About a month ago, a friend of ours from last summer on Kauai called me up. Matt Wells, now living in San Francisco (or somewhere in N. Cal), vaguely suggested that he would like to pay us a bunch of money to sail him and his new girlfriend to Kalalau Valley on the Na Pali coast - in two days. We definitely didn't think he would show up, since no one ever does. Two days later he calls again... "What time are we leaving, and can Zach and Elena come too?" So it was on. Matt, Taylor, Treehouse Zach (he lives in a tree), russian Elena, plus the two of us and Monster, and we had our latest group of people ready to charge interisland missions.
From Hale'iwa, on Oahu, to the north shore of Kauai is an easy 120 miles or so on a broad reach. Consistent 15-18 knot winds made it a very nice sail. I think we averaged 7-8 knots. Our destination was Kalalau, but Matt ordered a burrito delivery to the beach, so we stopped briefly and he swam in with the dry bag to Haena... I wish that happened more often. A few hours later, we were in Kalalau.
Every morning, after a night spent anchored in front of the valley, we woke up to the sound of dolphins breathing. A pod of about 100 of them always cruises by the boat just after first light. Sometimes, I would remember to set my mask and fins out in the cockpit before going to bed, making for a quicker jump into the water to join this friendly group. These dolphins are curious and exceedingly mellow. You can swim within the pod, close enough to touch them. It's almost better than coffee for the morning, but once you get out of the water and make a batch, you're off to a good start.
One morning, I jump in for a swim with the pack. I notice that one of the dolphin is wearing a T-Shirt. Kinda weird, I thought. I follow them along, and then figure I should get a picture. I yell over to Andrea and our friend Marco on the boat, let them know about the dolphin wearing a shirt, and ask for the water camera. I guess the water camera wasn't available, and the two of them thought I was nuts. I told them to grab masks and come take a look. How often to you get to see a dolphin dressed up? I think this was probably the first time a dolphin has ever worn a T-shirt. So, of course, Marco wants to steal the dolphins shirt. As friendly as they are, this wasn't too hard for him to do. Marco just swims up to it, and slides it off both pectoral fins and its body. His souvenir - a Wal Mart bag. It really had looked like a shirt as the dolphin swam around us, but either way, it's kind of a cool thing to hang up on the wall. We laughed about that for a while that morning.
From Hale'iwa, on Oahu, to the north shore of Kauai is an easy 120 miles or so on a broad reach. Consistent 15-18 knot winds made it a very nice sail. I think we averaged 7-8 knots. Our destination was Kalalau, but Matt ordered a burrito delivery to the beach, so we stopped briefly and he swam in with the dry bag to Haena... I wish that happened more often. A few hours later, we were in Kalalau.
Every morning, after a night spent anchored in front of the valley, we woke up to the sound of dolphins breathing. A pod of about 100 of them always cruises by the boat just after first light. Sometimes, I would remember to set my mask and fins out in the cockpit before going to bed, making for a quicker jump into the water to join this friendly group. These dolphins are curious and exceedingly mellow. You can swim within the pod, close enough to touch them. It's almost better than coffee for the morning, but once you get out of the water and make a batch, you're off to a good start.
One morning, I jump in for a swim with the pack. I notice that one of the dolphin is wearing a T-Shirt. Kinda weird, I thought. I follow them along, and then figure I should get a picture. I yell over to Andrea and our friend Marco on the boat, let them know about the dolphin wearing a shirt, and ask for the water camera. I guess the water camera wasn't available, and the two of them thought I was nuts. I told them to grab masks and come take a look. How often to you get to see a dolphin dressed up? I think this was probably the first time a dolphin has ever worn a T-shirt. So, of course, Marco wants to steal the dolphins shirt. As friendly as they are, this wasn't too hard for him to do. Marco just swims up to it, and slides it off both pectoral fins and its body. His souvenir - a Wal Mart bag. It really had looked like a shirt as the dolphin swam around us, but either way, it's kind of a cool thing to hang up on the wall. We laughed about that for a while that morning.
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