October 28, 6:00 PM: Training a New Crew for Voyage to Hawai‘i, Hikianalia anchors in the lee of Mo‘orea

Posted on 28 Oct 2012
In Crew Blogs, Voyaging

Hikianalia is anchored in the lee of Moorea, an island west of Tahiti.

After bidding farewell to the majority of the Aoteroa to Tahiti crew last night, the new arrivals joined the five carry-over crewmembers and set out on our first training sail together as a united crew. (See Hikianalia Crew List: Tahiti to Hawai‘i 2012.)

It was a perfect day for acclimating everyone to Hikianalia under gentle conditions – good breezes and kindly seas. We tacked and jibed several times, changed headsails and carried out other basic maneuvers so that everyone could learn the rigging and procedures involved in sailing this great canoe.

At the end of the sail, we entered a twisting, tricky channel with reef all around and the crew and canoe performed perfectly. The gorgeous tropical paradise around this mooring area belongs to our dear friends Claude (Faafaite crew) and her husband, Gerard. It is a marine preserve and is home to the friendly plethora of animals listed below. We snorkeled among these friendly ambassadors of the sea in crystal clear waters surrounded by verdant green, steep, high islands creased by sharp canyons.

Animal Life: Swam with stingrays, black-tip reef sharks, humuhumunukunukuapua’a, snappers, papio, etc.
Sea Birds and Sea Life: Lots of wonderful sea birds observed today including manu o kū, sooty terns and lots more.

Manu-o-kū. © Monte Costa

This is the natural planet we seek to protect and heal, our main message of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, of which we are proud to be a part. Tomorrow, we will venture further out to sea to experience stronger winds and higher seas as our training progresses. Most of yesterday was spent in intensive dockside Man Overboard training, which we will practice at sea on this three-day sail.

“At anchor, calm in sheltered lee of Moorea”

Sail Data

time: 2012-10-29 04:00 UTC/GMT (18:00 HST Oct 28)
position: 17 degrees 29.5 minutes S 149 degrees 54.8 minutes W
course: at anchor
speed: at anchor
weather: absolutely perfect
wind: ENE 5 knots
sea state: calm in sheltered lee of Moorea
vessel and crew condition: all ok

Education Data

Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Sun only Today, we steered by coastal navigation.
Animal Life: Swam with stingrays, black-tip reef sharks, humuhumunukunukuapua’a, snappers, papio, etc.
Sea Birds and Sea Life: Lots of wonderful sea birds observed today including manu o ku, sooty terns and lots more.
Marine Debris: No manmade debris, but signs of land all around like limu, tree branches, etc.