Morning at the Harbor and Kaiwo Maru

I went down to the harbor to watch the arrival of Kaiwo Maru.

Workers repairing Pier 8:

Naina headed out:

The observation area of Aloha Tower provides good views.

Matsonia and Mokihana:

American Challenger:

Kaiwo Maru approaching the harbor, with pilot boat Honolulu returning and tug Mamo waiting:

Kaiwo Maru with Mamo at the bow:

Approaching Pier 10/11:

Standing by forward:

ASD Neil Abercrombie (Tiger 1) at the stern:

Job done:

Traditional gear, Shonan Maru:

Out of the blue, I was offered the opportunity to go aboard Kaiwo Maru in the evening! Some photos follow.

Double wheel at the stern:

View forward from the bridge:

Looking aft along the port side:

The obligatory rigging shot:

Capstan detail:

Pin rail:

Classroom area:

Sails stowed down below:

Gangway:

Goodnight!

Big mahalo to Monique Acosta from Transmarine for the invite! I had a wonderful time on board the ship.

Waiting for the Dawn and an Ending

Thanks to a heads up from Captain Ed Enos, I was able to make it down to the harbor to catch the final journey of Pacific Shipyards International’s (PSI) dry dock Kāpilipono.

In “better” days:

Resting on the bottom after she sank last year:

I arrived at the harbor while it was still dark.

Japanese training ships Tosakaien Maru and Hokuho Maru at Pier 9:

The cruise ships usually arrive early in the morning. Here’s Ruby Princess:

Not the greatest photo, but here comes the sun (and I say it’s all right):

Tying up Ruby Princess at Pier 10/11:

Clear and calm water (Tosakaien Maru bow):

Fellow photographer on board Ruby Princess:

View down the channel:

After a bit of a wait, Kāpilipono appeared, towed by Manuokekai and assisted by Mamo and Mikioi.

Passing the Matson gantry cranes:

The tugs were joined by Hoku Loa before passing Aloha Tower. At this point I was very lucky to be invited to hop on the pilot boat.

The Coast Guard making sure everything is all right:

Mikioi on the port side:

Captain Enos up on the dry dock wall:

Leaving the harbor with Ruby Princess and Aloha Tower in the background:

Manuokekai ahead:

Hoku Loa astern:

One could not have asked for a better day. Sunny, clear, and calm.

Aloha, Kāpilipono:

She was towed 12 miles offshore and scuttled.

Meanwhile, life continued on in the harbor.

Miyagi Maru, waiting offshore while Kāpilipono was being towed out, was finally able to enter the harbor:

Kwai at the pier, almost ready to leave with a load of cargo:

Containers being unloaded from Matson’s Haleakala:

Ocean Pathfinder arrived with a barge:

Ice for the fishing boats:

Literally, a cool job.

Moving containers:

Mahalo to Captain Enos, Captain Collins, and Paul.

Nippon Maru

I took the morning off from work to watch the arrival of Nippon Maru. I got to the harbor shortly after sunrise. I love the light at that time of day.

Paradise Ace:

Harbour Loyalty and Tacoma Trader:

Mokihana arriving:

Mamo at the bow:

Looking along the hull from Pi‘ilani:

Aloha Tower from alongside Pier 10:

Kawika passing by, waiting for the pilot:

Getting the line back:

I like how the shape of the building echoes the masts:

From Nippon Maru it was over to Paradise Ace:

Scuppers:

Another view of Nippon Maru dwarfed by the buildings of downtown Honolulu:

Mahalo to Rick Wilson and Michael MacDonald. Special thanks to Captain Kahoekapu.

From the Tower…Mostly Matson

Matsonia stuck at Pier 10 (better that than out at sea)…poor girl. I went to have a look at her.

It’s rare to see a Matson stack towering over Pier 10 these days.

There was quite a bit of traffic while I was up on Aloha Tower.

Mokihana leaving a little late:

Pi‘ilani:

Passing JRS Canis with Maui waiting off shore:

Mikioi:

Honolulu:

Maui with Mokihana in the distance:

Nice to see the Coast Guard cutter Morgenthau again (back from shipyard in the Bay Area):

USCGC Sherman with Jag Laxmi in the distance:

Kokua with Mauna Loa:

Mikiala II:

Going to assist Moana Holo with Maka‘ala:

Last…the dorms are close to becoming a reality.

