Kama Hele Morning Report

Aloha kākou,

Hōkūle‘a and Kama Hele enjoyed an even better night of sailing than reported yesterday.  We still have mostly clear skies with good visibility of Ke Ka o Makali‘i and Ka Iwikuamo‘o star lines.  The Southern Cross at the meridian was perfect early this morning through a hole in the heavier clouds on the southern horizon.  The breeze freshened early this morning and we sped up from 4+ knots to 6+ knots for the past several hours.  It doesn’t get much better than this.

At 9:30 pm we spotted a HUGE ship on the eastern horizon and headed our way fast.  We made radio contact, learned they had both of us on radar and coordinated a safe passage that allowed us to pass within a mile of the speeding behemoth.  Some of the crew wanted to know where she was from, where bound, what cargo, etc. But, I didn’t want to be nosy – and frankly, I prefer the mystery.  Who would be out here in this empty spot in the ocean? Headed to Singapore, Australia, Aotearoa?

(note:  Hōkūle’a seems to be showing up on radar much better than on previous voyages.)

The weather was fine, mostly clear with 3/8 cloud coverage - building cumulus, no high clouds.  No precipitation through the night.  Barometer fell ever so slightly again to 30.15" or 1021 mb.

Sunrise reports from both vessels indicated vessels and crews are fine.  At 6:42 am, we were on a course of 177 degrees True and making 6.2 knots at that time.

Winds: NNE 10-15 knots
Sea state:  gentle NE swell 3 ft
Fairly heavy rain visible on the western horizon several miles away.

Aloha,

Mike Taylor, Kama Hele escort boat