The Big Island of Hawaii

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Check out the bottom of the page for two new videos of Kristopher and Kim jumping off a cliff on the Big Island of Hawaii.

On May 2nd, we flew out of Honolulu and headed for the Big Island to visit Kim's son Kristopher, his girlfriend Amber and their dog Pupu. We had an excellent visit and got to the see the island from a locals point of view, missing all the touristy spots. Kristopher has a four wheel truck which is very handy on an island that is mostly volcanic. Speaking of volcanic, there were a few eruptions right before we got there. We had heard about the eruptions while we were in Honolulu and the vog (volcanic smog) had even reached the island of Oahu. It's looks like a bad day in Los Angeles. (Click here for more information and photo's of the eruption.)

Here's Kim, Kristopher and Amber on the left and Michael on the right at the restaurant The Coffee Shack. It's on Mamalahoa Highway (#11.)

The view from the lanai of the restaurant is incredible and below the restaurant are the Kahauloa Coffee Estate and Kealakekua Bay. The food was the BEST! If you ever make it over to the Kona Coast, you have got to eat their. Kona also has some of the best coffee, Kristopher and Amber had given us some for Christmas and we liked it sooo much, they sent us home with a couple more bags!

We shared our table with some Gold Dust Day Gecko's who happen to love Jelly. Amber took these great shots! These guys were not shy at all, they just hung around looking pitifully at you until you forked over the jelly bowls. We were very happy to oblige.

We have to introduce you to Pupu, Kristopher and Amber's dog. Pupu in Hawaiian means appetizer and unfortunately right before we came some Pit bull took the meaning literally. If you look at the picture on the right, that Pupu so graciously posed for or was she asleep...hmm... you can barely make out the pit bull's teeth marks. Amber and Kris were at the beach one day and Kristopher was in the water surfing. Amber and Pupu were just playing on the beach when this Pit bull came up (not on a leash) and grabbed Pupu by the neck and started swinging her like a rag doll. The owner was right there and he, Amber and a few other people were trying to pull the pit bull dog off. They finally managed to get them apart and poor Pupu was very distraught. They sent someone into the water to get Kristopher and he and Amber took care of Pupu. The owner of the dog had rescued the Pit bull and the wife was a holistic veterinarian, so they took Pupu to his wife to treat the wounds. Pupu needed more medical attention later and the owner's of the pit bull paid for everything without problem. It is very cool that people adopt and rescue any animal, but when you get an animal that may not be social - please remember to keep them on a lease so that they cannot hurt anyone!!!!

Since Pupu was still recovering he couldn't go on any of our adventures! But we took him for a couple of walks close to home while Kris and Amber where working. She missed a really good adventure when we went to the waterfall on a black sand beach. We were lucky to see the waterfall flowing, it had recently been damned up because of a drought. The sand on the beach was black and the hills behind it were green and tropical. This was the beach where they filmed the final scenes in the movie Waterworld when he finally finds land and you see the horses running.

After checking out the waterfall we parked the car and checked out the beach. You have to cross a river bed that empties into the ocean then you get on the long black sand beach. There is a community of people that live in a communal village a little way back into the foliage. The people that live there are very friendly and enjoy company. The have brownies and other goodies that they may

tempt you with!

Next adventure took us to a place where we could snorkel and cave dive. The snorkeling here was really good, but the best part was diving through the lava tubes. You dive through a short cave and come up to the surface, then go through another cave and come up through another hole...and so on and so on. That was a blast! The holes you can't see but are right in the rocks where Kris and Amber are in the pic to your left.

Kristopher and Amber tried very hard to entertain us by killing coconuts and feeding us the juice. They hunted them down, killed them and ripped them apart - they were very tasty!

The picture at the left was something out of the movies. We were driving down a mountain road and all of a sudden Kristopher starts to cross a river but instead of crossing the river he turns and starts to go up the river - I was thinking uh-oh I hope we don't get stuck - then all of a sudden we turn off the river onto another road....it was like a secret road...it was so cool. By the time we got the camera out this is the pic we got. The road went back a ways and there were farmers that lived back there and worked the land, it was really a beautiful place. There were a lot of horses and donkeys along the roads that we were taking, this is just a few of them.

