Hauled out in Kona

I apologize for not getting a message out to let everyone know that we were not affected negatively by the tsunami warning. We motored out the harbor entrance and hove to until the wind picked up enough to sail. We attempted to reenter the harbor at 2 PM but the boat traffic was crazy with big sport fishers coming in on a plane and throwing big wakes. We aborted and waited half an hour until most of the biggest guys muscled their way in, then we proceeded in at a more sedate pace. We continued to see swirling water in the slip and unusual highs and lows in the tides for the next 24 hours, but it didn't affect us. The most interesting thing was the news footage of Coconut Island over on the Hilo side as the water receded and rose repeatedly over the course of the afternoon.

We all wanted to go out to dinner, but of course none of the restaurants on Alii Drive (the waterfront shopping street in Kona) were open. We ended up in the new Target shopping center area where several chains were opening late in the afternoon. As we waited for our orders there was a power outage and when the power came back on the Ultimate Burger cash register refused to open. After repeated attempts to pay by credit card failed, they were happy to get an approximate cash payment (as the open tabs accumulated on the counter). Shades of life in a second or third world!

Yesterday morning we hauled Nakia out of the water at the Gentry boat yard and John is busy prepping for several new coats of bottom paint. He finds that he's been living the soft life for too long and he'll probably take advantage of someone who only charges $25/hour for labor to help him. We'll be living on the hard until at least next Monday, but there's a bathroom with a shower in the yard, so in that respect it's nicer than the marina!

Linda