Hikianalia Update | August 31, 2018: Captain Lehua Kamalu
Today we are excited to hear from Lehua Kamalu, who is the Captain of Hikianalia during the Pacific crossing of the Alahula Kai O Maleka voyage to California.
On the 14th day of the voyage, she shares the good news that crewmembers have passed the halfway point to California – the crew tacked five days ago turning the canoe directly toward the continent.
This mashup map of pressure, wind and rain systems illustrates Hikianalia progress after tacking east toward San Francisco. Dated Tuesday, August 29, 2018. Remember you can always track Hikianalia in real time at www.hokulea.com/track-the-voyage
The significant waypoint has been hard-earned however. “This year, has been particularly challenging as the high has moved around quite a bit causing sometimes winds where we didn’t expect them to be, or areas that are calm where we originally thought there would be wind,” said Kamalu.
There has also been poor visibility for five straight days shrouding the sun and stars making celestial navigation challenging. The northern latitude has also brought a drop in temperature.
“As you can see, the canoe itself is pretty exposed so we don’t like to go too far north into the cold – this is about as cold as we like to sail,” she said.
But the challenges, which were not unexpected, have not dampened the spirit of the crew, nor has it kept Kamalu from remaining focussed on the goal.
“We are planning on continuing this eastward tack for the next couple of days until we get closer to the coast of California where we hope to get some of the northerly, and northwesterly winds… to give us that last boost into San Francisco.”
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