A new day and another place, this place, South Point, was very difficult to get to and if you didn't have a four wheel drive you would have to walk a long way. It also would be very hard to find if you didn't know it was there. Kristopher found it when he first moved to the Island, some local brought him there to surf and camp.

The waves were small that day but Kris brought his board all that way and wasn't about to let that go to waste.

Here's Kristopher killing coconuts again..surfing is thirsty work!

This is another horsey we came across while traveling to the next destination.

After we left this beach we went to another point on South Point for some more cliff jumping. I remember seeing pictures of this place when Kristopher first moved to the island. It showed him jumping off this huge cliff and I was thinking WHATTT .... but it looked very beautiful. Well it wasn't that bad seeing it in person, I would of jumped myself but the temp had dropped, I was cold and tired at the end of the day. There were two ways to get out of the water once you jumped. You could either climb the ladder or swim through a lava tub and crawl out the blow hole. The views here were spectacular but as usual the days aren't long enough and the sun was setting and we had to make our way back to Kris's house.

To the left is a donkey we came upon somewhere on some road in Hawaii. To the right is Kristopher making me my Mother's day Eggs Benedict with tuna, avocado, tomato and fried potatoes. Kristopher is quiet the chef and is well known for his fabulous barbeques. He had a barbeque the night before for his friends, which I haven't seen for awhile, unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of them. There were many other places we visited in Hawaii with Kris and Amber that we didn't take pictures of we have a habit of forgetting to take the pictures when we are having a good time. It's only later that we regret that. Maybe we shouldn't of taken these pictures but after the party was over and all their friends went home we stayed up for a few shots. I gotta tell you, Michael was sick with a cold but what a trooper heh!

Our next update will include our journey north in Ka'imi to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina then back south to Bohicket Marina, Johns Island, South Carolina. Take care and Aloha from Kim and Mike

Pupu would like to ADAMANTLY, yet respectfully, request that any dog not capable of getting along with others be put on a leash!!

Click here to check out Kristopher's visit to Venezuela.

Bohicket Marina, Johns Island, South Carolina

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We have finally settled into a marina for a bit. It is located 25 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina, on John's Island. You can check out our new marina at http://www.bohicket.com/. It's a nice marina with about 4-5 restuarants on-site and a very nice grocery store about a mile up the road. Not sure how long we'll be here, we're still looking for crew jobs and if nothing comes up we'll look for other jobs :(. We are doing well and will finish our updates with pictures of Hawaii and our ICW travels.

Cheers! Kim and Mike on Ka'imi

Back on Ka'imi

We are back on Ka'imi and on the east coast of the United States. We have not had a real good internet connection anywhere so have been unable to update the web but hopefully we can get some pictures up soon.

After leaving the s/v Sugarcane in Honolulu on the first of May, we headed to the Big Island of Hawaii to visit with Kim's son Kristopher. We had a great time and have lots of pictures of the beautiful island. We stayed there about 2 weeks then came back to Ka'imi who was on the hard at Thunderbolt Marina in Savannah, Georgia. We finished the work which included getting new motor mounts, new cutlass bearing, having the shaft aligned, we modified the engines raw water pump into a shaker box type that mounts at the front of the engine and it is working GREAT, we installed a new divider in our fridge with better installation, new exhaust elbow and a few more minor things.

We left Thunderbolt to come to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, however, once we got here we found out that they have a County tax which takes effect if you are here for more than 60 days. The tax is 4% of the value of your boat which is outrageous so we are leaving. Warning to anyone traveling this way, do not come to Horry County South Carolina if you will be here for more than 60 days. Lesson learned for ourselves we will always check the tax laws wherever we go. Monday we will head to Bohicket Marina just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, this County does not enforce this tax.

We will update with photos as soon as we get a good connection.

Cheers for now Kim and Mike on Ka'imi

Oahu, Hawaii

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Aloha!

