Pacific Adventure
By Jim Barron
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| The crew takes one last swing by Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach before departing for Kauai and beyond. |
Tired of friends saying, "been there, done that" when describing your latest vacation'? Well here's one that's hard to top: an eight-day "cruise" in a pair of 26-foot boats from Oahu to Midway Island, a 1328-mile voyage across great expanses of the open Pacific, stopping only at remote rocky outcroppings or sandy coral atolls to rest and refuel.
It's a trip few boaters will ever attempt, and we can't recommend that you try. But we did it for one reason: to demonstrate the long-distance cruising capabilities of modem trailerable boats when equipped with state-of-the-art outboard engines. I am happy to report that both boats - Glacier Bay's 2680 walkaround cuddy hardtop and 260 center console - and their respective twin Honda 130hp outboards, handled the trip with ease.
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The boats receive a traditional Hawaiian blessing on the morning or departure.
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Still, the logistics of supplying fuel along the way were difficult to arrange, and there was a high element of risk. We were operating in a very remote part of the world where help, if needed, was many, many miles away.Those who expect a story filled with danger as we battled elemental forces, however, are going to be disappointed. That's not to say that we were not concerned with safety. On such a voyage, you are constantly on edge and occasionally must contend with uncertainty and your inner fears. But with few exceptions, the trip went smoothly and the weather cooperated as well as could be expected.Weather was a primary factor in scheduling this event. Earlier in the season, the long-range forecasts were foreboding, but a 10-day window of opportunity opened up in early September and we took advantage of it. Walt Hack of Weather Ocean Marine Navigation (908/3221215) provided weather routing, and his predictions were right on target.
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| The first test of our train gear takes place on the Oahu-to-Kauai passage, as the heavily loaded boats and rough water create considerable spray. |
The trip was the vision of Larry Graf, an owner of Glacier Bay Boats in Monroe, Washington, who saw this as a way of proving the durability of his boats. Dubbing it the "Midway Challenge," Graf also saw it as a way of delivering two boats, one that had been sold to charter service Midway Sportfishing, and another to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Midway.'Me balance of the crew consisted of Joe Adams of Windward Boat Sales in Honolulu; Dean Clarke of Sportfishing Magazine; Rob Shaflenberger, area manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and, of course, yours truly. We were also joined during the first leg of the trip by photographer Neil Rabinowitz, who parted company, according to plan, once we reached Kauai.
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| Day 1, Friday afternoon: We depart Oahu, bound for Kauai. |
Friday, September 4, 1998 (Day 1).
We have the boats blessed by a priest (a Hawaiian tradition) and do some last-minute shopping and fueling. At 2 p.m., we leave Waikiki Yacht Club for Kauai, 124 miles to the northwest. Seas are 6 to 10 feet and wind is 20 to 25 knots, making for a fairly lumpy and wet ride. We arrive at Port Allen at 6:45 p.m., just after sunset.
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| Day 2, Saturday morning: time out for a crew photo on Kauai. From left to right; Dean Clarke, Rob Shallenberger, Larry Graf, Joe Adams, and yours truly. |
Saturday, September 5 (Day 2).
We are up at 6 a.m. and put approximately 400 gallons (2400 pounds) of fuel aboard each boat, do final shopping for food, water and ice. We also change props on the 2680, going to 13inch-pitch turbos to bring the rpm's up a bit. With the prop change, the hardtop cruises at 20 knots at approximately 4500 rpm. The lighter 260 with I 5-inch-pitch props cruises at 20 knots at approximately 4100 rpm .
The weather looks good and is expected to hold for the next several days. We leave Port Allen for the island of Nihoa, 163 miles away, at about 11 a.m.
After quickly exhausting our smaller auxiliary tanks, we switch tanks only to find that the plumbing isn't correct and the engines sputter and die. The fuel valving is complicated and we finally find a setting that works. It is obvious that we are going to have to make some changes to get all of the fuel out of all of the tanks.
Seas are 4 to 6 feet and the wind is behind us, blowing 15 to 20 knots. It is a day of hanging on tight. The comfort level is not high but the boats are doing well at cruising speed. The Cetrek autopilot and Furuno GPS/chartplotter handle the steering and navigation chores.
We arrive at Nihoa at sunset and anchor just after dark. At dinner, we have our first contact with Hawaiian monk seals, an endangered species. Less than 1200 survive today. The curious creatures swim out to the boats. They have light skin and round, flat faces, and look almost human.
We're fairly close to the steep rocky cliffs, and worry about dragging the anchor. No one sleeps easy. We use the "anchor watch" function on the Furuno GPS and check our distance from the cliffs at regular intervals with the spotlight.
