Hikianalia Report: October 18, 11:55 AM HST: good wind and speed, a welcoming pod of dolphins

Bruce was telling a story about dolphins he had seen on a different voyage.  Right after that and just as we were about to break into the 159° Longitude from the 160’s, a pod of dolphins appeared alongside the canoe.  A nice welcoming hō‘ailona (sign) …

Sail Data

• time: 2012-10-18 16:05 UTC/GMT (06:05 HST Oct 18)
• position: 31 degrees 59.4 minutes S 159 degrees 26.3 minutes W
• course: 075 degrees True through the night
• speed: 7.0 knots
• weather: air dry and cold, beautiful
• wind: NW 10 to 15 knots
• sea state: SW swell down a bit to 10-15 feet, and a NW swell at 3-4 feet
• vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also)

Education Data

• Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases:

The 6 to 10 watch steered by the setting Moon, Lehuakona (Antares) in Kamakaunuiamaui (Scorpio) and Kealiiokonaikalewa (Canopus).

From the 10 to 2 watch, most of our steering for the first few hours of the watch was done while facing back towards the west.  Our heading for the night was near the border of La/Aina Koolau.  We used the star Kaus Australis within the constellation Sagittarius keeping it down the middle of our canoe.  After a while, Bruce had us use the star Nunki, also in Sagittarius, keeping it in the middle, as the constellation began to set.  We then used the southern cross, (which we can no longer see the full constellation upside down anymore as we are heading more north) keeping it just to the aft of our beam for the rest of the watch. Orion was also in a perfect position at this time to steer by.

From 2 am to about 5 am, the sky steadily filled with clouds, opening up again just before sunrise.  We used Puana, then Regulus, and then Venus to the East, Kamaile Mua and Kamaile Hope to the South, Jupiter to the North, and K   hut to the West. The sun rose beautifully at the end of our watch, providing us with a clear mark as Venus began to fade.

• Sea Birds and Sea Life:  At the end of the 10pm-2am watch, Bruce was telling a story about dolphins he had seen on a different voyage.  Right after that and just as we were about to break into the 159° Longitude from the 160’s, a pod of dolphins appeared alongside the canoe.  A nice welcoming hoailona. At the end of the 2 to 6 watch, a black seabird – perhaps a shearwater – crossed our bow, headed toward the sunrise.
• Marine Debris: None observed overnight.