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| Sunset on our own personal river |
With Hurricane Douglas off upsetting whales and sea-birds (or whatever these things do when they can't find land or ships to destroy) we set about figuring out what should be next. This being the year 2020, fate again intervened. Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, Hawaii had largely escaped due to its isolation and quick lock-down by Governor Ige (which I believe stands for
I'm
Getting
Elected). But with an economy dependent on tourism, they couldn't stay locked down forever. The government's solution was a phased opening..........first of restaurants, beaches, bars, and certain businesses; and if/when that worked, the end of the 14 day quarantine for arrivals from the mainland. Tourism would flourish and businesses would be saved.
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| If you miss mowing your lawn one week, this is what happens in Kauai |
Prior to a title defense fight, a reporter told Mike Tyson that his opponent had a plan to beat him. Without missing a beat, Tyson responded that "Everybody's got a plan 'til they get hit upside the head". His opponent that night didn't hear the bell for round two.......he was on his way to the hospital. Hawaii now knows what that feels like.
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| Crabby's new landing gear......beats dragging him through the sand |
With the 14 day quarantine still in effect, Hawaii's initial businesses openings have caused the case rate to jump from 3-4 per day to several hundreds per day. So much for that plan. In our little corner of paradise at the Ko Olina Marina, strict quarantine rules are being reintroduced. The beach? Closed. Beachwalk? Closed. Non-essential businesses? Closed. The planned Sept 1 relaxation of the 14 day quarantine for visitors ? Moved back at least until October 1 at the earliest. We were even told that marina neighbors are turning on each other just like East Germany back in the day! Go off your boat without your mask and someone will take your picture resulting in ejection from the marina. I kid you not.
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| Happy hour in our river.......our 6,570th first date |
So, when faced with tough times we ran the double reverse play (soon football will be so distant a memory that there won't be any analogies to use) and sailed back to Heaven on Earth....Kauai. Neptune doesn't like getting faked out, so after giving us a 20 knot wind, 7 foot wave forecast we got slammed by 25-28 knot wind and 12 foot seas the entire way. When a 53-foot yacht has it's deck and lower rail in the water, you are in boisterous seas. Looking up at green water (the wave's underside) is not a recipe for success, but we made it after going through 12 hours of "shake, rattle and roll". One particularly assertive wave broke on our cockpit edge with unnecessary flamboyance, in our estimation. Spray everywhere (on our new canvas, as well!) Kauai channel.............on my list of overly exuberant bodies of water now.
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| My new personal watercraft....modestly named "HMS Victory" |
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| Kirstin's inflatable paddle board and our ever-empty beach |
But we're back in our favorite place. And Kauai has almost no cases, so none of the restrictions of Oahu. We got here just before a quarantine for inter-island arrivals took effect. Empty beaches, perfect weather, great food- it's all here. Walks on the beach, happy hours on the bow, perfect sunsets-it's like we pushed rewind. How long will we stay ? Assuming no new hurricanes, we're here for as long as it's possible. When the summer swell turns from south to north, this place goes from idyllic bay to the site of big wave surfing championships (no joke). I think we'll leave a day before that; probably at the end of September. But until then, we'll enjoy our little oasis from the mess that's emerging across the majority of Hawaii and the world.
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| Sunset over the bay........perfect |
