Palmyra Reflections: Captain Mike Cunningham

It's Easter Sunday and I have been back one week from the Palmyra voyage, but my thoughts still linger on the many events that punctuated our five week journey. Of course, the events of the final days are the most vivid as they represent a time of challenging circumstances that tested our resolve and forced us to go beyond what we previously accepted as our individual limits.

Relentless pitching and rolling of Kama Hele over the past 12 days had taken its toll on the crew. Buddy Maguire had been in his bunk for six days with a broken rib suffered during a fall on deck and remained in a lot of pain because of the boat's motion. Others were beginning to have a repeat visit from "mal de mer" and growing fatigue due to lack of rest (being launched from one's bunk by a crashing wave has a way of curtailing restful sleep).

The reduction in our engine's performance two days earlier had forced us to push the sail capabilities of Kama Hele far beyond its familiar limits in order for us to keep up with Hōkūle‘a. This required the crew to be on deck working with the sails during very heavy weather and often at night which represented a serious safety risk. In spite of their limited experience with heavy weather sailing and the constant threat of being washed or catapulted over the side by Kama Hele's violent movement, the crew rose to the challenge and performed very well.

We carried the maximum amount of sail allowed by the rough conditions and kept them well trimmed under the watchful eye of our first officer Kazu Nishimura. Kazu san is a world class open ocean sailor who joined our crew at the last minute. His quiet professionalism and extensive experience instilled confidence in the crew and allowed them to go far beyond their previous limits.

Shortly after reaching our destination, (the sighting of the Big Island) our engine died completely and I felt beaten by this unruly vessel and disappointed that I was not able to correct the problem. However, as we were towed in the windless lee of the Big Island, I realized that collectively we had sailed side by side with Hōkūle‘a for more than 2,000 miles and accomplished the mission placed upon us. All that remained was the short trip across the channel to Honolulu. We felt proud to be a part of Bruce Blankenfeld's incredible feat of navigation accomplished without instruments and even the stars that are essential for non-instrument navigation had been almost totally obscured during most of the voyage.

Our next challange was crossing the  ‘Alenuihāhā Channel between the Big Island and Maui/Lāna‘i. And, it was as boisterous as ever with 12-14 foot seas and winds in excess of 30 knots which dictated that we shorten sail. Amazingly, we found that we were able to continue to make nearly eight knots with just our heads'l, which was just ½ knot less than we were making with the main and jib and a lot less strain on the rig. By the time we reached the lee side of Lāna‘i, the wind had backed off and we were ghosting along at a mere three knots.

During this stretch we were greeted by previous Hōkūle‘a sailors who had powered out from Maui to welcome us home. When we reached Lā‘au point on Moloka‘i, the dawn was breaking and we were met by another escort boat that had sailed the previous day and night to intercept and accompany us the rest of the way home. It was great to see them and we were overwhelmed by their willingness to come so far out to ensure that we would return safely. (Nainoa's concern for crew safety was evident throughout the voyage.)

During the final seven hours of the journey, the crew's spirits shot up like a flare and that malady that inflicts all new sailors began to spread among the crew. "Channel Fever" as it is called causes sailors to forget about the ordeal of the just completed voyage and to focus obsessively on those things that await them ashore. It would be inappropriate to mention some of these in this message but they are often better as dreams than in reality. For others it was ice cream, a Big Mac, a cold beer and almost universally, a hot shower.

We arrived at the Ke‘ehi Channel at noon and by 1 pm we were tied up in our slip among scores of family and friends who came to give us a hero's welcome. It was an emotional reunion between the crews of the Hōkūle‘a and Kama Hele, with whom we had sailed side by side through rough seas, heavy winds and constant rain for nearly two weeks and it was a tremendous relief to acknowledge that we all came back safely.

As I will continue to reflect on the many events of this journey, I feel extremely proud to have been chosen to command Kama Hele and humbled by power of the sea that is both beautiful and unforgiving. This voyage tested each one of us who sailed on the Escort or the Canoe and forced us to deal with fear, sickness, fatigue and even perhaps loneliness. But, it also rewarded us with the discovery of our own inner strengths that forced each of us to be stretched beyond our comfort level and to have the privilege of visiting a remote atoll in the Pacific where life flourishes in an environment virtually untouched and unspoiled by human hands.

So few will ever have this rare opportunity and we should all come away with an appreciation of God's incredible creative power as evidenced by the beauty of Palmyra.

Life will slowly return to normal, but I will keep the events of this voyage and the awesome crews I had the privilege of sailing with in a place for special memories.  Thank you all for sailing along and a big "MAHALO"  to those who sent emails along the route.

And what adventure does the future hold? Around the world in 2012!!

STAY TUNED

Mike Cunningham