Aloha from Hawaii

I hadn't planned such a long hiatus from writing in this travel journal, but, here we are, a full three months since my last post. Our stay here has to be divided into 'before virus' and 'after virus' parts. 'Before virus' we had very mixed feelings about being here, more on that a bit later, but, 'after virus', we are very happy to be here and very grateful. Things could be a lot worse and are for many cruisers still out there trapped in various places around the globe. We have the good fortune to be sitting this pandemic out on the most remote landmass in the world, thousands of miles from anywhere and well away from the mass devastation, both economic and health-wise, being wrought elsewhere.

Before arriving in Hawaii it seemed very difficult to get any reliable, up-to-date information on marina availability and cruising conditions here. We later learned, from a local, about Noodle's Notes, a fantastic free resource where you can obtain a .pdf copy of the cruising guide we wished we'd had before we got here. Bill "Noodle" Leary, the author, has this to say about sailing in Hawaii:

"Hawaii can be a challenging place to sail. The channels between the islands are wide and rough, small boat harbors are scarce, crowded, dilapidated and good anchorages are over-regulated, seasonally protected, and scarce."

He was correct on all counts, particularly about the small boat harbors. We ended up at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor, in Honolulu, the largest of the state-owned marinas. You can see the masts in the centre of this photo taken from Diamond Head (one of the few hikes we were able to do before the lockdown started).

The location just can't be beat for convenience. We are at the western terminus of Waikiki beach, adjacent to the Hilton Hawaiian Village complex. Every Friday night (before virus) at 1945 we were treated to a spectacular fireworks show viewed right from our cockpit.

We are just a short walk from the Ala Moana Beach Park (where police with loudspeaker-equipped drones are now enforcing stay-at-home rules) and adjacent to that, the Ala Moana Shopping Centre (closed now), the largest mall in the State. We are also within walking distance of all that Waikiki has to offer, from high-end, designer, shopping (not a draw for us) and great restaurants (now offering only take-out), of which we've taken good advantage, to a boardwalk stroll along the beach for evening walks. Many of the hotels have lush, torch-lit gardens.

The Japanese are the biggest tourism visitors here and their influence is everywhere, from Japanese food courts, to bilingual signage. We've been experimenting with Japanese food and very much enjoyed a visit to an Udon noodle house where they make the noodles, from scratch, in full view. Delicious and very reasonably-priced.

The bus service was excellent (much reduced now and only for essential workers) and we settled in to our boat job list. The weather was cool and rainy during January which was a very welcome respite from the oppressive heat we had endured in French Polynesia.

The location was the best part. The marina was the worst part. The rules and regulations were the most onerous we've encountered anywhere and not cruiser-friendly. Before we could get a permit to stay they made us do a 'buoy run' to prove that we were seaworthy (it didn't matter that we'd only just sailed over two thousand miles to get there), we had to have a boat inspection not only by the marina, but, also by the Coast Guard who followed us in from our buoy run. We also were informed that as of a month ago, the rates in the marina had tripled from what we'd been expecting. We were going to be paying more for a berth here than anywhere else we'd ever been. There was nowhere to anchor other than in an industrial area near the airport, so, we just accepted the conditions. It would have been a bit more palatable if the facilities had also been as world-class as the rates, but, they were far from it. The washrooms/showers are filthy, so well-used and broken-down they are beyond cleaning. There are rats and cockroaches scurrying everywhere. The docks are dangerously dilapidated and have no security. The water is full of floating garbage. A boat near us was boarded one night by a very disturbed man who insisted he had to 'leave this island, right now, before 'they' got him'. Five police officers had to come to subdue and remove him, very scary for the people aboard. The numbers of homeless, or 'residentially-challenged'  (as they are called here) people is shocking. There are tent encampments everywhere, in the parks and even right on the sidewalks. Many of the occupants are obviously mentally ill. We've seen open drug-taking and deal-making. When you're here for more than a one-week vacation and venture away from the tourist areas, the glaring social problems make it obvious that Hawaii isn't a paradise for all.

Bad, yes, but, we only planned to be here for four months and just got used to it. The flowers started to bloom and the sun shone most days. Then, the virus arrived. Hawaii was slow to implement restrictions. It seemed obvious to us though that their tourism industry put the islands at a very high risk. There are ten million visitors here every year and 30,000 fly in every day from all over the world. It seemed obvious that the huge visitor influx needed to be stopped. Many locals agreed and just before the lockdown began there were convoys of honking vehicles with signs like 'tourist go home'  and 'if you love us, leave' plastered all over them. They drove up and down the two main tourism streets and it wasn't a good feeling. Anyway, the government soon acted and we have been under a 'stay-at-home' order and curfew for a few weeks now. We only go out once a week to grocery shop. The marina is so quiet it has become much more pleasant. We can even hear birdsong instead of amplified lounge singer music from the hotels. Oahu only has a permanent population of about one million. As of this writing, April 11, there are less than 500 confirmed cases and seven deaths. So, fairly low risk for the moment and we are thankful. We are disappointed that we won't be able to do any touring, but, compared to what others are suffering, we're not complaining.

We did get a few outings in before the lockdown. This is the view from the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail.

A little out of town, we visited Sandy Beach (before lockdown).

Some of the birds here are very intriguing. This one, which looks a smaller version of a northern cardinal, actually isn't. It isn't a native bird, having been introduced from South America.