After a 2 week trip to Kauai in June and a 3 week circumnavigation of Oahu, we decided to head to Maui for a trip before the end of summer. As I write this, we are headed back (a little earlier than planned) because the north swells have started - yes, an end to the summer season here in Hawaii.
We left 10 days ago in the evening with a mixed forecast. To get to Maui, we decided to go to the west coast of Lana’i rather than the typical route to Molokai. The residents of Molokai, normally referred to as the Friendly Island, are very concerned about Covid-19 and are not welcoming visitors. Its decidedly Unfriendly at this time. We only anchor at these islands and do not go ashore but we still decided to bypass Molokai. So, off to Lana’i.
One model said it should be a fine crossing the other a bit rough. Well, the rough one won that bet. It was a long, bumpy and windy motor/sail. We motored because the halyard got boogered up (technical term) with the spreader while raising it. The wind was nearly directly on the nose anyways, so we decided to just motor and when we could; fly the jib. The wind and waves on the nose made for a very slow trip that put us in the Kalohi Channel just as it was firing up to a Small Craft Advisory. More big wind on the nose as we clocked 30 kts…
We arrived at the Needles anchorage about midmorning and quickly decided it was worth the rough trip! It reminded us so much of Mexico - brown (not lush tropical)l, steep cliff faces dropping to the ocean breakers and no sign of civilization! Perfect. We set anchor in-between the 5 geologic formations that make its namesake. See pics below.
For 3 days, we had it to ourselves and snorkeled, swam and explored by kayak and paddleboard. The entire west coast of Lana’i is wild and remote feeling - and there is no cell service, too! Spectacular!
We then headed around the south end of the island towards Maui. Everyday, the tradewinds kick up in the afternoon and blow from the East. Sometimes they get funneled through the isthmus of Maui and blow from the north. So we were headed to Oneloa for some protection. The south side was a bit rolly so we anchored on the north side in calm and quite hot conditions. A quick swim cooled us off. As I was on a Zoom call, a WEST swell kicked in and after my iPad flew off the table twice; we decided to end the call and move to look for a better anchorage. We considered La Perouse on the south side of the island - nice and protected from this weird west swell and now wind. But as we motored south, we were stopped by the winds blowing through the Alenuihaha Channel. Ok, back to Oneloa and lets just wait it out on the south side. A few hours later, it calmed a bit and we stayed the night.
The next morning I was up and as Jeff put it “like a kid at Christmas” as we were heading to Molokini to scuba dive! This atoll is super cool and we got to go there with no one around! Just a 3 mile motor from the anchorage and except for a small dinghy with a couple snorkelers, we had our pick of the mooring buoys. You can’t anchor there (hurts the coral) so they have 26 mooring buoys you can use temporarily. When busy (which is usually all the time) you only get 2.5 hours on the mooring. We would have it all day… The one thing about these buoys is you can’t see them. They sit 10-15’ below the surface and have a tag line hanging. So, you (meaning me) just jump in, dive down and pick up the line. Meanwhile, Jeff brings the boat around, I hand him the line and he ties our line to it. Easy Peasy. And, it really was! I would have to say that if it was windy, wavy or with other boats there; this would have been a major stressor with just the 2 of us!
Molokini is spectacular! The coral is so bright and healthy with lots of life! Truly a magical place. We only explored the inner walls since we weren’t keen on being swept by a current out to sea with no one else around. Poor Salpare would just be sitting there… I think they made a movie like that. Anyways, it was an awesome day and such a privilege to have it to ourselves.
Back to Oneloa for the night. Again, the wind came from the west… that’s something that is never mentioned in any forecast or guidebook. But, since we had experienced it already, we figured it would die in a few hours. It did and we slept soundly; rolling a bit and hearing the surf roar against the beach.
The forecast for the next 2 days was for higher winds 20-25 from the north. So, once again, I perused the guidebooks and found us a number of places that offer “great protection from north winds and swell”. We headed for McGregor “Bay”; really just a small indentation. We anchored just as the winds increased and soon found us dragging anchor out to the open water. Ok, lets try another.
We headed up the leeward coast as the winds starting really whipping up. The “great protection” anchorages were simply just not to be… They were just sandy spots along the coast that perhaps would block the north wind with their mountainous backdrop. Unfortunately, that just is not the case. After seeing no where to hide, we just dropped the anchor about a 1/2 mile off the beach in 18’ of water.
The winds continued to build as we removed our enclosure sides and tried to reduce windage. The winds climbed and climbed. They eventually hit 40 kts. For those who haven’t experienced that - it sucks. Its deafeningly loud and pretty intense. We busied ourselves by constructing backup anchor bridles and backups to the backup. We traded watches throughout the night and finally in the morning the
winds subsided. As Jeff pulled up the anchor, I heard him almost lovingly say through our headsets “here’s my badass anchor”. Unfortunately, the winds were predicted to do the same thing again - so we headed for the south side of Lana’i hoping to find protection in Manele Bay.
Now, we wanted to sail over there but of course there was little to no wind during the day, We checked out the anchorage at Manale but soon found it to be too rolly and too close to the breakwater for those conditions.
Ok, lets just head back to the Needles. We realized by now that we were just a bit too late in the season to stay in Maui. The north swells were starting and that signals the end of summer. Most of the anchorages on Maui have some exposure to the north - even the ones that say they don’t.
We rounded the calm southwest corner of Lana’i and headed north to the Needles. The eastern trade winds that were predicted for this area turned in to; you guessed it - strong north winds on
our nose. 30 kts to be exact. Shit - now what?? The Needles would be too exposed. Fortunately, the Dept of Transportation of Hawaii has a very small cove just a few miles up the island. We ditched into it and quickly snagged a tire on our first try at anchoring. So, while Jeff wrestled the tire off the anchor I worked on my “Confined Space in Gusty Winds Driving”. We finally settled for the night, watched a movie and fell fast asleep to greatly diminished winds. The next morning, we headed out and decided to anchor in Kalama Nui instead of the Needles.
The guidebooks say to anchor on the south side - so we did. When I jumped in to check the anchor and surroundings I was greatly dismayed to find we were actually in the center of the coral reef with seamounts surrounding us and taller than our keel! And, our anchor was simply sitting upright on a rock! Yikes! “Jeff we need to move now; and very carefully”. We re-anchored in a sandy area that looked safe. But, after I dove in again and checked; we decided to move to the Needles. We were just close enough to rocks and coral that if the winds came from the wrong and un-forecasted directions - yea, whats the chance of that - it would go in the bad column.
We set anchor back at our old standby the Needles, quickly dove in for a snorkel and to cool off. We relaxed and had an awesome happy hour with yet another brilliant sunset. We knew this would be out last trip to this area; most likely until next spring. These Hawaiian waters and their changeable winds really dictate when and where you can go.
After waking early for the 77 mile trip back to Ko Olina, we sailed off the anchor and had a lovely sail and part motor across the dreaded Kaiwi Channel. We knew we had to get back as the winds were dying (meaning no sailing and all motoring back) for the next few days followed by the season’s second north swell. Time to get home.
We hope to get back to Maui either by boat or maybe fly there this winter and explore. It was a bit of a wild trip but gosh darn we just have such a great time. Being with each other on Salpare and exploring new places makes it all worth it.
Thanks for reading and following along!