The 2680 walkaround has a bunk under the forward deck for comfortable sleeping. The 260 center console is outfitted with two vinyl covered foam mattresses, one alongside the console and one on the forward casting platform. Two sleep with reasonable comfort. The third (guess who?) sleeps on the hard floor. The bulk of an extra mattress was a luxury we couldn't afford.
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| Day 3, Sunday morning: Our anchors are fouled in the rocks at Nihoa Island. |
Sunday, September 6 (Day 3).
We wake up to find that Nihoa is a rugged island with a steep, craggy face that rises 900 feet above the sea. Landing is difficult and we don't go ashore. A Polynesian settlement failed here approximately 700 years ago. Today the island supports two rare species of songbirds found nowhere else, and 18 species of tropical seabirds.
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| Sleeping accommodations on the center console consist of two foam mats - one forward on the casting deck and a tight fit along side the console. |
Breakfast consists of breakfast bars and orange juice. The first order of business is to straighten out the plumbing in the fuel lines on the 260. It is not difficult, but takes time. With the fuel system fixed, we attempt to weigh anchor. Anchors on both boats are wedged tight in huge boulders on the ocean floor. Adams dons scuba gear and goes overboard to free the anchors. It's a difficult job, but he succeeds.
At 11:45 a.m. we depart for Necker Island, 177 miles farther along the chain. It is another rough day with seas running approximately 6 feet. By late afternoon, the waves remain steep but the wind lays down. I judge the conditions by how often I clean spray from my glasses.
We arrive at Necker just before sunset. Smaller than Nihoa, Necker also has steep cliffs which prevent us from going ashore. Though populated by Polynesians hundreds of years ago, Necker is uninhabited today. We take a quick turn around Necker but decide to keep moving, running slowly all night to save fuel.
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| Sunday evening: Sunset at Necker Island - a remote, rocky outcropping 464 miles from Oahu. |
Until now, our fuel consumption has been approximately 1.2 miles per gallon at our 20-knot cruising speed. When running at night on a single engine, we can maintain approximately 5 knots and get nearly 4 miles per gallon at 1600 rpm. Our next stop is Tern Island, 98 miles away on French Frigate Shoals. If we run slowly tonight, we can be halfway there by morning.
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| Day 4, Monday afternoon: We arrive at Tern Island to find the first humans since Kauai. |
Monday, September 7 (Day 4).
First light finds us only 45 miles from Tern. We have time to fish along the shoals, and still make landfall in the early afternoon for some much-anticipated time ashore. Seas are quite calm, running 2 to 4 feet and the winds are mild.
Trolling brings an immediate double hookup of 'ahi (yellowfin tuna) on our boat. The other boat is having equal fishing success. 'Ahi. mahi-mahi (dolphinfish) and snapper hook-ups come as fast as you can get a line in the water.
Tern Island is a distant outpost of civilization. Improvements consist of a couple of cement buildings with dorm rooms, a well-stocked kitchen and bath facilities. We find 14 people on the island.
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| Giant trevally can weigh more than 100 pounds. This one tips the scales at 80 pounds. |
Tern was of strategic importance during World War 11 and is basically a runway built on an island shoal. After the war, the U.S. Coast Guard operated a loran station here. It was later turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Today, it is a wildlife refuge - a nesting place for terns, boobies and sea turtles. There are also restrictions on fishing. You can keep only one fish per person, but that's enough to feed everyone on the island this evening. We all have a shower, a good night's sleep ashore and a couple of good meals.
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| The Tern Island Hotel consists of a few cement buildings and a well-stocked kitchen. |
Tuesday, September 8 (Day 5).
We refuel and re-stock the boat for the second half of the voyage. Each boat has a recommended load capacity of 2000 pounds. We estimate that with 500 gallons of fuel on board, the load at departure time is approximately 4500 pounds.
With regret, we leave the people, hospitality and terra firma of Tern Island at 11 a.m. Next stop is Laysan Island, 369 miles away - our longest open-water transit. The passage is mined with shoals and reefs. We read depths of 30 feet and less. Winds remain steady at 15 to 20 knots while sea conditions vary from 2 to 6 feet and at times are quite confused due to the shallow waters. Graf grows concerned about the weather. But our weatherman, Walt Hack, tells us via satellite telephone that we are fine until Friday.About 5 p.m., the port engine on the 260 center console comes to an abrupt halt. We struck a 10-foot length of 3-inch hawser, and it promptly wrapped around the prop bending all four blades. We quickly replace it with one of our spares and continue.