We are still here in Hawaii. We returned to the docks with engine problems on February 29, 2008 at approximately 12:00 noon. The picture on the right is the view from the mast of Sugarcane and the one on the left was taken as we left Honolulu on February 20, 2008.



We were out approximately 652 miles from Honolulu when we turned around. As we wrote in our last post, the Port engine had a major oil leak and a coolant leak and the Starboard engine has a nasty salt water leak (see pic to the right). The total trip was ten days. On the ninth day the starboard engine died because of clogged fuel filters (note the sediment in the Rancor filters in the pic to the left, it was so thick that it could not be drained off). Mike had noticed the sediment was building in the filters, however the owner said it was normal for his boat and wouldn't be a problem. So we had to wait until the engine stalled to change the filters. The fuel tanks have never been flushed. The return trip was a bit uncomfortable at the end as we were motoring into winds of 20-23 knots and choppy seas, neither Mike or I slept the last night. We started the port engine right before we came into the harbor because the fuel was so dirty we were afraid we might loose the starboard engine.


We did manage to catch a nice Dorado while out, he was very tasty. (Click here for video of the catch.) We were pestered the whole time we were out by booby birds. This one stayed on the bow the majority of the time which was fine, but one day he left and brought his friends back and they proceeded to land everywhere, even on top of the wind indicator which was twisted by the large bird. They also stayed with us through the squall that damaged to Genoa sail. They were hanging on for dear life, Mike couldn't even shoo them off the bow when he was checking out the Genoa damage.



We docked on X dock and had an ice cold beer or two or six. Mike repaired the sump pump which had burned out three days prior so we could take a shower and then we went our for dinner at the Charthouse...it was fantastic! Then we went back to the boat and slept until 12:00 noon the next day, we were beat!!


Bill the other crew member left, returning to Ohio. Mike and I stayed to do repairs along with Dave who is here in Hawaii. The owner of Sugarcane decided he was going to go to California and Mexico instead of trying to make it to the Marshalls and Philippines this season. Mike and I decided we needed to get back to Ka'imi, our boat, but offered to stay and help with repairs and watch the boat while the owner went back to Georgia for business. We will stay until May 1st, then head out of here.



So far the fuel tanks have been opened and cleaned, the port engine has been repaired, the starboard engine salt water pump has been repaired the 13k generator had been repaired, the Genoa fixed, the cockpit enclosure repaired, two solar panels added, a wind generator added, and a whole list of other stuff.


We have been enjoying Honolulu and Waikiki on our days off, which isn't so bad. Here are a few pics.....



These sculptured statues are all over Honolulu and Waikiki. This one was in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The bird in the fountain is also taken there.

We rented mopeds one Sunday and checked out a bit of the island. The pic to the left is from our hike up Diamond head. You can see Waikiki beaches and the Ala Wai Harbor in the background which is where the boat Sugarcane is docked.
These pictures are from a roadside view. We went as far as Hanauma Bay, which is beautiful, but unfortunately did not get any pictures.




Mike's sister-in-law Janine and his niece Stephanie were in Hawaii for a few days and we got to spend a little time with them. The picture is in front the Shorebird where we had lunch.




We hope everyone is doing well!!! Aloha Mike and Kim

Returning to Oahu, Hawaii

Aloha, we are on a heading back to Oahu, Hawaii. The port engine has a oil leak and coolant leak, (no worries) the starboard engine is running fine, however, it has a salt water leak. We have decided to head back to Honolulu for repairs that we are unable to fix at sea. We also have to have the Genoa repaired as it was hit by a squall and the squall won!! We are now 442 nautical miles from Hawaii. Our current position at 10:40 PM Hawaii time is N18'08.9181 W164'54.1399 our ETA to Hawaii is 2/29/08 - but that could change as we have a wind that is on our nose and a one knot current against us. We will finish up repairs and then see what the plan is. Hope you all are well.

