Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay

Kathy and I have been doing a fair amount of snorkeling at Hanauma Bay ... http://www.hawaiiweb.com/html/hanauma_bay_beach.html

It has been very beautiful and rewarding. We see all sorts of fish. I think my cousin Joellen would loose count of all the different species!
We swam with sea turtles, tangs, and the state fish that only Nathan can seem to pronounce! I guess it is in a song ...



Snorkeling is hard work ... and it seems when we go, some of us tend to get sleepy ...



Well, we snorkeled today and I am sleepy, too.

Goodnight!

Krista's Birthday

Well, this post is VERY late! I meant to post this a while ago but we have been busy!


In any case we had a very relaxed birthday party for Krista. She turned 22 this year but it seems like 21 was more than only a year ago ... sometimes I tell myself that she is older but when I look at the dates ... April 13, 1986 to April 13, 2008. Well, that IS 22 years but she seems so much more mature these days.
I looked at the shirt she wore for her birthday. I wore that shirt. I soaked that shirt in my sweat many, many years ago playing basketball for The Cleary Club. Don't worry, we washed it! My guess is that the shirt has been around for 25 years! So, when I see her in that shirt, I see my little girl of 5 running around the house using her dad's shirt as a dress. Naw, she's just 5 years old and it really is only 1991.


She requested Steak Oscar which is a fillet Mignon, lump crab meat, asparagus, and Bearnaise sauce. It really wasn't that hard to make but is certainly tasted good!

Tucker made his own vegetarian creation. Vegetarian lasagna, asparagus, and chips. He seemed to enjoy it!


Love, grace and peace and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KRISTA!

Goodbye to a dear one ...

She's gone!

It hit me last week. She's gone! I put her up for sale and now she is sold. I couldn't leave her there on the hard to rot through the next 2 to 3 summers and winters while we live in Hawaii. It just wasn't right as she was meant to sail. She was meant to sail The Bay and rest in its tributaries.
I only bought her a few years ago but she was instantly in my blood. Her green lines and clean finish called out to me. Her big jib that just wanted to go ... gave my heart reason to beat.

Steve Soroka and I picked her up one Friday morning. We motored out of ... hey, I don't remember what river it was because I was focused on EVERYTHING about the boat. She hummed and she purred her way around the markers and the buoys out into The Bay. Steve and I raised the main and felt the surge of wind power as we cut the diesel. The big jib rolled out and filled with a 12 knot breeze. SEVERANCE began to gallop into the deeper waters as we criss crossed The Bay passing Thomas Point Light. I fell in love.

33 feet long and made sometime between 1983 and 1984, she was the perfect bay boat ... able to take the short choppy waves and still keep you steady on your feet. She grabbed the wind and went for a ride.


Everyone liked her. Her only issues were her age and the fact that her port lights leaked during heavy rains but who doesn't get old?

People just smiled as they guided her along ...

I sailed her often and she rarely disappointed.

She was fun whether they were on her rail or hanging on the lines off the back!


Somehow sailing her made me a kid again ... could two guys look any happier?


One day she saved my life and 3 others. The intrepid crew of Norman, Nick, Wasfi and I enjoyed our day on the ole girl and as we sailed back toward port, we were confronted by two significant thunderstorms. The first sent the wind meter up to 28 knots. It was the highest wind I had ever sailed in. The waves were tall and rocked SEVERANCE. She withstood the challenge and her diesel powered us ever eastward.
The second storm was worse. It crawled over the eastern shore with a dark menace in its heart. We pushed forward and watched the wind meter climb easily passed 28 knots all the way up to 44 knots! SEVERANCE did her best to keep us into the wind but we were sliding backwards at 1 1/2 knots though we were at full forward throttle. She saw us through the crisis and after the storm abated, we were soon cruising into her slip (D2) at Herrington Harbour North.
I never lost faith in her as my sailboat and she responded to me in like kind as her Captain.
... and now she is sold. I know that her new owner will treat her well and take her to new places and I wish them luck ... but it still hurts!

Jeanne & Nathan Visit

I looked forward to their arrival with great anticipation. It was like Christmas in April ... we waited and waited and then they came and suddenly ... they were gone too quick! I guess that is the way it is when I am looking forward from event to event and I live my life looking forward to the next big event.

Jeanne and Nathan arrived on Monday afternoon and were picked up by Tucker. Tired from the long flight (oops, did I say that?) ... wait ... wait ... the flight was easy and simple and was over in no time!! Anybody convinced? I didn't think so ... oh well, cat's out of the bag that the flights here are tough, especially from the east coast. They stayed up as late as they could and then crashed in the spare bedroom.

Kathy took them shopping, they went to spitting cave, and toured the large and dangerous waves of Sandy's Beach. Jeanne worried about Nathan getting swept out to sea but Tucker was there to jump in at a moment's notice.

We watched the moon rise over the Pacific and looked at the craters through the telescope.

While the normal tourists were looking in another direction, we explored a lava tube. It took us under a small highway and led us to a cove where the waves crashed on centuries old lava rock. We carefully climbed the rock and enjoyed the roar of the waves while watching the native fishermen cast their lines.

Nathan is a fish. He could or maybe should live in the water! He swam everywhere and anywhere and especially enjoyed the waves. I could see him from the beach and watch a wave crash over his head, his body tumble through the surf, Jeanne would look concerned and then Nathan would get up and do it again with a laugh!

We had shave ice ... and more shave ice ... it was very good!

Tucker and I took Jeanne on the Pu'u Ohia hike high above Honolulu and Waikiki. The view from there is spectacular while setting the hiker far enough off the beaten path to be into the deep woods and mountain tops of Oahu. The bamboo forest was incredible and I think Jeanne really enjoyed the call of the wild birds as they followed us through the woods.

The turtles seemed to be favorites for Nathan. We saw them at Sea Life Park. We saw them on the North Shore beaches and it was especially exciting when one or two actually swam by us while at Kailua beach!

Sea Life Park was excellent. We went there for a Luau but got treated to seals, dolphins, penguins, dancers and singers ...

Sea Life Park also included demonstration dancing from many different cultures including these warriers painted up like New Zealand natives.

It certainly was a busy week and unfortunately it was over before we knew it. As I look back on it today, I remember most the laughter and the fun as the whole family sat around the dining room tables and played Pounce or I Doubt It (the other name shall no longer be spoken!)

Peace!