After goodness knows how many days at sea, we arrived in Tahiti this morning! We spent a couple nights in Aputaki in the Tuamotus and a week or so in the Marquises and now here we are. This leg has flown by and I’m sad it is over in a week. This group has been so much fun, and once again, I don’t want any of them to leave. My consolation is that 10 are continuing on next leg, so the fun will continue! This leg has felt more like what I expected Offshore to be like in terms of the places we visited. The connections we have made with communities is incredible and their hospitality has been overwhelming. Hopefully, I’ll get back here with my camera to upload some photos in the near future so you can see the places we’ve been. The Tuamotus are coral atolls and look like places you see photos of but don’t actually exist. Well, now I have those photos! Lots of love to everyone.

Yesterday was the first day of leg 2. I spent my days off relaxing – going to Pearl Harbour, wandering the old part of town and seeing the palaces, art gallery, Anglican Cathedral (was there for an organ recital too), the state capital building, and others. I also spent a bit of time lounging on the beach in Waikiki and managed to see Harry Potter opening night. Very sad that they didn’t include Fred and George’s swamp… but oh well.
Today we leave around noon to head down to the Marqueses and Tahiti. It sounds like it will be about a 2 week crossing to next land, so I guess you won’t hear from me for a bit, and who knows what Internet I’ll be able to find down there. The trainees all boarded yesterday and we were able so say another farewell so some of our leg one trainees. It seems like this will be another fun group and I’ve sailed with at least 2 of them before. I can’t say I’m sad to leave port. Honolulu is not Hawaii in the sense of the Hawaii we knew on some of the other islands and I’m getting tired of the endless amounts of fancy shops and tourist traps. It will be fun to get down to some of the other islands further south. We cross the equator this leg… hopefully King Neptune’s court isn’t too cruel to us.

Still no pictures because, silly me, in the hurry to get into the zodiac this morning I forgot to bring my cord. We are on Maui at the moment, the town of Lahina. The last few days have been eventful. Sunday we went up Mauna Kea, the hightest point on the Big Island, and, at just under 14000ft the tallest mountain in the world. Yes, it is taller than Everest because it goes from 0 to 14000 ft in about a 2 hour drive (plus it extends some 15000 ft below the water). On the top are the worlds best telescopes, including 2 (Krek 1 and Krek 2) which have 10m lenses. Which, to put it mildly, is huge. We went inside 2 of the telescopes up there and stayed up top to watch the sun set over Maui. The clouds decend as it cools off at night and so it was like looking out of an airplane with clouds below us and the sun set, except we were standing on land!
Leaving the Big Island saw us battling crazy winds (we were surfing down waves at 11knts) in our passage to Molokini, a half crater extinct volcano which has great snorkling. Or so I have heard, everyone got to go off snorkling while I made breakfast. Breakfast you say? Yes, we arrived there at 5:30 am to beat all the tour boats who litterally take over the place around 8:30. After some snorlking, everyone came back on the boat and ate breakfast then we headed over to Maui where we are at the moment. We are anchored off Lahina, the former capitol of Hawaii and a former whale town where the guy who wrote Moby Dick visited.
We pull up the hook tonight and head up to Kuai before making out way down to Oahu and Honolulu by Independance Day.

We docked in Hawaii – Hilo on the Big Island – last night just after midnight and were officially cleared through customs this morning! I spent this morning at the weekly farmers market with Katie stocking up on fresh fruits and veggies we have not seen for a few weeks. This afternoon I, with some others, drove out to some waterfalls and then to a beach where we snorkled for a bit (and I got to try out my new equipment birthday presant from Dad and Colleen!). The first thing that struck me was the sand was black from the volcanic rocks. Then, I got out there and saw all sorts of huge colourful corals and lots of bright fish. And then there were the turtles!!!
Anyway, internet is expensive here, so if you haven’t checked out the daily log on www.salts.ca that Bonice, the Skippers wife, does each night, you should because it is a pretty good insight into our days. She does not exaggerate the rocking of the ship and the craziness of the galley at times. I’ve only been burnt twice though, which I am proud of. Another highlight for me was bowsprit hanging yesterday – hanging from a rope (in a harnes) from the tip of the bowsprit and dangling in the water. Not only is it lots of fun and very refreshing, it is a great way to exfoliate every part of your body… I’m looking forward to sailing past the flowing lava in the next few days and seeing the bay where Captain Cook was killed. Then its up to some of the other islands. Photos when I can get cheaper internet!