Crazy.

(shakes head and walks away)

Mixed Emotions

Mirroring the weather—cloudy with rain then changing to sunshine then back to cloudy—yesterday was a day of mixed emotions.

I went to Pier 9 to get pics of the arrival of the Japan Coast Guard training ship Kojima.

Moana Holo on the move:

Kojima approaching Pier 9:

Cadets standing at attention:

Ready with a heaving line:

Fender ready:

Attaching safety netting to the gangway:

Pilot boat Honolulu arriving to pick up the pilot:

A glance over the harbor from Aloha Tower reveals the changes going on.

New location for Atlantis operations:

Interesting ship of the day was the French cable laying ship, Ile de Sein.

There was a fire on board the vessel a few days ago. She will remain in the harbor until repairs are made.

Detail of equipment on deck:

Ile de Sein by Aloha Tower:

A side note about the ship. She was involved in the effort to recover the flight data recorders from Air France flight 447. The aircraft went down in the Atlantic during a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Unfortunately, there were no survivors.

More from gCaptain: Cable laying vessel “Ile De Sein” selected to recover Air France flight 447 data recorder

In terms of the mixed emotions…I’ll cover that in my next post.

Too Nice to Stay Home

I really should have been doing some housework, but yesterday was such a lovely day!

First stop was FOC. Old habits die hard.

I was curious to see if anything was going on. No one was there. 😦 Shame, as it was a perfect day to do work on deck. Oh well. Moving on…

Natoma was heading out:

Star Princess was at Pier 10.

Rat guards:

Stack detail:

Reflection:

While I was up on the Aloha Tower observation deck, a lovely family from Boston asked me where Diamond Head was.

Oh…it’s over…there…oh…hmm…

They showed me the text in the tourist publication that said one could see Diamond Head from the tower.

I admit that I was quite dismayed that all that was visible through all of the buildings was just a small slice of mountain. No wonder they were confused!

Nakolo at Pier 14:

School of papio:

Poor Moku Ahi. I guess someone is looking after her though. Still shiny:

Jury-rig fence repair with part of an old fan, producing something that looks like a steel spider’s web:

Ao Shibi IV:

Didn’t I say it was a nice day? Look at how clear the mountains are!

Gasp! A flying thing! Hawaiian Airlines plane overhead:

Ocean Pathfinder heading past Mokihana:

I saw something moving in the water. At first I thought it might be a sea turtle, but it wasn’t behaving like one:

My best guess from what I saw…some sort of large ray?

Mikioi and the mystery animal in the foreground:

Mikioi again with Mokihana shifting to Pier 32:

Horizon Lines gantry crane at work unloading Horizon Spirit:

As I was watching Mokihana, a fishing boat arrived at the pier. There were already a number of boats tied up and the captain was trying to squeeze in to the space that was left. The maritime version of parallel parking.

This was not a good idea:

Away From Land

My land-based existence proved to be a bit of a downer this past Saturday. It wasn’t the best way to end a busy week.

As usual, I sought solace at the harbor.

I left the house early (still dark) Sunday morning because a ship I wanted to see was supposed to leave at 0700.

“Here comes the sun, and I say it’s all right…”

Fresh air, calm sea, clear sky, quiet pier. How can one not feel at peace?

I even had a little friend to keep me company for a little while!

0700 came and went. No Seiyo Pioneer. Hm.

That’s okay. There was the tanker Hai Soon 39:

Since it was such a nice day and I wasn’t ready to head home, I went to Kewalo Basin.

I was sad to see that the old Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant had been reduced to a few piles of rubble:

I guess it was really showing its age, but still…

I still didn’t want to go home, so I asked if I could ride along on the pilot boat for the afternoon Matson job (Manoa arrival).

Needs a bit of rust-busting:

This trip was a bit special as Manoa was sporting a Christmas tree!

(Yes, she was carrying a shipment of trees.)

A closer look at the tree:

Mikioi at the bow:

Pi‘ilani:

Turning the ship:

I got to see Seiyo Pioneer after all:

Pi‘ilani at the stern with the crew on the ship waiting to lower the line:

Leaving the harbor behind:

Pilot ladder set up on the port side, taken from pilot boat Kawika with Captain Fikes Mauia at the wheel:

Mahalo to Captains Tom Heberle and Al Dorflinger. Special thanks to Captain Mauia for making the good shots possible and for the interesting conversation.

