First trip across the Kaiwi

Christy

Catching up on old logs. This was from our first trip across the Kaiwi with crew Grace, Alek, and Justin. We had mentioned to a friend on the dock that we hadn’t been across the Kaiwi yet. He gave us a puzzled look and questioned what we were waiting for. A spark on dry tinder! Day 1: We planned a quick trip because the conditions were less than ideal. We caught a Mahi around penguin banks with a bare wood cedar plug. Arrived at Hale O Lono well into the darkness. The swell created a thick seafog causing us to briefly mistake the day markers for channel markers. Local fisherman turned their lights off on the break wall, and our GPS wasn’t updating, so we were going in blind. Wind was nuking so communication between the bow and stern was a solid 2/10. Grace and Alek on the bow scanned the channel entrance with flashlights. I served as the middle man to communicate bow to helm. Tucked deep into the harbor and passed out. Day 2: The resident bees at Hale O Lono were happy to drink up the spilt beer in the cockpit from the preceding day. Grace and I sent the boys out to pull up the anchor and hele while we watched from the safety of the cabin. Conditions across the Kalohi were blustery. Conditions at Nanahoa were not great. Propped the fishing line. Lost the lucky luer. Alek and Grace jumped in and freed the prop. Made Mahi tacos. Conditions deteriorated throughout the night. Consistent offshore 20-30 kts all night. I don’t think there’s a worse sound than the whining of a bridle under load. It felt like the deck was going to rip off like bark being peeled from a tree. Discovered that we could trust our gear that night. Thank you Mantus 🙏 Zero sleep was to be had! Day 3: Sending it back home. Massive following seas. Bria Mia hit a top speed of 11 kts surfing down a bomb with a fully reefed main and a dorito chip jib. Caught Ahi after Ahi. Sitting down to write this years later is a trip. Like, did we not check the conditions??? What was going on lol. Are frontal lobes in the room with us??? We have come so far. We made mistake after dangerous mistake. We definitely caught more fish than we do now. I think we might have had beginners luck. Or maybe like seven guardian angels 😅

Boat & Crew

Bria Mia

Catalina, 34

Christy

Cook

David

Owner