November 6: Turning on the solar-powered electric motors in light winds; a powerful, but brief squall
November 5: Sunset Report
Solar Panels at the back of Hikianalia power an electric motor.
The day started with a calm, peaceful sail with easy steering – too calm as the wind dropped off quite a bit and we really slowed and had to turn back west. So far west that we tacked east to head back toward our reference course line. We were going so slow that the captain decided to utilize the solar-powered electric motors that Hikianalia is equipped with to gain a knot or so of speed.
Propeller on Hikianalia
As Hōkūle’a’s companion vessel, Hikianalia will need the motors for certain support activities. We need to test these motors, learn the intricacies of the electrical system that powers them and also make some mileage toward home. We accomplished a good deal of that today.
Just as this report was being written, a powerful squall hit Hikianalia. We experienced winds in excess of 40 knots and a heavy downpour of rain for about half an hour.
Squall: a sudden, brief weather event often accompanied by strong gusts of wind and rain.
Our largely inexperienced crew did a terrific job of quickly and safely dropping the jib (foresail), dropping the mizzen (back sail) and reefing (reducing in size) the main. Everyone got soaked but had a great training opportunity and they all performed really well in their first true test of this voyage. The “first-timers” are neophytes no more and have their own sea story to tell. The wind has mellowed after the passing of the squall and we have shaken out the sails and are making 4 knots toward Na Leo Ko’olau.
- course: What we accomplished today – east of north, heading 005 degrees True, Haka Ko’olau. What we’re trying for now – east of north, 020 degrees True, Nā Leo Ko’olau. (See star compass below).
- speed: 3 knots at 6 pm, 4 knots now (8 pm)
- weather: increasingly overcast with dark gray cumulous clouds all around, one small shower today – watching squalls all around all afternoon, then the big one hit us right at 6 pm. No high clouds, warm, humid
- wind: East 5-10 knots
- sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering.
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.)
November 5: Sunrise Report
The squalls really tested the crew’s focus and training during the night. They performed to a very high standard of both skill and safety. The canoe handled the conditions smoothly and was very user-friendly. She runs very well balanced with just the foresail and mizzen. As a result of less than generous winds, we were only able to make 33 nautical miles last night between 6 pm and 6 am. The good news is that our resultant course, despite a track that looks like cursive handwriting, was Nā Leo Ko’olau (17 degrees True), leading us toward our desired course line, now 100 nautical miles to our east. Our efforts to gain more easting will continue today.
Note from Mike: Last night was the first time anyone laid eyes on the star Hikianalia and the wa’a kaulua Hikianalia simultaneously. As someone who first saw her in March of this year – incomplete, in a dark shed, covered with sawdust and construction debris – to see her running free in the South Pacific brought a tear to each eye and filled my breast with love. I can hardly wait until she sees her sister star, Hōkūle’a, in a few more degrees of northerly latitude; then to see the sister stars rise simultaneously and turn downwind for her new home. I cannot wait for Hawai’i to welcome this beautiful wa’a into the ‘ohana.
Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases
6 pm to 10 pm watch – Our heading at the beginning of the night was Haka Ko’olau. Just as we assumed watch, the first heavy squall of this leg hit suddenly. The wind mellowed after the passing of the squall and we shook out the sails and were making 4 knots toward Nā Leo Ko’olau. There were no stars available, so we were steering by staying as high into the wind as we could in order to make easting.
10 pm to 2 am watch – We got on watch with the wa’a riding with only the mizzen and working jib. Immediately after taking the helm we got hit by another squall. Winds picked up and so did the sea chop, putting a good amount of strain on the hoe, and tossing us around a bit as the short swells pushed the hoe around. We balanced out the sails – easing the mizzen and pulling in the jib – and the incredible wa’a Hikianalia was soon riding smoothly through the turbulence.
Conditions improved through the rest of the watch, and by the time the next watch came on, a beautiful starry night and great sailing winds prevailed.
2 am to 6 am watch – We picked up the helm with a beautiful sky of stars above and maintained a course of Nāleo/Nālani Ko’olau. In the early hours we were able to follow Nānāmua and Nānāhope (Castor and Pollux) in Nāmahoe (“The Twins,” Gemini) once again, as well as the ‘Olekūlua moon (see Hawaiian Lunar Month) in Cancer off our starboard beam and Kalanikauleleaiwi (Achernar) to the south. These became quickly obscured as we passed under an “arch of doom” – a dark arc of cloud and its accompanying squall – but they emerged again once this passed.
Later in the morning we followed Venus rising in Hikina, and for the first time laid eyes on our namesake star, Hikianalia, which rose in Lā Malanai just before dawn. After sunrise we were able to raise the main sail once again and gain some speed, however, true to the pattern of our previous mornings, our course has fallen off a bit to Haka Ko’olau. (See Hawaiian Star Lines.)
- east of north, heading 005 degrees True, Haka Ko’olau
- speed: 5 to 6 knots
- weather: changing. Overcast cover most of the sky overhead (7/8 coverage). Families of squalls all around. Still no high clouds.
- wind: North of East, 10 knots; some light and variable periods; some localized high winds associated with passing squalls.
- sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering.
For Complete Sail and Education Data, see the Tracking Map.
