Melancholy Reflections

When I arrived at the pier this morning, some old graphic panels in the maritime museum had been moved and were visible through the glass panes facing the ship. Seeing them made me sad. Aside from the Falls and a few displays in Aloha Tower, what (or who) remains to tell the stories of an important part of Hawai‘i’s maritime history?

I spent some time in the aftpeak with the student who is working on the photography project. It was soothing to hear the sound of the moving water on the other side of the hull (we were below the waterline) and the old girl “talking” as she rocked gently. The visual aspect, was another story. While fascinating in its own way, it is quite sobering.

Sigh.

On a lighter note, the birds continue to leave gifts on the deck. A new type of nut/seed:

Can anyone ID?

Lunchtime for the Coast Guard folks on duty:

Detail of a part of a barge:

Holiday Ship Spotting

Rather than spending my holiday sitting at home in front of the computer, I returned to the harbor.

The Coast Guard ships were looking very sharp, dressed with flags. Here’s USCGC Rush:

The usual barge traffic. Some boats on Ho‘omaka Hou:

USCGC Spar:

“O STAR” no more! The painters were busy painting on the rest of the letters (a bit crooked) in her name:

Tosakaien Maru rat guard:

Despite the blustery wind, it was a nice day, so I decided to go walking. Instead of one of my usual routes toward ‘Ewa, I went to Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park.

A different view of Mindoro Star. The painters were definitey busy:

Some kids were jumping into a fenced off drainage canal. Not a good idea. Who knows where the run-off is coming from!

Cranes left at the Ehime Maru memorial:

After basking for a while in the sun on top of one of the hills, I continued on to Kewalo Basin.

Did I mention it was (and still is) windy?

I was sad to discover that Kula Kai was gone. I looked around, but didn’t see her anywhere.

Her berth, next to the modern sampan Nisei, is now occupied by Betty H:

I hadn’t heard any news of her removal. A quick Google doesn’t turn up anything. She was in very poor shape, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they finally got rid of her.

Another vessel in sad shape is Vida Mia:

She needs a lot of TLC and varnish!

Here’s some info on her from WoodenBoat magazine’s website: Vida Mia

Winter Weather

Got a taste of winter weather…rainy and slightly chilly.

The rain meant that tasks like painting and varnishing stuff on deck couldn’t be done. Oh well. Lots of other things to work on!

I checked for leaks and placed buckets, as I usually do when it rains. They inevitably get used or moved around when they are dry and empty. To try to stop this from happening, I started writing “Rain Bucket – Do Not Move” on them as I set them out this morning. That got old really fast, so I decided to do something else.

Since I’ve been studying the condition of other ships’ chafing gear, I thought that it was important to see to FOC’s.

The bollards are in awkward places, so FOC’s mooring lines aren’t ideally placed. For example these rub against the rail along the edge of the pier:

I can’t remember when we put this set of chafing gear on, but they needed replacing as they were worn through.

Old gear and twine removed:

New gear in place:

I was visited by a male sparrow, who thought standing on one of the lines was a good thing:

While taking a short break, I spotted a spotted porcupine fish (the pale blob). Unfortunately, the camera focused on the rusty ladder instead of the fish:

Here’s a slightly better shot:

I watched Mokihana pull away from Pier 1. She was facing the wrong direction, so she had to turn around in order to leave the harbor.

Mikioi assisting Mokihana:

Finally, the decommissioned Coast Guard cutter Jarvis leaving the harbor:

Back to the Harbor

Two Royal New Zealand Navy ships arrived this morning.

The first was the frigate, HMNZS Te Kaha:

I’m not sure what this is, but it reminded me of Bender from Futurama:

I like the kiwi:

The second ship was the tanker, HMNZS Endeavour (good name):

Deploying a fender:

Meanwhile, there was this stream of water. I assume it was coming from the fireboat.

The USCG was zipping around:

Nice to see a big needlefish:

After playing photographer, I went to the ship to put a second coat of varnish on the rail.

Harbor Activity

I went down to the harbor an hour earlier than usual in order to watch the arrival of the French navy ship La Tapageuse. More about that later.

While I was waiting at Pier 9, the following vessels (among others) went by:

Pride of America arriving:

USCG Coastal Patrol Boat Kittiwake:

Matson’s barge Waialeale with Sause Bros. tug Henry Sr.:

The Matson logo on the side of Waialeale needs fixing. The “M” and “n” are too heavy and the other letters seem a little bit off too:

Na‘ina:

Finally, La Tapageuse, from Tahiti on the way to France:

From what I read online, this voyage is the ship’s last commission.

Throwing a heaving line:

Line handling:

Taking photos from hatch:

Trois Matelots:

US Navy representatives visit the ship:

Progress! I’m Happy!

