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Six days after leaving Honolulu we arrived at Kiribati (Christmas Island), you don’t see it until you are very close, it’s highest point is only about 5 meters above sea level.
Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, is a Pacific Ocean raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati.
The name “Kiritimati” is a respelling of the English word “Christmas” in the Kiribati language, in which the combination ti is pronounced s, and the name is thus pronounced .
The island has the greatest land area of any coral atoll in the world, about 388 square kilometres (150 square miles); its lagoon is roughly the same size. The atoll is about 150 km (93 mi) in perimeter, while the lagoon shoreline extends for over 48 km (30 mi). Kiritimati comprises over 70% of the total land area of Kiribati, a country encompassing 33 Pacific atolls and islands.
It lies 232 km (144 mi) north of the Equator, 2,160 km (1,340 mi) south of Honolulu, and 5,360 km (3,330 mi) from San Francisco. Kiritimati Island is in the world’s farthest forward time zone, UTC+14, and is one of the first inhabited places on Earth to experience the New Year (see also Caroline Atoll, Kiribati). Despite being 2,460 km (1,530 mi) east of the 180 meridian, a 1995 realignment of the International Date Line by the Republic of Kiribati moved Kiritimati to west of the dateline.
Nuclear tests were conducted on and around Kiribati by the United Kingdom in the late 1950s, and by the United States in 1962. During these tests islanders were not evacuated. Subsequently, British, New Zealand, and Fijian servicemen as well as local islanders have claimed to have suffered from exposure to the radiation from these blasts.
Some locals checking us out.
After a night at anchor and some much needed rest we had a visit by the local customs and immigration folk, this is when we found out the international date line had been moved in 1995, we had lost a day, we got it back when we left a couple of days later.
After the officials left we chilled out and waited for our taxi/delivery transport to the island. Once mattress’s were loaded we headed for the beach.
Unloading the goods.
Passing some locals business’s.
Once bedding had been safely delivered it was cocktail time.
Tour of the island next time.
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Time had come to move on, our next stop was Christmas Island, before we left Sean, being the nice guy he is sent an email to a hotel on the island asking if there was anything we could bring them, now thinking we may be asked for a couple of cans of corned beef or the latest Nike trainers this was not a problem, however the email came back with a small list, one queen size and one twin size mattress.
After some phone calls and emails we found a mattress shop, it was some distance away so we caught a bus half way and walked the rest.
Walking through some parts of town tourist don’t normally see.
After a very hot and long walk we found the shop, purchased the two mattress and set up a delivery date.
Time for a beer. (or 12)
A couple of days later, goods delivered and time to let the lines go.
Next stop Christmas Island.
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When in Honolulu there is one place everyone has to visit, the history, the commitment and sacrifices people have gone through to make this place what it is today is amazing, and you should take time out of your day to visit Murphy’s bar.
However, before we did that we spent the day at Pearl Harbour, I’m pretty sure all of you know what happened on the morning of December 7th 1941 so i’m not going to go into details.
For those of you that haven’t been, it’s busy but also very well organised, very sobering and a great deal of dignity shown by everyone there, both visitors and staff.
Look, these two at it again.
Onboard the mighty Mo (USS Missouri) The surrender of the Japanese on the deck of the Missouri brought the Second World War to an end and remains one of the most impressive highlights in her illustrious, 50-year career, spanning three wars, and three generations of American fighting men and women.
For me the last part of our visit was the most poignant and I took a couple of photos to show what I mean. The photo below doesn’t look like much, but what it shows is the saddle, the dip in the range of mountains, this is the point the Japanese fighter pilots flew through, keeping low and avoiding detection.
This one really sent a shiver up my spine, these are the hanger doors, and the holes, yeah bullet holes.
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We spend the day walking around downtown Honolulu when I came across this building.
Ok I didn’t just find it, I was looking for it, being a big fan of Hawaii Five 0 I just had to get a photo to send back to the family, I took the shot and checked in on Facebook, the funny thing was, Facebook checked me in at Hawai’i 5-0 Headquarters, of course it’s not really 5-0’s headquarters it’s Aliʻiōlani Hale.
Aliʻiōlani Hale located in downtown Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, currently used as the home of the Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court. It is the former seat of government of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the Republic of Hawaiʻi.
Located in the building’s courtyard is the famed gold-leaf statue of Kamehameha the Great.
The Aliʻiōlani Hale was designed by Australian Thomas Rowe in an Italian Renaissance Revival as the royal palace for King Kamehameha V. In the Hawaiian language, Aliʻiōlani Hale means “House of Heavenly Kings”. The name “Aliʻiōlani” was also one of the given names of Kamehameha V.
Although the building was designed to be a palace, Kamehameha V realized that the Hawaiian government desperately needed a government building. At that time, the several buildings in Honolulu used by the government were very small and cramped, clearly inadequate for the growing Hawaiian government. Thus, when Kamehameha V ordered construction of Aliʻiōlani Hale, he commissioned it as a government office building instead of a palace.
Kamehameha V laid the cornerstone for the building on February 19, 1872. He died before the building was completed, and it was dedicated in 1874 by one of his successors, King David Kalākaua. At the time, Hawaiian media criticized the building’s extravagant design, suggesting that the building be converted into a palace as originally designed.
Until 1893, the building held most of the executive departments of the Hawaiian government as well as the Hawaiian legislature and courts.
It was from Aliʻiōlani Hale in 1893 that the Committee of Safety, under the leadership of Lorrin A. Thurston, deposed Queen Liliʻuokalani by public proclamation.
After the establishment of the Hawaiian provisional government in 1893 and the Republic of Hawaiʻi in 1894, some of the offices in Aliʻiōlani Hale were moved to ʻPalace Iolani , including the Hawaiian legislature. As a result, Aliʻiolani Hale became primarily a judicial building.
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Even though the marina was very nice it was just too far away from anything, so we decided to move, this wasn’t as easy as you might think, Sean was on the radio and e-mailing for ages until we found a berth, folk here like to look after boats that are berthed here permanently but not so much to people passing through, thats the feeling we got. we finally got a berth in town, it was a bit small, but we squeezed in.
Cruising up the coast to Honolulu.
Approaching the new marina and down town Honolulu.
If anyone is a fan of the new Hawaii Five-0, they do a lot of the filming around this marina, not while we were here, but I could recognise a few land marks.
This hotel appears a lot in the new series, here’s a shot with my iPhone, came out pretty nice i think.
Below is the hotel that both Jack Lord and Alex O’Loughlin appear on the top balcony during the opening sequence. This shot taken from the stern of Kapowai.
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Once checked in at the marine office it was time to explore, 10 minutes later that was complete, there wasn’t a lot around, the marine itself was very nice, new and with good facilities, but a long way from anywhere, ok if you had a car.
Talking of cars, I found this beauty in the car park.
Further around the bay were four very nice resorts, each with it’s own lagoon.
These we could swim in, but not the hotel pools, they were for guests only. This is the one I would sneak into.
Later that first night Sean and I went out for a meal, found a bar with a view, watched the canoes go by with a cold beer.
Later that night the rain started, it was a downpour like I had never seen before, the barman gave us a poncho each for the walk back to Kapowai, these didn’t make a bit of difference, I found out why the following morning when I found them in my pocket still in their wrapper. Half way back to the boat I remember taking off my Jandals (flip flops) because they were too slippery, as soon as I got them off I ended up on my ar$e, yeah my bare feet were no match for this rain.
This was the scene the following day, just as well as we didn’t feel much like venturing out.
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After 11 days at sea we finally arrived in Hawaii, it was a pleasant trip, I was a bit sea sick for a couple of days out of San Diego but soon got my sea legs.
There was not a lot to see on the way, very little wild life, one ship and a large steel pipe floating vertically out of the water, unfortunately I was off shift and didn’t get a photo.
Honolulu in the distance, looks a bit stormy, still a nice sight after days at sea.
We sailed past Honolulu, past one airport, past another airport until we found our marina, it was a very nice marina but a long way from anywhere.
Kapowai at berth.
A long walk to dry land, but after only having 60 odd feet to walk around in this was very nice.
The walk was worth it.
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It was a great couple of days in San Diego, absolutely stunning city, so clean and friendly, sad to leave but hopefully one day i’ll be back.
On the way out we passed these Navel run Dolphin pens, apparently the Navy were trying to train Dolphins to be spy’s but when undercover the Dolphins would always just eat Tuna sandwiches and this was proved to be there downfall, the Navy has now given up and will be releasing them soon.
Seals everywhere, they would rest anywhere, on the swin decks and in peoples tenders.
Something you don’t often see together, an Osprey and seagulls.
As a final parting gift from San Diego we passed these beauty’s.
Next stop Hawaii.
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After all the excitement at LAX it was time for a bit of R&R. A good rest and now we were up and ready to explore San Diego, now i’ve done a bit of travelling, but you know what? I’ve never before set foot in the USA, yeah i’ve been in transit, sitting in the transit lounge was as close as I got.
A cab was hailed and downtown San Diego was just 10 minutes away, the first thing I saw was the museum ship USS Midway. Built during WWII she was commissioned two weeks after the end of WWII but later served in Korea, Vietnam and the first Gulf war. For a full history follow this link.
On de-commissioning she was donated to the city of San Diego. she is in a great condition, a credit to all who sailed on her and those who look after her now. I didn’t get to tour her as Sean had done so the day before and didn’t fancy it again, you can find his post on her here.
What did impress me was these guys.
Just past the USS Midway is this statue, a representation of the famous photograph taken on VJ day. The Kiss was a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt that portrays a U.S. Navy sailor grabbing and kissing a stranger—a woman in a white dress—on Victory over Japan Day (“V-J Day”) in New York City’s Times Square on August 14, 1945.
A short walk from the waterfront in the Gaslamp Quarter, This is the old part of San Diego dating from the 1880s.
Some of the old building were fantastic, as were the old pubs.
I don’t think this sign is old but it looked pretty cool.
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Yes I am still alive, I know it’s been awhile, but life gets in the way occasionally, after my epic Atlantic crossing in February 2016 I thought I would never be able to top a trip like that, I was wrong.
It all started again on the 28th August 2016, nearly didn’t make the flight to L.A. as I only had a one way ticket and my visa didn’t cover that, after some negotiation pleading and then bribery grovelling I made it, I then had the same on arrival in L.A.
Anyway, now in L.A. I made my way to the domestic terminal to get a flight to San Diego, ticket in hand, bag checked in, I joined the queue to be body scanned, now as I took my belt and shoes off all the TSA (Transport Security Administration) staff suddenly ran off, now I know it had been a long day……… Oh wait it wasn’t my feet after all, there was a suspected shooter.
Now most people were pretty cool but a lot were running, screaming and crying, bags had been dropped, pushchairs had kids grabbed out of them and both parent and child were long gone leaving the pushchair behind, me being daft walked with my shoes still in the tray to the balcony to see if I could see the shooter, my thought was rather than just run, at least see the shooter first and run in the opposite direction, I decided to put my shoes on now and did so keeping one eye on the floor below. The airport was now going into lockdown, everyone was directed to one location while heavily armed police checked everywhere.
After about two hours of nervous chit chat with fellow travellers we all seem to receive a text message, now I never have my phone on vibrate, data roaming was off, wifi was off but my phone still vibrated and the tone was something that isn’t even built into my phone, very spooky, this was the message.
I love it when technology like this works.
Finally boarded a flight to San Diego, short taxi ride and I was met at the marine gate by my brother Sean for the short walk to Kapowai, bags dumped, quick chat and bed, it’s been a long day. At this point I didn’t know Kapowai would be my home for the next 90+ days.
The voyage.
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