An unusual Hawaii sunset cruise turns into an evening at sea under windy LUMPY ocean conditions.
29 July 2025
From an unusual (solitary) sunset cruise to an unplanned evening at sea. I haven’t seen so many boats out EVER! An 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s SE peninsula caused tsunami warnings all around the Pacific Rim and the Hawaiian islands.
Let me say, there is nothing more chilling than hearing wailing WW11-type sirens ringing out. The first of those sirens happened as my afternoon charter and I were motoring down the channel on our way back to the slip. I could tell it un-nerved my charterers too.
So, I dropped them off at the dock, called my sunset cruisers to cancel their charter, took my car to higher ground (a multi-level parking structure close to the harbour) and left again; this time alone…hence “a very unusual sunset cruise”
At 3 miles out, ocean conditions were cold, windy, LUMPY, BUMPY, GRUMPY. I popped a little headsail and sailed slowly back and forth, eagle-eyed to keep an eye on others doing the same, with one ear on my handheld VHF radio monitoring updates, the other on my cell phone for incoming useful texts. Officially, we were under a tsunami warning, waiting to hear it be dropped to an advisory so we could all safely head back in to the harbour. It took what seemed like forever, but it could have been so much worse. Hawaii had very little damage and I was safely tied back up at the dock by 12:45 am. I thought I’d be sleeping on Kaikiwi for the night but, believe it or not, despite being bone-tired, I was kinda wired… not to mention there is no coffee on board! That I could not tolerate. I must take care of that immediately.
I drove home with the top down, the crescent moon setting behind me, more but a pleasant wind keeping me awake. There was hardly a car on the road. Such a contrast from the stuck traffic, moving an inch a minute, when I moved my car to higher ground.
Mahalo to all who reached out to me last night to let me know the news and details that were so sorely missed on channel 16, monitored by the US Coast Guard. At midnight USCG were still saying ” a tsunami warning has been issued for the Hawaiian Islands. The first wave is expected at 7:17pm….” thats enough to drive a girl crazy. I learnt more from the guys who were using channel 16 (illegally) to chat with each other, despite the reprimands from the coasties. LOL.
All is well in paradise. We dodged a bullet this time but it reminds us how vulnerable we are. We may not be so lucky next time. Oahu needs to have a better plan to get people to higher ground faster and with less chaos. They must handle this. And I must handle all I am capable of at my end. AND that includes getting some fresh ground coffee on board.!
I don’t need another unusual sunset sail any time soon. The next sunset cruise, or any of the wide range of private sailing charters offered, I hope to do with you! Call Sail BLUE Hawaii to book yours today. (808) 347-0235 capt.gaelyn@sailbluehawaii.com