Author Archives: Bill Kinney

We are in our slip at the Ali Wai Boat Harbor just off the bustle of Waikiki. We had a good dinner, and are going to dive into bed for an UNINTERRUPTED night’s sleep.

It is just shy of sunrise, and the flashing of Moloka’i Light has be visible for many hours. O’ahu is off our starboard bow, and Moloka’i to port as we are getting lined up on the Kaiwi Channel on the … Continue reading →

Last night the wind gods had their fun with us. We were sailing on a fast comfortable deep reach on a course just north of west. I was expecting the wind to clock a bit more to the south to … Continue reading →

The Cushmaker paid us multiple visits last night. The waves had laid down a good bit, and the wind was still pushing along at good speed, consistently at 7 knots or more. The smaller seas had the boat more stable … Continue reading →

Tomorrow morning we change our clocks for the second time on this trip, this time to Hawaii’i Standard time. Except for one lucky crew member getting an extra hour on their watch, the time zones slip by without the pains … Continue reading →

The offshore forecast out of Honolulu is consistent for the large patch of ocean surrounding us: NORTHEAST TO EAST WINDS 20 TO 30 KNOTS. SEAS 8 TO 12 FEET. SCATTERED SHOWERS. CONTINUING FOR THE FORECAST PERIOD. Same thing every day. … Continue reading →

Yesterday we covered 155 miles in 24 hours. The strong trade winds are pushing us along at a fast clip. It might be worth mentioning what that distance means. There are a number of different ways that a distance like … Continue reading →

The Honolulu branch of the National Weather Service says it best: .SYNOPSIS…FRESH TO STRONG TRADE WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE OFFSHORE WATERS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEK. .”Fresh to Strong” translates as 20 to 30 knots, which … Continue reading →

Last night was slow. Winds were light and in consistent. Never totally calm, but there were times where we struggled to keep the boat moving at more than 2 or 3 knots. Most of the day was glorious. The first … Continue reading →

The passage from the west coast to Hawaii is one of the longer open water passages. Almost three weeks of continuous sailing. Something both quantitatively and qualitatively different from regular day sailing. Imagine a sailboat in San Francisco Bay. One … Continue reading →