What can I say? Paul is awesome! He set up, rewired, and tested one of the high volume pumps today.

Working on the wiring:

Primed and ready for testing:

The green hoses are temporary. We usually use them with the submersibles we have on board.

Huzzah! Water flowing!

The holes were cut in the deck for the old pump system (taken apart by the previous owner).

I don’t want to jinx things…but maybe, just maybe, the new system will be up and running by mid-July? Fingers crossed. Feeling hopeful.

A peek into the aftpeak area:

The water isn’t supposed to be there. Neither is the shovel.

Egg on deck:

Maybe it goes with the nest from the other week?

Yes, time to clean the area. Haven’t done so in a few weeks and it shows.

A shot of our lovely, clear harbor water, looking down from the bow of the ship:

And finally, the Coast Guard patrolling the area by the ship:

They didn’t have their gun mounted on the boat today.

War of 1812: Their legacy our heritage « Coast Guard Compass

War of 1812: Their legacy our heritage « Coast Guard Compass.

APEC Affects Honolulu Harbor

It was a pleasant surprise to see the Robert C. Seamans at Pier 9 when I arrived at Pier 7 this morning.

Here is the ship partially hidden behind the Red Dolphin, as seen from FOC:

Too bad about the Nadezhda, though. It would have been cool to have three sailing ships in the harbor!

The chafing gear seems to be okay, which is a relief. I started working on another one for mooring lines on the starboard side of the ship.

Security was tightened in the harbor due to APEC.

A Homeland Security vehicle at Pier 8:

A US Coast Guard boat on patrol taken through one of FOC’s portholes:

In addition to starting on the chafing gear, I painted over the rust converter treated areas on the rail:

It looks kind of spotty. Maybe I should have just painted the whole thing?

The Satsumaseiun Maru was also at Pier 9. I posted a photo of one of her rat guards before. Here is one example of her chafing gear. It looks like they are using old nets:

The USCG along with the harbor police:

Work being done aloft on the Robert C. Seamans:

And fruit:

A few limes would have been pretty!

And did I mention the USCG?

Lazy and Distracted

A tough work week (a lot of stress, very little sleep) definitely took its toll on me. I wanted to get a lot accomplished today, but I just didn’t have the energy.

The morning started off with a visit from Paul in the pilot boat. We had a brief chat about a project he is working on for us on FOC and then he was on his way.

It rained last night and this morning, so I checked a bucket in one of the cabins. There was water, but less than I had expected to see! That made me happy.

I touched up some areas in the elastomeric coating on the poop deck. I was going to work on applying some of the coating to part of the port side of the fo’c'sle, but got distracted by the build up of bird droppings on the deck above.

I usually try to clean the droppings every week. However, I’ve been neglecting the area, and it shows. Armed with scraper, broom, scrub brush, and a bucket of water, I set to work. Although it was hot and dirty work, it was actually a nice change from getting covered with grey elastomeric stuff.

Starting the cycle again:

There was quite a bit of traffic in the harbor today, with a variety of vessels leaving, arriving, and shifting locations. I had printed out the shipping schedule (yeah, what a geek), so I was keeping an eye out for interesting ships.

The tanker Chang Hang Xing Yun:

Pilot boat (hi Paul!) speeding by Chang Hang Xing Yun. If you look carefully at the upper left corner, you can see some of the tanker’s crew.

Tira Lani and a USCG Response Boat:

Green Cove:

Various Bits from the Harbor

I had help yesterday, so the elastomeric coat on the poop deck is basically done. There are areas that need touching up, but I think it looks a lot better. Hopefully, the coating will do its job and keep the rain out.

Here’s the Star of Honolulu squeezing back in to her berth at Pier 8. Sometimes it looks like she is getting a bit too close for comfort. To be fair, she is angled to avoid a smaller vessel moored just makai of her spot.

A bit of a change from container ships and tankers…here’s the Hsun Hu No. 7 approaching Pier 9.* She is a Republic of China coast guard ship out of Kaohsiung. I’ve been there and have fond memories of the city. A lifetime ago it seems…

*The WordPress template has cropped off part of the image at the right of the photo. The original is framed better!

An interesting feature of the ship is this electronic sign:

One of her rat guards, shiny but plain:

To continue with the coast guard theme, here’s the USCGC Rush arriving:

(Tempted to Photoshop in a line leading from the small coast guard boat to the ship!)

Finally, more bird photos. In a previous post, I mentioned the cheeky sparrows landing on FOC’s mooring line as we were putting on the chafing gear. It seems that another thing they like doing is clinging to the wall overlooking the harbor. Maybe they like copying the a‘ama crabs that are the masters of scaling the wall?

Peeking out from a hole (pipe opening?) in the wall: