Day 14: Tierra! Tierra!

And it was said that on the 14th day, we would see land.

Early in the morning, we got some pouring rain, but around mid-morning the clouds started to clear up and we could see the coast line of the Hawaiian islands. There was some debate about which islands were which but after pulling a paper map and a compass, we identified Maui and Molokai. The North coast of Molokai is spectacular. This is a near pristine island with no signs of human life in sight. We felt the way Captain Cook may have felt upon hitting these blessed islands.

After a little while, we saw the first human. He was a wing foiler with a flamboyant fluorescent orange swimsuit swirling around Ruby and teasing us with his speed. Welcome to Hawaii, guys!

Then we passed Hilo Point on the western tip of Molokai to start the grand crossing of the channel between Oahu and Molokai. The timing could not have been more perfect. It was a little after 3PM, and if everything went well, we would cover the remaining 30 nautical miles (nm) right in time for the sunset. And it was said that everything would be perfect. We reached the shores of Oahu around 6PM, launched the spinnaker for the last time with a huge rainbow in the backdrop and sailed into the sunset near the finish line. Words cannot express the luck we got and the beauty of the arrival. So I prepared some photos and videos below.

Total elapsed time: 13 days, 8 hours and 40 minutes. Total distance covered, over 2,400 nautical miles. This is over 2,750 miles and near 4,500 kilometers.

After crossing the finish line, we were escorted by a boat into the harbor/marina. After all, who knows where we’re coming from? We might be entering the US after leaving a foreign country! Upon arrival we were greeted by friends and family who organized a welcome party like no other with Mai Tai, flower necklaces and all. We docked, and after some paperwork, we at last embraced our loved ones.

The French tradition is to send the skipper into the water and we followed tradition. We quickly learned that this is not the American tradition but hey, this is Bastille Day! So… I jumped into the water as well for good measure.

I want to thank the whole crew for making this passage so unforgettable, and our friends and family for their love and support. I will write more about the crew in a future post. For now, I need to go back to Ruby and clean her so that she can sail back to San Francisco.

I don’t know if this journey has changed me. I am not sure. What I do know is that I have lots of stories to tell.