Honolulu

June 15, 95

Time: 2300

I rented a room in the YMCA here in Honolulu. I just had to get off the boat for a while. We got into Honolulu on the tenth of this month. We blasted through the channel and were out in front of the Ala Wai Harbor by nine Hawaii time. We sailed up to the entrance. The wind was light and blowing right on our bow. The Ala Wai entrance is only a couple of hundred feet wide at the most and lined with deadly coral reefs. The swells break on them and resemble angry white teeth that want to eat a boat. The length of the channel is less than a quarter mile long. I was definitely nervous. We tried to call the harbor master and we tried to call the yacht club but nobody answered. Finally I yelled over to another boat that was getting ready to go into the harbor to ask them what channel the harbor master hailed on. He told us. He listening on the radio when we tried to call them on the channel he gave us. We got to talking and then he offered to tow us into the yacht club dock, which he did with no difficulty. It was good that he did because I doubt that we could have done it. Us having no engine and no main sail.

We could not stay at the yacht club due to some event that they had going on there, so the Ala Wai boat yard towed us over to a dock near their yard. Then we went and had a beer. I met a cute looking girl at the Harbor Pub and I meant to go back there the next day when I was not tiered and burnt out, but when I did go back I found that she only works there infrequently and nobody knew how I could get hold of her. Oh, well.

The next night we were invited to the yacht club for a bring your own food barbecue. We met some more nice people. The next day I took the steering pedestal apart to check on why it was sticking and grinding the way was, and found that the aft bearing was shot. It had fallen apart and chewed up the shaft. It was shot. We found a machine shop and dropped the shaft off. They said they would make a new one for $160. Sounded good. With all the modifications that Richard made, it ended up costing $700.

Richard's Japanese partner showed up on the 15th, that was the day we got the pedestal and the shaft back from the shop. While I was putting it in, one of the steering cables fell down into the engine room and shorted across the starter. It welded its self in half. What a blow. I had to go down and get some cable at the hardware store and redo that. What should have been an hour job took all day. On the morning of the 16th Richard and I got to cleaning up the boat early and as a matter of fact got it done before the camera crew arrived. I took off while they interviewed Richard and tried to stay out of the way. Richard wanted to sail out of the harbor but, I did not want to do that. Besides I would be responsible for the action and I'm not being paid for this. I'm being paid for getting the boat to Japan. Anyway I talked them out of doing it, by pretty much saying that I would not do it. It's amazing what the word "no" can do.

We showed them the broken boom, and we took the pedestal apart for them to film. I hauled Richard up the mast and they filmed him inspecting the mast head. They asked me how I thought everything was going and I said it was going fine. Then they left and Richard and I went over to help the man that is making our boom, Jeff. Jeff needed to take his boat out through the harbor entrance around a marker and back into his slip. I met another cute little girl named Karen. She wants to learn how to do varnish work. No problem. This all happened yesterday. This my third night at the YMCA. I'll probably go back to sleeping on the boat after tonight. But I plan on doing a bit of sight seeing. Karen has a car.

June 20, 1995 Time: 0945

I took the Renault out of the boat this morning. Richard and I put it in the back of Karen's truck and will eventually give it to Jeff, ( the fellow that is building our boom.) Jeff will let us use his van to pick up the new engine from the shipping company tomorrow. Also, tomorrow we will lower the engine into the hold. I told Richard that I would help install it. I really would like to go to the Big Island and take a look at Doug's property. I heard that he selling it for a pretty good price.

I need to call my father again and tell him that I called Donald Donough. It sure would be great to sail from here to Kauai with RD. Right now Karen is sanding the teak rails in preparation for varnish. Richard is running around trying to do ten things at once. I am of money and I need to get up to some paying work. I'm ready to get the hell out.