Sailing an Ariel to Hawaii and back
for those who wanted to know this was done back in 1985 at the young age of 27.I just wanted to know what it was like beyond the horizon.It was a long hard struggle at the time,everyone thought I would be back in 3 days.I wasnt to return for 3 months,and nearly 6000 miles.when I returned,those people couldnt look me in the face.when they saw me coming they would turn the other way.I was not the same person I was when I left.It was truly a life changing event for me.it answered every question I had ...about what its like out there.it was done the right way.celestial nav,,monitor vane,there was no gps at that time.the boat performed very well.so long ago ,yet I remember every wave.nevermind the boat.its you,your desires that makes the difference.you really have to have the desire to do it.and I came across very hard times,everyone told me to sell the boat.but I had "stick-to-it-iveness"and I prevailed.from ventura california,to hilo,2300 miles, 22 days,the way there was double handed.at the last minute a friend of a friend showed up.since it was my first such trip like this I figured I shouldnt go alone.but I single handed back more than 3500 miles.41 days,the first 5 days is the worst.pounding int the trade winds brought ont the truest form of sea sickness.I lost 50 pounds.there is only so much I can say.sveral weeks later I was off again,I navigated for a crew on a 90 foot schooner,back to hawaii.I flew back from that one.that means I sailed to hawaii TWICE in 1985,and back once.two years later I graduated college with Honors.A year later I was off th hawaii again on a triton.that 6000 miles was indeed completely single handed.that was an ill fated boat.I paid for my sins and or crimes by loosing that boat in a fire.but I lost no experience or desires.I now have a 29 foot islander wayfarer that miraculously survived two direct hits from hurricaines.I have had this boat that I paid very little for for five years.I am here in south east florida.I still have the desire.got any ideas?
The Sailing to Hawaii Story
In the following posts, Eric describes the preparation of his Ariel to go off shore, its voyage to Hawaii, and finally, the return trip home. There is more to the story, but it involves motivation, family tragedy and some hard times. These parts will be included when we publish the story in an upcoming edition of the Association newsletter. We begin with . . .
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Less Than 30 Days In Hawaii
Once off the boat, I attempted to call home. I had spoken with people on the VHF radio before arriving, but no marine operator was available to anyone without first having a prepaid account. Next, I lost all sorts of change in the pay phones using a Sprint calling card where if you put in a wrong account number it took your money. Finally, I got through to my father in California and then to my mother in Las Vegas
I spent ten days in Hilo recuperating. Pete went to stay with some friends he had in the islands. I gave him his return ticket and sent him on his way. He helped somewhat, but when I think about it, I could have just as well done it alone. And in fact, on the way home I would be single handing.
Hilo is a nice place to visit, but I had no plans for staying. There was some repair work to be done on the outboard as it was acting up. There were also some shady characters trying to sell me some sort of illegal substance, the green leafy type, but with a coast guard cutter sitting right there, I decided against the purchase.
I left Hilo and sailed to Oahu non stop. The outboard got me out of Hilo Bay ok, and I proceeded up the windward side of the island and through the Alenuiihaha channel into the lee of Maui. Then the outboard broke down and I drifted or barely sailed into an area just south of Molokai called the "SLOT." The winds there were so strong that I used only a single jib, no main. The wind drove me all the way to Oahu where I was able to wave down a small day sailor with an outboard. It towed me into the Alawaii boat harbor where my father and his wife had flown to see me.
After about a week my father and stepmother went home and I moored out in what was then a free anchorage called Keehee Lagoon. I stayed there for about a week preparing for the return trip home. There were a lot of provisions left from the trip over, so I simply filled my water tanks, got a loaf of bread, some soup crackers and a large bag of oranges. Heck, California was only 3500 miles away.
STARCREST IN HILO HARBOR
Sailing Back - 3o Days North, 11 Days East
It was nearing time for me to pull up anchor and head back to California. According to the books, the return sail should be done before hurricane season reaches its peak in September. It was now the end of July.
I picked up a used 2 hp outboard as a spare since the one I had was really in poor condition. That engine barely got me out of Keehee Lagoon, but it was soon no longer needed as the wind picked up smartly. As I rounded the leeward side of Oahu, I was to throw a lei in the water. Legend has it that by doing so, some day you would return.
Conditions on the first night heading north were not so bad. I was able to keep the north star slightly off to my left. That assured me that I was headed east of north. The second day I thought I had picked up some debris on my fishing line. There was no fight just a constant drag as if it was a large plastic bag. It turned out to be a beautiful mahi mahi about 5 feet long. I saw its blue yellow green profile shining about 15 feet under the boat. But it snapped the line and got away.
Beginning the second night and continuing for the next four days, I had the worst seasickness in it truest form – headache, nausea, chills, fever, vomiting. It was brought on by the boat’s constantly pounding into the trade wind seas. Every 5 seconds the boat surged upwards and pounded downwards on the backside of the waves. I distinctly remember the boat pounding so hard on one wave that I ran up into the V berth to check on the repair job where I had filled the thru hull holes for the head. The pounding lasted until latitude 27 or 28 when the winds finally died and I was no longer in the trades. As ill as I felt, I now forced myself to eat small tidbits of food and take small sips of water.
Although that first five days heading north was pure misery, everything worked fine including the vane gear and the generator. The top of the working jib, however, was in shreds. Keep in mind that as miserable as it was, the boat had no problem heading north. Just keep the north star off to the left....and each day it was 2 degrees higher.