The farther west we go, the later it stays light. Due to the weight of fuel on board, our cruising speed mileage has dropped to just under I mpg. Around 8 p.m., we reduce speed to "nighttime mode" - running one engine, doing about 4 knots and getting 3.5 mpg. We are some 675 miles from Oahu. Temperatures are in the 90s during the day, dropping into the 80s in the evening. We are all getting a little weary and anxious to complete the voyage.
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| Spinner dolphin join us on our way to Laysan Island. |
Wednesday, September 9 (Day 6).
The morning finds us in relatively smooth water again, so we pick up the speed. A school of spinner dolphin joins us for the run. We reach Laysan Island about 2 p.m. This is a flat (highest elevation is 30 feet), sandy, 1000-acre island with a salt marsh lagoon in the center. We drop anchor in the lee of the island for lunch. On the white sandy beach, several monk seals bask in the sun.
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| Day 6, Wednesday afternoon: The beach and tent camp on Laysan Island. |
The Fish and Wildlife Service maintains a tent camp here and we discover there are four people on the island. Guano diggers inhabited the island in the late 1800s, followed by Japanese feather poachers in the early 1900s. A cocklebur plant was introduced to the island, probably carried on someone's socks, and began to crowd out the native vegetation in the process, destroying the habitat for nesting birds.
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| The white sandy beach at Laysan Island is home to monk seals, a variety of birds and four members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. |
The U.S. spent a bundle of money to eradicate the cocklebur, with the goal of restoring the ecosystem. The island is home to the rare Laysan teal. The Laysan albatross and the black-footed albatross have large nesting colonies here. Because of the sensitive ecology, visitors are not permitted on the island.
Via satellite telephone in the afternoon, our weatherman warns us of trouble ahead. A 20-mile wide band of squalls lies in our path. By 4 p.m., we are underway again, now aiming for Pearl & Hermes Reef, 295 miles away. By going slowly, we could safely cover the entire distance to Midway without refueling, but decide to radio Midway Sportfishing. They will meet us with additional fuel at Pearl & Hennes Reef.
Lumpy seas return, making for an uncomfortable night passage. Rain pelts us sporadically throughout the night. This is one of the roughest - and wettest - evenings we have spent afloat. No one sleeps well.
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| Day 7, Thursday afternoon: refueling at Pearl & Hermes Reef. |
Thursday, September 10 (Day 7).
Morning seas are running approximately 10 feet and steep. It's a wet and roily ride to Pearl & Hermes Reef. Cells of rain surround us. By 11 a.m., however, we are through the storm system. The sun is out, and the seas have lain down. We are all feeling good again.
Around noon, the Glacier Bay 2680 finally runs its huge auxiliary tank dry. 'Me fuel line plumbing is fouled on this boat, too, and the time has come to fix it. Graf swims over to the boat to make repairs. An hour later, we are on our way again. We arrive at Pearl & Hermes Reef at 2:30 p.m.
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| A newborn sea turtle on Tern Island. This one lost its way. Wayward turtles are collected in the morning and held for release after nightfall when chances of survival are greatest. |
The refueling boat from Midway is a 38 foot Bertram. We have some fresh sandwiches, cold drinks and cookies aboard the Bertram and then spend the afternoon fishing. This place is famous for ulua (giant trevally). Fish in the 100-pound range are common. We catch and release ulua until we are numb.
We raft up for the evening with the Bertram (named Yorktown for the U.S. aircraft carrier that was sunk in the Battle of Midway). We have the luxuries of air conditioning, a hot dinner, cold beer and a shower.
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| The rusty seawall at Tern Island is slowly disintegrating, allowing the sea to reclaim the island. |
Pearl & Hennes Reef got its name in 1822 when two English whaling ships ran aground here on the same night. There are numerous islets on this atoll, which serve as home to several species of seabirds. A few Laysan finches survive here after being transplanted over 35 years ago.
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| Day 8, Friday afternoon: A photo to commemorate our arrival at Midway Island. |
Friday, September 11 (Day 8).
From Pearl & Hermes Reef, it is a 102mile hop to Midway. We sleep until 7:30 a.m. and by 8:30 we are catching fish along the 17-mile length of the reef. Around mid-morning we move out to deeper water for a marlin, but no luck. At noon, we head for Midway, stopping to fish a couple of times along the way.
At 5:30 p.m., the boating portion of our trip comes to a conclusion, as we arrive at Midway Island.
There are very few trailerable-size hulls that I am willing to take hundreds of miles offshore. The hull must certainly be seaworthy. But it should be reasonably comfortable, too. The 26-foot hull from Monroe, Washington-based Glacier Bay Catamarans (360-794-0444) fills the bill.
