Hawaii 5/0 Michelle’s Birthday Sail and Snorkel

Hawaii 5/0 Michelle’s birthday sail and snorkel started at 11am.

The swell had been huge coming into the Ala Wai Harbor where SV Shalimar has her slip. The water in the harbor was brown, but the Hawaiian sun was shining.

SV Shalimar set sail and made it safely over the large waves coming into the channel. The wind was gusty so we put the mainsail up with an option to later set the staysail.

Heading off towards Waikiki, passing the famous Bowls surf break on the port side. It was Michelle’s 50th birthday party and the air was filled with music, laughter, and conversation.

After everyone had their sunscreen just right and were given drinks mostly all went to the bow of the boat to play “Titanic” and get comfortable in the bean bag chairs.

Passing Diamond Head the water became a little choppier so we about-faced and pulled into Turtle Canyon.

Captain Alan put Pancho, the first mate, in the water to find the mooring and after 5 minutes we were hooked up.

Let the snorkeling commence.

Getting everyone geared up is always a challenge, finding the right sized fins for everyone, getting the masks de-fogged and getting the safety line out. Somehow amongst all the moving parts after only a few minutes everyone is in the water and having a great time spotting Turtles and other beautiful fish.

Shalimar was the only boat at Turtle Canyon, which was so nice, the water being brown in the Harbor must have deterred other boaters from bothering, but we reaped the rewards as the visibility was amazing!

The warm shower and towel were waiting for everyone as they climbed the swim step back onto the boat.