Leaving Lahaina

[Kyle]Since we were on a mooring, and since the moorings were fairly widely spaced, we got to have a nice quiet start to the day. Begonia’s systems are set up so that the anchor windlass will not work unless the port engine is running. This means our sails usually start with an hour or so of engine time. From a mooring however, we could just put up the sails, cast off the mooring line, and go as a pure sailboat.

We cast off the mooring line and accelerated through the mooring field into open water. We tacked and were soon gliding up Maui’s west coast. At Honokawai – about halfway – our light westerly wind died and gave way to the easterly trades funneling through the Pailolo Passage that separates the islands of Maui and Moloka’i.

Soon, we were sailing upwind in 20 knots of wind accompanied by eight-foot seas. We sailed almost halfway to Moloka’i before tacking back to Honolua Bay on Maui. As we approached, the seas and wind gradually diminished until we were entered the bay on flat water in variable winds. There was another private boat there, as well as two big charter catamarans. The charter boats left just as we arrived, leaving us our choice of spots in the bay. We found a sizeable sandy patch and set anchor amidst scuba divers and snorkelers who had set off from the stony beach. By sunset, all that was left was the other boat and a lone car parked at the normally crowded overlook where we had parked the day before wishing we could anchor in that beautiful bay below. Now we are here. I feel so fortunate.

The last snorkel tour boat departs as we arrive, and a rainbow appears in time for dinner