Cheers Mike and Kim in the Pacific Ocean

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At Sea

Aloha, we are on the s/v Sugarcane and we are at sea. We are approximately 45 miles off the coast of Honolulu with a position of N21.00.3184 W158.29.8956. It is 1945 (7:45 PM) Mike is getting some rest for his 1200 to 0300 (12:00 AM to 3:00 AM) watch. I am updating the blog waiting for my 2100 to 1200 watch (9:00 PM to 12:00 AM). We are currently motoring because we have no wind, hopefully we will get some soon. It is a bit rolly but not really uncomfortable, off course I haven't tried to lay down yet. It's a beautiful night and we should have some moon :).

Everything seems to be running okay we got out of Ala Wai Harbor today at about 1:00 PM after a minor repair to the mainsheet traveler. We will check in with you later. Hope everyone is doing great!!!

Aloha, Cheers and Ciao Mike and Kim somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

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Still in Hawaii

We are still here in Honolulu on the island of Oahu. We did a shakedown cruise and found a few things that needed repair. We also had trouble with the SSB and sailmail so we decided to come back in a fix everything. The SSB and sailmail is running like a charm, we have brand new batteries and everything in the boat is nailed down or gone missing.

We are just sitting back with our beers, reading the weather and pretty sure we will leave tomorrow. Knock on wood. We will keep the Blog updated with sailmail and we head out into the Pacific.

Aloha, Cheers and Ciao, Mike and Kim as Crew on Sugarcane.

Aloha from Oahu

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Aloha we're currently in beautiful Oahu, Hawaii. The plan is to leave on Thursday, February 14th, for a shakedown day sail and overnight anchor. On Friday, February 15th we'll be heading across the Pacific Ocean bound for our first stop in the Marshall Islands, Majuro Atoll. We'll do some diving there, then head out to Pohnpe, Truk (Chuuk), Palau and lastly Cebu, Philippines. There will be lots of diving along the way at some incredible sites. We'll be updating the Blog site with written updates via the SSB radio along the way, and if we ever get a good internet connection we will put some updates with photos in.

We're traveling on the s/v Sugarcane which is currently docked in the Ala Wai Harbour. Sugarcane is a 55 foot Gulfstar Ketch Rig. The vessel is captained by Jerry Logan and we have a crew of three.





Originally we had a crew of four, Mike and I, John and Ian. John was the Mechanic/Fisherman and all around great guy, he is moving on to better opportunities.


Ian the Dive Instructor. Ian has gone back to Viet Nam working as a dive instructor. Unfortunately, we lost John and Ian, we will miss them we were looking forward to traveling with them.

The good news is that we found Bill, a retired Fire Fighter/Paramedic and a Mechanical Engineer. So now there are three.






It's taken us three weeks to get the boat ready, but the previous crew had already done two months worth of work. Then there is Dave the electrician/mechanic/magician and fixer of all things (except changing light bulbs) who has been a tremendous help in getting the boat ready. He lives here in Ala Wai Harbour on a Coast Guard boat that he bought and is refurbishing. He is retired Coast Guard.


We've had Sunday's off and have managed a few escapes between work while we've been here. We took a bus to the North Shore and saw the Pipeline unfortunately the waves were not breaking.





We accidently got off the bus too soon, and weren't quite sure where we were, but no worries we found something to do while we were there. It was a little local area, with a local park. Later that day we stopped somewhere on the North Shore for a great mexican food lunch and some cervesa. When we were leaving to catch the bus home we had a downpour hit and were starting to get soaked when a guy comes up to us with an umbrella and shares it with us...very cool... he helped us get the right bus back into Honolulu and catch the right bus back to marina. I know it's an island and it should be pretty straightforward to get around a circle...but look who your dealing with...we will get off the bus just to look at a beach, or a boat, or a person or a..well you get the picture :))))

We also visited Waikiki beach many times for swimming, sun, good food, drinks and sunsets, our favorite pastimes.













It's very crowded here in Honolulu but we have enjoyed our stay. To the left is the world famous Dukes. We tried to get in there and have a drink and look up an old friend from Huntington Beach who is a manager there, but it was soooo packed, we chose to walk.








As always we hope you all (or y'all) are doing well and we will be checking in when and if we can, we wish you a warmer, dryer and sunnier winter......



Aloha and Cheers Mike and Kim currently on the s/v Sugarcane