Maui

Do Whale Sightings Require Losing an Anchor!? Apparently so!

In 2018, we sailed to Southeast Alaska on Uncruise Safari Endeavor. (see our Alaska report here) One day, the anchor got stuck and could not be raised. We spent a good part of day, stuck at anchor instead of cruising for "charismatic megafuana" in the inside passage. (This is Uncruise speak for larger marine mammals and land mammals, things that realllly get people excited, like whales and bears!) While we awaited a solution to the "stuck" anchor in Alaska, the "charismatic mega fauna" came to US! And the sunset created the most amazing scenery. Despite being initially disappointed that the ship was "stuck", the evening turned out to be amazing BECAUSE we were "stuck" in the middle of the most amazing landscapes and habitat! Finally, the anchor was "cut" and we made our way onto Glacier Bay!

Our trip to Hawaii was our third, very successful Uncruise, the Uncruise in Baja went off without a hitch, so we never expected to lose yet ANOTHER anchor in Hawaii!

We spent several days cruising in the so called “Hawaiian Bathtub, an area of the Pacific Ocean surrounded by the islands of Molokai, Lanai, Maui and the uninhabited island of Kaho’olawe. The area is generally very calm because the islands create an area of calm by blocking wind and capturing weather systems so they don’t make it to the water.

The plan had been for the Safari Explorer to anchor for the night. The captain was aware of a storm arriving and carefully considered the weather when deciding where to anchor, choosing to anchor in the lee of one of the inhabited islands where we could ride out the storm in relative calm. Unfortunately, the storm changed direction and while we were at anchor overnight, we rolled and pitched with the storm all night long.

I was rolling like a hot dog in a frying pan all night long!

Many passengers were sick and took medication, fortunately, we never felt ill, but I also couldn't sleep because of all the motion. At one point we heard a huge snapping sound, that we couldn't identify. Was it a wave that hit us or debris? We stayed safely in our bed, to avoid falling and limited trips to the bathroom, holding onto fixed furniture to move through the cabin if we had to move.

…he decided to move towards Kaho’olawe the uninhabited, no go island!!

In the morning, we could feel the ship moving in the storm and things started to calm down a bit. The captain came on the loudspeaker and we learned the anchor line had snapped. The captain didn't feel it was safe to move the ship in the dark, but at dawn he decided to move towards Kaho’olawe the uninhabited, no go island!!

What, you've never heard of Kaho’olawe Island?! Well, there's a reason for that! During WWII the uninhabited island of Kaho'olawe was used for target practice. There is unexploded ordinance all over the island and in the water around the island. The Coast Guard determined that both the island and a large area around it are off limits to boats anchoring or landings because of the possibility of unexploded ordinance on the island or in the water. While learning about all the islands in this area, we were told that Kaho’olawe island is known as the “no go” island and we stayed far away from it during our explorations in the water snorkeling or kayaking.

It also happened to be one of the only places we could go to avoid the wind and high water, because of the direction of the storm. After consultation with the CG, it was decided that Safari Explorer could go there, since there was no anchor to drop, thus no danger to the ship and passengers.

Captain made an announcement for us to continue to stay in our cabins and preferably, safely in our beds, while the storm continued. The captain ensured us that because we didn’t have an anchor, we would be safe! His plan was to move the ship into the lee of an island and trawl slowly in calmer waters so the crew could get up and prepare breakfast and we could regroup.

Around 9:30 AM, the captain had moved the ship to calmer waters and announced anyone who felt well enough could come down to breakfast and anyone who wasn't feeling well could remain in their cabin and crew would be around to check on them, provide foo or medicine, any clean up needed.

A half an hour later, every passenger came down to breakfast. Many described a rough night, but they all showed up! We felt grateful we had not felt sick during the storm and we were encouraged that we might be ok on our next expedition cruise in Antarctica where rough waters can be expected!

The captain … said we were a “salty group” to endure the night we had and still show up for breakfast…

The captain took our photo because he said we were a “salty group” to endure the night we had and still show up for breakfast, and he wanted to send a photo to his son! He briefed us on what had happened. When the anchor snapped, he dropped a pin so he could recover the anchor later (which was in relatively shallow water)

Just as in Alaska, lose an anchor...find whales!!

This time the ship were able to move, so despite canceled morning plans, we went whale watching and had our first sighting of “charismatic mega fauna” ! We found a group of humpbacks breaching and then later a mother and a calf.

Watching a calf is always rewarding- especially since they surface so frequently! We enjoyed watching the mother whale guide her baby.

We ended our dramatic time in Maui with an anchor recovered, amazing whale sightings and with an outside bar on the top deck. We were also rewarded with an amazing Hawaiian sunset- just like the LAST time we lost an anchor!