11 May 2006
Hawaii arrival in Adrian's own words

After a very difficult passage from the equator towards the Hawaiian Islands, I finally arrived off Diamond Head, Oahu on Monday 8th May. The rendezvous with members of the Waikiki yacht club was set for 1115 at Diamond Head Buoy. I was relieved to arrive, having had to navigate without charts or pilotage. I was also exhausted. I had anticipated the passage from the equator to Hawaii to be an easier phase with warmer temperatures and steady downwind conditions. Not so. It has been the most difficult passage so far. I discovered on arrival that aberrant weather patterns had delivered unusually inclement weather and torrential downpours in Hawaii. On Oahu, the sewage system backed up and dumped 48 million gallons into the harbour. Undoubtedly, this weather disturbance accounted for some truly horrific seas I encountered en route.          

Close to the island of Hawaii, I contacted the United States Coast Guard as a precautionary measure should the rig collapse. We established an hourly communication schedule, then switched down to four hourly. The USCG tracked me all the way in even telephoning me on the sat phone once I was in the marina to make sure I was safely alongside.

I approached the islands from the north side. The eve of my arrival turned into the worst day of the worst phase. I was forced to hand steer for 30 hours. So when I arrived, it was with a mighty sense of relief. I was met offshore by Commodore Ivan Chan Wa and Rear Commodore (Sailing) Michael Roth. In addition, a club member from England – Ernie Woodruff came along as ‘translator’! I was led back to the yacht club through the more protected inshore waters. My reward was to be greeted with the wonderful sight of the Honolulu waterfront, a stunning conurbation, a fusion of high rises palm trees, sand and dramatic volcanic stage sets. As I entered the channel into the Ala Wai yacht basin, the Ala Moana Park slid by on my right – lawns, trees, shrubs and flowers manicured and maintained to an exceptional standard. The sight of land now so close brought on an array of emotions – the appreciation of a voyage 18,000 miles in distance and 195 days in duration was about to end and in a place that appeared to the voyager to be nothing short of paradise.

Ivan and Michael had contacted US customs earlier and they were on the pontoon to clear me in. Until the formalities were complete I was requested to remain on board. Meantime, an ice cold Guinness was presented to me – one of the great moments in my adventure! The Hawaiian press arrived quayside, notified and briefed by Bobbie Jennings. I spent a fabulous 30 minutes talking about the voyage and the reasons for stopping in Hawaii. Finally, the moment arrived to step down from Barrabas’s deck and onto land. I found myself suddenly reluctant to leave Barrabas, a sense that I was abandoning her that for several moments I hesitated. 

The moment of setting foot on dry land was one I will never forget – relief, satisfaction, pleasure. Together, Barrabas and I had sailed the first single-handed non-stop passage between the UK and Hawaii. We were presented with leis, traditional flower garlands and a special lei of woven tea leaves, a particular honour for Barrabas and which I draped over her bow, as is the tradition.

The first order of play was to repair to the club house for another cold beer and a New York steak – fries, side salads, mayo – the whole ninety yards.

I inspected the mast more closely for damage further up. This would determine whether the mast would have to be unstepped which would necessitate a much longer stopover since the cranes are booked weeks in advance. Happily, the damage was limited to the lower section of the mast. We would be able to repair in the water. Nonetheless, I was concerned about loss of boat speed because of the drag created by marine growth on the undersides. Then I met Les Vasconelles, a diver with a company specializing in scraping the undersides of boats. As with other aspects of the marine industry, he was fully booked, but agreed nonetheless to do the work there and then. He already knew my story! Afterwards, Les refused to take any payment saying to me that he wanted to be part of the expedition and this was how he would like to be involved.

The consignment of replacement parts and additional supplies had been transported to Hawaii by DHL and was being held in Ernie’s warehouse from which he runs his quilting company. Michael arrived in a pick-up and together we delivered the packages to the yacht club. I spent the rest of the day opening and disseminating everything that Louise had put together – the target list had been filled 100% plus some additional cold-climate clothing items.

At lunchtime, Rick, a yacht club member who runs Blue Diamond Welding inspected the damage. The boat would need to be moved from her mooring to the work dock where the hoist could lift Rick’s equipment to the level of the lower spreaders. I cast off at 6 o’clock. Ernie was on hand to help together with two other members. As I approached the work dock I felt Barrabas touch bottom! The depth sounder was not on but I had asked the club whether there was sufficient dept at the dock. The torrential rains had brought thousands of tons of run off from the mountains down to the Ala Wai canal which runs into the yacht basin. The levels had changed and Barrabas was stuck fast!

The welding mend will happen on Tuesday. The sails will go to North Sails for inspect and minor repairs. Meanwhile, I will wire in the wind generator, new computer voltage converter and the Eberspacher heating control unit. I will also take advantage of my time here to have the batteries capacity tested to make sure that they are in good shape.

Articles appeared in Tuesday’s press following the television news coverage of the evening before. The club secretary told me that a number of people had come down to the Waikiki Yacht Club wanting to see Barrabas including visitors from England. Unfortunately, they were not allowed in for security reasons. When I went to a local store to pick up copies of the Honolulu Advertiser, I was recognized by the check out lady who became very excited!

On my first evening ashore, Ernie drove me to a mountaintop lookout. The scenery is stunning. We descended to Kailua where the beach, fringed with fir and palm would compete with any in the world. Dinner followed at a beachside restaurant. I couldn’t resist a second steak washed down with cold Budweiser! To be there, seeing people, hearing the hub-bub of conversation, smelling the scents of land and feeling the firmness all around instilled a fresh sense of pleasure and appreciation after the months of isolation at sea. The generosity I have been shown is remarkable. The Aloha spirit is strong and present everywhere on Oahu – it is quite simply inspirational.