.....and I have had such an amazing time! Roger takes his remodeled Boston Whaler with surfboards out beyond the break, drops anchor and surfs. Often Dr. John, a former high school student of Rogers, goes out too. Roger gets in the water with fins and a snorkel and pushes me when the waves come, helping me catch the waves. I am happy to report that as of today I am able to catch my own waves, stand and maneuver the board!! On the way back into the boat harbour we saw a pod of dolphins with babies, making my day!!! Roger is what the Aloha spirit is all about! Did I mention that he turned 72 on Sunday!
Dalia
Roger and Dr.John going out to surf
Jerry working on his boat "Glorious". Jerry was our neighbour in Mazatlan (Dock 6) and here!
Transpac boat with escort entering Ala Wai Harbour
When we got back form the mainland our chain plates were ready and we put them back on the boat late at night and early in the morning to beat the heat. I have been going to yoga classes at Diamond head and have gone out surfing twice! Roger, our next door neighbour and legend here in Hawaii, was kind enough to offer to teach me how to surf. With the south swell gone and the waves "little ankle bitters" I decided to give it a try.....and I have had such an amazing time! Roger takes his remodeled Boston Whaler with surfboards out beyond the break, drops anchor and surfs. Often Dr. John, a former high school student of Rogers, goes out too. Roger gets in the water with fins and a snorkel and pushes me when the waves come, helping me catch the waves. I am happy to report that as of today I am able to catch my own waves, stand and maneuver the board!! On the way back into the boat harbour we saw a pod of dolphins with babies, making my day!!! Roger is what the Aloha spirit is all about! Did I mention that he turned 72 on Sunday!
Dalia
Roger and Dr.John going out to surf
Jerry working on his boat "Glorious". Jerry was our neighbour in Mazatlan (Dock 6) and here!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
San Francisco
So we crossed the pacific to the mainland and it took us 5 hours...by PLANE! Justin's dad invited us to San Francisco to help him move apartments so we got on a plane and flew over the ocean. It was a bit humbling to do the trip back in 5 hours but I think we are still proud of our 27 days!
We helped move furniture in the morning and enjoyed the sites in the afternoon. We were also spoiled with great dinners a mere walk away from the apartment.
San Francisco is a fantastic city and we enjoyed the change from the Hyper-touristy Honolulu. Here are a couple of photos of our trip.
Dinner at a great little Italian restaurant
Justin and Gordon with the Golden Gate Bridge
Dalia and FAT CAT with the hills of San Francisco in the background
We helped move furniture in the morning and enjoyed the sites in the afternoon. We were also spoiled with great dinners a mere walk away from the apartment.
San Francisco is a fantastic city and we enjoyed the change from the Hyper-touristy Honolulu. Here are a couple of photos of our trip.
Dinner at a great little Italian restaurant
Justin and Gordon with the Golden Gate Bridge
Dalia and FAT CAT with the hills of San Francisco in the background
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Ala Wai Harbour
On our way into the Harbour...notice the surf on our right side.
We are currently docked on the 800 dock in Ala Wai Harbour and our boat is on the market for 6 weeks. We don't really want to do the sail back but if we don't sell the boat here then we have to sail it back.While we are here we are replacing all the chain plates on the boat after we found a crack in one of them.
We are facing the break wall and have the million dollar view of the ocean and all the surfers. The harbour is located right next to the world famous Waikiki beach! Its beautiful here and the sea life is vibrant, I even saw a sea horse in the marina yesterday!
More to come with some pictures of the view.....hope everyone is well
Million dollar view
The hotels of honolulu behind us
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Honolulu
We did an overnighter from Lahain, Maui and arrived off the coast of Honolulu around 7 am on June 15th. There has been a south swell hitting the islands for the last week and as a result some fantastic surf along the southern and eastern coasts of the Islands. Entering Ala Wai Harbour in Honolulu is the most dangerous thing we have done with Steady Beat. The surf was breaking on the reef on either side of the entrance bringing some fantastic rides to the surfers but a not so cool ride for us. I was watching for any breaking waves behind us as Justin surfed our 24,000 lbs into the harbour, it was SCARY.Below is a set of pictures of a boat leaving the harbour after we entered.
On the right side of the boat in the water you can see their life raft that was ripped off the deck.
With some quick thinking of some boater in dinghies this boat did not end up on the reef.
On the right side of the boat in the water you can see their life raft that was ripped off the deck.
With some quick thinking of some boater in dinghies this boat did not end up on the reef.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Maui
The trip across the channel was very comfortable and the scenery of the south coast of Maui was incredible with the remnants of the lava flows. Our first stop in Maui was Onela and we anchored off a black sand beach in 30 ft of crystal clear water.