After all the pounding into the trade winds, at about latitude 27 or 28, I sailed into the high pressure system and the wind died. According to the books I had read, it could have stayed that way for weeks. I took advantage of this by trying to regain some sense of normalcy(???). I was about 600 miles due north (and slightly east of) the Hawaiian Islands. That’s the middle of nowhere. Five miles to the bottom.
I took a sea water shower and ate my first decent meal of fresh cooked spaghetti. I used a can of beef stew as meat sauce and sprinkled parmigiana cheese on top of that. After five days of not eating, I remember that meal as a feast. I also regained regular bowel movements. As it would turn out, the worst was over.
I was becalmed for four days in this particular area. It was quite scenic. The sunrises and sunsets were spectacular. The sea was as flat as your kitchen floor. What I needed was a diesel inboard, but instead I had two non functioning outboards. And even if they worked, they had only a limited range. So I drifted. I rationed my food and water, not that it mattered. I grew tired of the canned food and only ate out of necessity. I felt my self losing weight. On the second day, a school of mahi mahi appeared directly under the keel, so I tried fishing. They did not bite.
Then I noticed that even as calm as it was, the fishing lure went down at an angle. Checking the angle against the compass, the lure appeared to be heading to the south. What that meant was that the boat was riding a northbound current.
On the third day of drifting north, I went rummaging through my provisions and found a bottle of Kalua that someone had given me before I left. I don’t drink alcohol, but half of that bottle went down like chocolate milk. When I "came too" the next day the jib was back winded and I was headed west. I don’t know for how long, but it didn’t last.
With the end of the fourth day came the end of the first spell of no wind. The next day brought 15 knot winds out of the east for 36 hours. This was fantastic. The seas were less than 2 feet and this great wind drove the boat 180 miles in 36 hours. I was headed 35 degrees magnetic, well east of north, and we carved an arc in the sea under full working sails.
Then the wind died for the second time. Now the weather was cooler. No more tropics. Latitude 34, or 35. Grey overcast skies. There were yellow tail under the boat and I caught a small one and cooked it up. The seawater was now cold and this hindered my desire to bathe.
Four more days of no wind. As before, on the 5th day another unforgettable sight. On the northern horizon, as far as I could see, it looked like a never ending team of horses racing from the east to the west. It was the wind. It was a good wind and those horses were wave tops. No more becalmed. This was good wind headed my way and soon the sails began to sing.
There was, of course, just one problem. The number one rule in sailing is that you can’t sail into the wind. And this wind was dead out of the east and that’s the way I wanted to go. For five days I carved a northeast arc in the sea under full working sail area or less. According to the books, the east bound tack should be made around latitude 38.
Meantime, another problem developed that could have caused serious navigational problems. The horizon mirror on the sextant was corroding and there were no spares. Actually, the horizon mirror situation wouldn’t be as bad as I thought at first. It was corroding alright, but I could still make out the horizon, the sun or moon with it. The stars and planets, however, were out of the question. It was very important that northbound, I have the north star for latitude. I could have done noon sights, but this is not a favorite method of mine. It can only be done once a day during the meridian passage of a celestial body. If you don’t catch it right on time you will miss it. This is very tedious and time consuming compared to the relative ease of a Polaris sight, which can be done twice daily at sunrise and sunset.
So I figured thusly: I would sight Polaris through the un-silvered portion of the horizon mirror, just as if I were sighting a star. I would bring the horizon up to the star, swing it upside down (you won’t find that in any book) and I read the arc. I did these sights very carefully as it is not a recommended way of navigating. I figure that the reading had to be accurate to within one degree.
I spent five days headed northeast like a bat out of hell at hull speed or better. It was cold and I kept putting on more layers of clothing. The ride was also getting too ruff to light the stove. The alcohol just wouldn’t stay in the preheat cup. As a result, I was eating beef stew cold, right out of the can. And, I was still losing weight.
After some 30 days of sailing or drifting north, it was becoming a long and arduous voyage. In fact, I had spent too much time headed north. I had long passed latitude 38, but it was not possible to tack east due to the unfavorable wind direction. No problem headed northeast.
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41 DAYS & 6000 MILES - the circle was complete
That wind was very light as I slowly sailed past the breakwater. When I headed into the familiar turning basin to drop the main, people on nearby boats started blowing horns. I guess word of my return had spread quickly. As I proceeded under jib alone to the fuel dock, I noticed there were people on the sea wall watching. I didn’t know them, but I guess they knew of me. When I jibbed into the Ocean Services fuel dock and got off the boat, I was simply not the same person I was 90 days earlier. I was brown, bearded and nearly 50 pounds lighter.
The security guard at the dock advised me to stay onboard until the harbor master came. They were concerned that I might have had fruits and vegetables onboard. Not likely. I was down to just three dozen cans of food and maybe ten gallons of water.
As I stepped onto the dock, I noticed that my legs had atrophied from the knees down. Lets face it, there’s not much leg room on any small boat. Any way, the voyage was over.
I left the boat in the care of a trusted broker and a few weeks it was sold. I don’t know where this boat is today, but if you see it, please do me this favor: Take hold of its parallel forestays and pat it on its bowrail for me. Starcrest gave me the most unforgettable 3 months of my life during the summer of 1985. That little boat honestly truly and really did...RUN WITH THE BIG DOGS
I was brown, bearded,and devoid of fifty pounds. . .