It’s been an unusually stormy
winter here in Maui, with southerly Kona storms ripping repeatedly through the
Hawaiian islands, forcing Namaste to
find refuge in marinas. The high winds and big swells have made most anchorages
untenable. Although we prefer to have the hook down in more remote areas, we’ve
made the most of our glorified trailer park status.
The Freeman’s had an
incredible stay in Maui, chocked full of big cliff jumps at Black Rock, lazy
pool days, whale watching, sand mermaid making, and more. We had such a special
time with some of our favorite family members, and it was awesome to share our
unique lifestyle.
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| Haleakala sunrise |
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| Mermaid in the making |
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| Ka'anapali beach sunset selfie |
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| Next generation |
Our Cape Cod crew arrived at
the tail end of our cousins visit. Sam had a dream fulfilled as he paddled into
Honolua Bay, where we had anchored the big boat. On our trip there, we
witnessed a rare sight – a very young, perhaps only days old, baby whale calf
and her mother. We watched from a distance with binoculars as the mama gently
helped her newborn to the surface, teaching it how to blow. The baby calf was
practically lying on top of the mother as they rested and nursed. Isabel was
delighted to see such a small tail and hump and excitedly talked about the baby
for days afterwards.
With the arrival of our Tahoe
family, Nichole and her sons Xane and Kai, we checked out of Maui again, headed
for Lanai. It was a rough trip, with high winds and a very short interval between
waves creating a nasty chop. Everyone quickly recovered and we enjoyed a few
calm days at the idyllic Hulope Bay beach. Our Maui friends, Chris and son
Arii, joined us in Lanai and Namaste
was at full capacity with bodies covering almost every horizontal surface. The
following morning, we had an incredible sail to Moloka’i, capped off with a
whale breach that soaked our decks. Pretty scary in retrospect, but
awe-inspiring nonetheless.
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| Nichole captured this amazingly close breach right off the bow |
We anchored in Kamalo on the
southern side of the remote island. It was the first time I felt like we were
actually cruising since our November arrival in Hawaii. The anchorage is
picture-perfect, protected by a large reef and very isolated with a black sand
beach on shore and resident manta rays at the pass.
It was just like the good ole
days on Namaste, well considerably
tamer, but with just as much action-packed fun. The rope swing was swung. We
wakeskated and tubed behind the dinghy. Built beach bonfires and caught cool
little geckos. Explored the nearby creek. Invented new ways to have fun, like
kitetubing. We SUPped, Chris kited.
It was so amazing to
introduce the Namaste lifestyle to
the next generation of our friends’ kids, and watch Isabel marvel at all the
excitement. I really love sharing all this and to see the pure joy in their
faces everyday was just awesome.
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| Kai doing his silly thing |
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| Boat bath |
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| The crew at Kamalo |
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| Chris kiting, the kids tubing |
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| Chillin' |
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| Beach love |
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| The handsome birthday boy |
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| Kamalo sunset |
We reluctantly returned to
Lana’i a day early due to unfavorable sailing conditions predicted for the
following day. However, just an hour into our passage from Kamelo the MOST
AMAZING thing happened. We were slowly motorsailing, towing our dinghy in the
glassy conditions, when suddenly we were in the middle of 10-12 whales. They
were literally everywhere and within moments they were closing in on Namaste. The mostly adult male group
seemed very interested in our dinghy and started making extremely close passes
to it, perhaps curious about this floating thing with the bright white
bottom. For about an hour, 6-8 males cruised
slowly with us, surrounding the boat in a leisurely fashion. They would
approach and then do these incredible underwater twists, seeming to show off
for their captive audience. It’s such a sight to see these massive mammals
acrobatically swish through the water.
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| The approach |
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| Close breath |
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| Underwater dance |
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| Whale photobomb |
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| Whale gapers |
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| Tails of Namaste |
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| Going diving |
It was an incredible end to
an amazing time with some of our closest friends, and gave the kids something unforgettable
to remember their adventure.
The fun continues here on
Namaste as we prepare to return to French Polynesia in early April…