We spent one night there and set off for a Molokin'i Island, a remenet of a crater 2.5 nm from where we were anchored which offered amazing snorkling and the only chance to sail your boat into a crater. The one problem with Molokin'i is the many tourist vessels and the mooring balls that are 6 feet under the surface and require a member of crew to dive down off the boat and retrieve the mooring line. This experience was complicated with the two of us and a crew member off of Lanai kai was kind enough to dive down for us.
We then sailed up the coast to Maui to Olowalu anchorage for a night. At Olowalu we were able to experience some fantastic snorkeling which included being up close to a dozen sea turtles. They are so cool to watch as they come up to breath and then swim back down and squeeze themselves in between the coral while they snooze.
We are currently on a Lahaina Yacht Club mooring ball of the town of Lahaina. This is such a cute town (very touristy), there is a harbour where we can dock our dinghy and walk into town. The Yacht club has showers (Yippy!!!!) and is letting us stay on their mooring ball for free. We have met such nice people through the yacht club. They have even organised for us to guest dock in Honolulu so we can get the boat ready to go back to Canada. Its nice to be back among a cruising community where everyone is impressed with our travels and want to help us.
We plan to sail to Honolulu Sunday night and hopefully get what we need for the boat and find a thrid crew member. If you know someone who has sailing experience that is interested leave us a note. A 3d crew member would really reduce the load on us and we could all get a continuous 8 hours of sleep a night. Internet is hard for us to find on the islands but we will update whenever we can....Aloha.
Mountains of Maui
Charter boats crowding Molikini
We spent one night there and set off for a Molokin'i Island, a remenet of a crater 2.5 nm from where we were anchored which offered amazing snorkling and the only chance to sail your boat into a crater. The one problem with Molokin'i is the many tourist vessels and the mooring balls that are 6 feet under the surface and require a member of crew to dive down off the boat and retrieve the mooring line. This experience was complicated with the two of us and a crew member off of Lanai kai was kind enough to dive down for us.
We then sailed up the coast to Maui to Olowalu anchorage for a night. At Olowalu we were able to experience some fantastic snorkeling which included being up close to a dozen sea turtles. They are so cool to watch as they come up to breath and then swim back down and squeeze themselves in between the coral while they snooze.
We are currently on a Lahaina Yacht Club mooring ball of the town of Lahaina. This is such a cute town (very touristy), there is a harbour where we can dock our dinghy and walk into town. The Yacht club has showers (Yippy!!!!) and is letting us stay on their mooring ball for free. We have met such nice people through the yacht club. They have even organised for us to guest dock in Honolulu so we can get the boat ready to go back to Canada. Its nice to be back among a cruising community where everyone is impressed with our travels and want to help us.
We plan to sail to Honolulu Sunday night and hopefully get what we need for the boat and find a thrid crew member. If you know someone who has sailing experience that is interested leave us a note. A 3d crew member would really reduce the load on us and we could all get a continuous 8 hours of sleep a night. Internet is hard for us to find on the islands but we will update whenever we can....Aloha.
Mountains of Maui
Charter boats crowding Molikini
Nishimura Bay
As we arrived at 7 in the morning Justin was freaking out about the water depth because he could see the bottom very clearly. I informed him we were in 56 feet!!!! What a awesome change from Mexico!!!
We anchored in a sandy spot that we could see in 30 ft of water and went to bed all day with the occasional break to watch some arrested development on DVD. That day the wind speeds started to pick up and we had 4 days of 30 Knot North East (Yay the trades, where were you when we were crossing!?) their was a small vessel advisory. The channel between the Hawaii Island and Maui is notoriously one of the worst channels in the world as the wind funnels through the two islands! We waited till they calmed down and sailed for Maui. While in this bay we enjoyed snorkeling and seeing the dolphins and the spectacular sunsets over the other Islands!
Nishimura Bay
Justin playing his new guitar
We anchored in a sandy spot that we could see in 30 ft of water and went to bed all day with the occasional break to watch some arrested development on DVD. That day the wind speeds started to pick up and we had 4 days of 30 Knot North East (Yay the trades, where were you when we were crossing!?) their was a small vessel advisory. The channel between the Hawaii Island and Maui is notoriously one of the worst channels in the world as the wind funnels through the two islands! We waited till they calmed down and sailed for Maui. While in this bay we enjoyed snorkeling and seeing the dolphins and the spectacular sunsets over the other Islands!
Nishimura Bay
Justin playing his new guitar
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