The catamaran design has a very sharp entry forward that flattens out to a small planing surface at the aft end of each hull. The hull does not ride on top of the water, but knifes through it with lift assisted by a cushion of air passing through the tunnel between the twin hulls. The result is a stationary platform with an easy motion and riding qualities that are tough to beat.
In turns, the Glacier Bay corners flat. Turning requires some steering wheel effort and cornering response does not match that of V-bottom hulls. The Glacier Bay hull also has some side-to-side wander that will correct itself if the steering wheel is left alone.
Both the 2680 and the 260 boats are rated to carry a maximum of twin 150hp engines, The twin 130hp Hondas did an excellent job and pushed the hulls to a top speed of 38 mph when loaded in a normal fashion.
When we left Tern Island both boats were approximately 2500 pounds over the boats' rated load capacity of 2000 pounds. That is a whopping overload, and the Glacier Bays handled this with surprising ease. There was a bit more wallowing from side to side and the boats set low in the water. Also, there was little space for air to pass under the hulls, and this created a tendency to blow a fine mist spray out the front of the tunnel. As we burned off fuel and the load lightened, the boats became dryer, better riding and their top-notch handling returned.
After spending more than nine days aboard these boats, I do have some bones to pick. Seating is adequate for most day and weekend use. But the seats in the 2680 walkaround are not comfortable for long-distance cruising, and the port seat lacks a footrest to brace yourself in rough conditions. The 260 center console had a leaning post seat that was worse yet. After a week in salty clothes, there was some serious bottom chafage (and I'm not talking about the boat's bottom).
The 130hp four-stroke outboards from Duluth, Georgia-based Honda Marine (770-497-6066) performed so well that it is hard to find something to say about them. The only time the hoods came off was to check the oil each morning. Oil consumption was modest and uniform. Each engine burned approximately 1 quart of oil during the entire trip. The engines ran consistently in the 4100-to4500rpm range most of the day with no signs of stress or strain. They were operated at just off idle (1600 rpm) for hours on end while we motored slowly through the night, and not once did they bog down or stall.
The Glacier Bay boats performed to our highest expectations and the Honda 130s never missed a beat from the moment they were started. As luck would have, we had plenty of fuel to make the final leg and as an interesting side note, the Yorktown - the Bertram that refueled us at Pearl & Hennes - ran out of fuel herself just a few miles short of Midway. She received a tow from a sister ship. She received a tow from a sister ship.
Upon arriving at Midway we enjoyed several days on the island. At that point in out lives, the news was no longer important and nobody cared where the stock market was going. We read the newspaper only for the comics and the crossword puzzles. The history the biology' friendliness of the people, the beauty and serenity that we found in this idyllic place made the hustle and bustle of everyday life seem somewhat meaningless.
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| This memorial remembers the Battle of Midway, a pivotal naval engagement during World War II. |
Most Americans associate Midway Island with the Battle of Midway, a pivotal naval engagement during World War 11. In fact, the battle took place several miles offshore. With a U.S. victory, the island became a strategic air base in the Pacific campaign.
In 1988, the island was designated as a National Wildlife Refuge, and the U. S. Navy closed its base in September 1993. In October 1996, management of Midway was assigned to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.
Full-time residents on the island number approximately 150. This includes personnel from Fish and Wildlife. There is no crime on the island, everyone is very friendly and the atmosphere is laid back. Visitors on the island are limited to 100 at any one time.
Many of the military buildings have been torn down but some of the barracks have been remodeled into a comfortable hotel. The accommodations are basic, but clean and comfortable. Island transportation is primarily by bicycle but you can rent an electric cart. The island is fairly flat, so pedaling uphill is not a problem.
What is there to see? Midway is for the birds. During most seasons, gooney birds (albatross) prevail. Midway is home to some of the world's largest albatross nesting colonies. There is also an abundance of white terns, red-tailed tropicbirds, black noddies, Bonin petrels and wedgetailed shearwaters. Other common animals on the island are monk seals and green sea turtles.
The primary activities for visitors are fishing, diving and snorkeling. Midway Sportfishing has two 38-foot Bertrams and three Glacier Bay boats, fully outfitted with top-notch tackle. Sportfishing, however, is strictly controlled. The angler is permitted to keep one fish per day for consumption on the island. Fishing is world class with many records already set here.
The dive shop is fully equipped and a dive boat is available for taking groups to areas on the reef. Snorkelers may take one lobster a day, but scuba divers must leave the lobsters alone.
To learn more about Midway, contact: Midway Sportfishing, Inc., Dept. TBM, 3 East Broad St., Newnan, GA 30264; 770-254-8326 or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Midway Island Station No. 4, c/o Midway Phoenix Corporation, P.O. Box 29460. Honolulu, HI 96820; 808/541-2749.
