November 10: crossing the equator; aku for lunch and dinner
Nov. 10 Sunrise
Last night continued our recent fast sailing, improved steering and valuable easting. Last night, we made 94 nautical miles (again averaging right at 8 knots) on a heading of 13 degrees True (Haka Ko’olau). At 11:30 pm, we crossed Ka Piko O Wākea (the Equator), reaching into our home Northern Hemisphere. Whoops and hollers resounded from the 10 pm to 2 am watch and a handful of other crew who stayed up for the event. This morning, we celebrated both traditional (sharing rice among ourselves and with Kanaloa) and modern (tossing coins to Poseidon/Neptune) rituals to mark this right of passage. There are no longer “polliwogs” aboard Hikianalia – we are all proud “shellbacks” now.
Crew Celebrating Equator Crossing
- position (in Northern Hemisphere; see the Tracking Map): 00 degrees 50.4 minutes N, 148 degrees 33.2 minutes W
- course: east of north, heading 035 degrees True, Nalani Ko’olau
- speed: 9 knots
- weather: Clear overhead, small puffy cumulus (1/8 coverage). No high clouds.
- wind: North of East, 15-18 knots
- sea state: North-East 3-4 feet (subsided a little more this morning), East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, small rollers, very gentle.
Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases (See Hawaiian Star Lines for star names and configurations.)
6 pm to 10 pm watch– Our heading at the beginning of the night was Haka Ko’olau. Again, our watch had good stars available for steering to the north and east of us, the rest were covered by clouds. We used primarily Jupiter, Iwakeli’i (Cassiopeia), Makali’i (Pleiades); the Navigator’s Triangle of Pira‘etea (Deneb), Keoe (Vega), and Humu (Altair); and the stars of Ke Kā O Makali’i.
10 pm to 2 am watch – We crossed ka Piko a Wakea!!!! (Equator!!!) into the northern hemisphere.
2 am to 6 am watch-The moon rose in Leo just after our watch began, followed shortly by Venus and then Hikianalia (Spica). These stars, rising in Hikina (East) and Lā Malanai (south of East) were the backbone of our steering.
Celestial bodies in the eastern sky, 2 am-6 am watch: the moon, Denebola in Leo, Venus and Hikianallia (Spica, in Virgo) have risen, in that order. Below the horizon, rising about 45-50 minutes before sunrise (5:35 am): Saturn and Hōkūle‘a (Arcturus).
We had intermittent cloud cover, so also used other stars and constellations tonight, especially Makali’i (Pleiades), Na Hiku (Big Dipper) and Me’e (Corvus) to keep us oriented and on track. We have come to really appreciate how quickly the stars travel overhead, allowing us to adapt our course as steered by them more easily and keep a more consistent heading. We are quite excited to have good winds continuing, enabling us to keep up 7-9 knots through the night while also gaining a bit of ground eastward. The eastern sky begins to lighten around 4:30 am, and most of our stars are no longer visible after 5 am.
For Complete Sail and Education Data, see the Tracking Map.
Nov. 9 Sunset
Caught two chubby aku – one for lunch and one for dinner – both delicious. Saw a lot more mālolo (flying fish).
Aku (Skipjack Tuna) Graphic from Kuulakai.com.
A fast day of sailing on a good heading with easy steering. Since 6 am, we made 87 nautical miles on a heading of 015 degrees True (Haka/Nā Leo Ko’olau), an average speed of a little over 7 knots. As this is being typed, we are 28 nautical miles from Ka Piko A Wākea (the Equator) and making between 7 and 7.5 knots. As we are approaching the line at a slight angle, it will probably take a little more than four hours to get there – so maybe 11:30 pm or midnight. We’re going to let the off-duty crew sleep through the event, if they choose, and celebrate with traditional and modern protocols in the morning. Next report from the Northern Hemisphere!
- speed: 7.5 knots
- weather: mostly clear during the day, 2/8 cumulus coverage. Now, thinning overcast with stars peeking through. Cumulus on 360-degree horizon. Warm, humid, no rain.
- wind: East 15 knots
- sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering.
- Sea Life: the usual terns and boobies. One tropicbird.
For Complete Sail and Education Data, see the Tracking Map.
Hawaiian Star Compass (Click on the link for an explanation of the names of the directional houses of the compass. Click on the compass for a larger image.)