A side note—Captain Mauia also rescued this shearwater that he saw in the water in the harbor. It was unable to get airborne.

Good job!

ETA: Please see the graphic below from the Hawai‘i Wildlife Center for information about how you can help save downed seabirds.

Cuauhtémoc Arrival – Honolulu Harbor

Monday was grand!

I took the day off from work to catch the arrival of the Mexican navy’s sail training ship, Cuauhtémoc. I was very fortunate to be allowed to do this from Foss’ Mikioi, the tug scheduled to assist the ship.

Although it was still hot, humid, and hazy, it was lovely and calm out on the water.

Heading out, we were escorted by a pod of spinner dolphins:

I will never get tired of seeing a sailing ship at sea. They are things of beauty.

Some views of Cuauhtémoc offshore:

Passing the sea buoy, with Diamond Head in the distance:

As the ship neared the harbor, the crew went aloft to man the yards:

Entering the harbor:

Yards manned:

Captain Ed Enos was the pilot:

There was some confusion as to the time the ship was supposed to arrive at the pier, so we had to kill a bit of time in the harbor.

As a result, the crews of the Shin Oita Maru and Miyagi Maru at Pier 9 and the visitors on board the cruise ship Oosterdam, got a good look at the ship:

I got in some ship spotting.

Oosterdam at Pier 10:

High Endurance heading out:

Tug Pi‘ilani and pilot boat Kawika:

Crew members hauling the line from Mikioi aboard the ship:

Captain Kea Makekau carefully maneuvering Mikioi, per instructions from Captain Enos, to gently push the ship alongside Pier 8:

We returned to Pier 21. I was happy to get a peek at Mikioi‘s engine room before going ashore. 😀

After saying goodbye to new friends, I walked over to Aloha Tower.

Oosterdam‘s rat guards and bulbous bow:

Cuauhtémoc‘s crew attending to the figurehead (of Cuauhtémoc), part of preparing the ship to receive visitors:

One of Cuauhtémoc‘s rat guards:

Finally, I went over to Pier 7 to have a brief look at my ship. Poor girl. Forlorn…

Mahalo to Rick Wilson and Captain Whit Olson of Foss Maritime/Young Brothers. Also, thanks to Captain Ed Enos. Special thanks to Captain Kea Makekau, who made the photos possible!

Still Catching Up – Friday Off (September 12)

Spent the day off from work down at the harbor looking at ships.

It was nice seeing a female ‘iwa soaring around:

First ship of the day was Eagle Express:

Mamo at the bow:

I had some time to kill before the next ship arrived, so I decided to go up to the observation deck of Aloha Tower.

The HPU dorm project continues. Workers re-roofing the buildings:

One of the Superferry barges has disappeared:

Miss Benedetta anchored offshore:

Honolulu Harbor channel with Nord Steady in the distance:

Nord Steady:

Mamo again:

Bow close ups are always fun:

Noke and Namahoe (looked like a photo shoot):

Noke:

Moving a catamaran out of the dry dock:

Last ship of the day, BBC Bulgaria:

Harbor rock with a face:

Kind of reminds me of the kodama in Princess Mononoke…

At Aloha Tower

I had some time to kill, so I went up to the 10th floor observation deck of Aloha Tower…a lonely sentinel in the midst of a maze of construction barricades.

What looks like a nice jacuzzi for two on A:

(Nice job varnish job on the rail.)

Light Maui with some work being done at the stern:

There goes Honolulu:

How long before that decaying corner of the pier falls in?

Back at ground level…the target of the day, Satsumaseiun Maru, along with Honolulu and Maui:

Wild Thing (no pic) is still tied up right at the middle of Pier 9. A bit awkward.

Approaching the pier, the crew at their stations:

Getting a fender ready:

Love the traditional hitching.

Ready with a heaving line:

Captain Anzai (no, I don’t know him, I just read his name tag) and pilot, Captain Tom Collins:

Nice smile!

Job done!

Passing by Robert C. Seamans, saw this fish tail at the end of the bowsprit: