Hawaiian Update from Gavin and Georgie

Fire and water have been high on the agenda during

our last few weeks here. From our base at the Hawaii

Yacht Club on Oahu, we flew over to ‘The Big Island’

(Hawaii) to see the world’s most active volcano, Kilauea.

It’s above a ‘hot spot’ of volcanic activity in the earth’s

crust that has, over millions of years, produced the

Hawaiian chain of islands. The islands gradually drift

away north-westwards from the hot spot at a rate of a

few inches a year away and erode, so the farthest ones

(now 1,200 miles away) are just low uninhabited atolls.

The Big Island is growing all the time and Kilauea has

been erupting constantly for the last 30 years. It was

relatively quiescent during our visit, but periodically

bursts forth with fiery curtains of lava spewing

hundreds of feet into the air.

Kilauea on a quiet day….

Escaping lava flows down towards the coast,

incinerating everything along the way, burying villages

and creating new shorelines where it flows into the sea.

Before our visit ……………. and now….

Vast sheets of recent lava cover the southern part of

Hawaii, so much like a lunar landscape that Apollo

mission astronauts actually trained here!

Lava plateau on the slopes of Mauna Loa (the ‘long

mountain’), Hawaii’s biggest active volcano. Mauna

Kea is in the background.

Mauna Kea (the ‘white mountain’ – it gets snow in

winter) is Hawaii’s highest volcano. Now dormant, it

houses the world’s largest and most powerful array of

telescopes in the clear, unpolluted skies near the

14,000 foot summit. Conditions are so good that stars

can be observed for more than 300 nights each year

Mauna Kea’s summit. The University of Hawaii’s

international astronomical observatory lies just below

Hilo, the main town on the windward coast, was a

different world, hot and humid with tree frogs croaking

at night and brightly coloured birds by day. The Big

Island boasts an

enormous variety of

local climates and

our hotel on Banyan

Drive was set

amidst lush tropical

plants and trees.

Torch ginger

Saffron finch

At Akaka Falls

But Hilo has suffered from several significant tsunamis

generated by earthquakes far away on the Pacific rim.

Large areas were flooded with considerable loss of life

in 1946 and again in 1960; the local museum tells the

sad story from eyewitness accounts. After 1960 building

was banned on the lowest areas near the seafront.

Palms on Coconut Island record tsunami heights

Back in Oahu we have been working hard on the boat in

preparation for setting off for British Colombia in mid-

May. Sails, engine and generator have all been

thoroughly overhauled in the last few weeks, with some

nasty surprises and new equipment needed.

Gavin wrestling

in the engine

room to fit a

new engine

battery – the

old one died on

us

Georgie carries

out running

repairs on our

newer mainsail

– after the

leech split

unexpectedly

Between times we were fortunate enough to be given a

guided tour of the World War 2 Memorials at Pearl

Harbour by the British Naval Attaché here. He and his

wife also kindly drove us right round the island.

Pearl

Harbour

USS

Arizona

memorial in

the

foreground,

astern is

USS

Missouri,

on board

which the

Japanese

surrender

was signed

Gavin and Cdr Marcus Jacques at USS Missouri

Oahu’s windward coast

And we have continued to enjoy the company of our

new friends at the Hawaii YC for whom Monday night is

party night. Hawaii has strong historical links with the

UK so we did the Queen’s 90th Birthday in some style

with a whole sirloin (roast beef of Olde England) and

chocolate cake (to which we understand HM is partial.)

As the sole British female

present, Georgie had to

don a tiara to cut the cake

We provided

party

decorations in

the form of a

white ensign

Leslie, HYC party

organiser extraordinaire

Hawaiian state flag,

originally designed for

the King of Hawaii by

the Royal Navy – the

8 stripes represent the

8 main islands

It would be easy to stay here forever and lots of cruisers

never move on having made the long voyage to mid-

Pacific. But the time is now right to head north – the

humpback

whales left

last month,

and it’s time

for us to sail

too. Our next

letter should

be from

Canada in a

month or two.