Hawaii

The final 1000 miles to Guam were easy, comfortable, and quick. We enjoyed cruising downwind and got a nice push from the current. As we approached Guam in very settled conditions, we rinsed the salt off the outside of Starr. After more than two weeks of ocean travel, everything was salty. Guam comes into view after 18 days and 3300+nm Our destination was Apra Harbor, a huge, breakwater-protected harbor that caters primarily to commercial and military ships....

06 March, 2023 /

Note: this was written last week but we forgot to post it. We're now en route from Guam to Okinawa and will update the blog over the coming days. One of the challenges we’ve had is figuring out what time it is. Apple devices, it seems, have pretty limited time zone choices. It’s a bit of a guessing game to figure out which city is in the same time zone as we are. If we can’t...

02 March, 2023 /

Day 16 15-15.4N, 150-35E 2967nm from Hawaii, 366 nm to Guam I got up at 0500 to relieve Sam. My watch starts at 0600. I did the Engine room check going thru the same motions we do every 3 hours. While the check list is useful, even more so is to listen, smell and visually inspect. Thankfully, our engine room checks have not revealed many surprises. After making a cup of coffee I say good night to Sam and make...

24 February, 2023 /

Every now and then on ocean voyages sailors find themselves in Perfect Conditions.  We are presently in a time and place that is just right for “M/V Starr”. Keep in mind that Starr is a motor vessel and the conditions that define perfect for Starr are not the same conditions that sailboats are looking for.  Our position (as of 1500 local time, February 18) is 19-29 North, 171-15.6 East.  We crossed the International Dateline 2...

18 February, 2023 /

I (Don) was woken at 0100 by Celeste saying we have a problem. The boat was stopped and the engine was in neutral. We were rolling 40+ degrees in the 20-knot breeze with 10-foot-at-10-second swells. Water washed over the side decks and unsecured items flew across the cabin. A check of the engine room confirmed that we had no water ingress and no apparent mechanical problems, other than whatever seemed to be wrapped around the prop. I...

12 February, 2023 /

The first few days of a passage are often the hardest. It takes a little while for the body to adjust to constant motion, strange sleeping patterns, new noises. My mind takes a few days to adjust, too. Do we have everything we need? Is that belt throwing off more dust than it should? What about the generator, is it running too warm? Are the fuel filters starting to clog up? Over the course of a...

12 February, 2023 /

This our second Blog and my first of this voyage aboard “M/V Starr”, bound from Honolulu to points West. We departed the Waikiki Yacht Club at 1003 on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, with a favorable weather forecast and a crew anxious to be underway and done with the endless details associated with life ashore. Our timing was excellent.  We started with 20-25 kt. Tradewinds that gave us a nudge along our planned route, aided by...

10 February, 2023 /

Starr motored away from Waikiki Yacht Club at 1000 on Wednesday, February 9th! Friends joined us on the dock beforehand to wish us a safe, pleasant, and fun trip. [caption id="attachment_2937" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Chris Clothier, Don, Sharry, Andy and Debbie Howard[/caption] The last few days before departing on a major cruise always seem exhausting. At times it seemed like there would always be “one more” shopping trip. As the lockers, fridge, and freezers filled to overflowing, we...

10 February, 2023 /

We are preparing to take Starr on what will most likely be our last significant passage. I’m turning 80 next month and Sharry is three years into being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  Sharry and I have been holding hands for 60 years. [caption id="attachment_2902" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Sharry paddling her OC-1 off Diamond Head over the summer[/caption] While we are both grieving the loss of her memory, we also want to keep living our lives the best that we can. We...

07 February, 2023 /

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Sharry and I are back in Hawaii with Starr and planning our next nine months of cruising. The plan has been to sail the Hawaiian islands until the weather in the North settles down and then head to Kodiak or Prince William Sound on the Alaska panhandle for the summer. But recently looking through old photos; reminiscing about the past, we came across images of our year cruising Japan (2010-11) which...

22 December, 2021 /