Divine Ace and Noordam

Divine Ace a little ahead of schedule. I made it just in time to get some shots before she left the harbor.

Noordam heaving line stuck:

Rat guards:

Crew member adjusting rat guards:

Noordam bow:

A group of crocodile needlefish hanging around:

Past Weekend – Vessels and Fauna

Adjusting fenders between Fukushima Maru and the pier:

Nakolo:

Mumbai:

Mamo:

“Why, hello little pilot boat.” Pi‘ilani and Kawika:

Harbor mamo and papio mingle:

Also spotted in the harbor…uh oh…a roi or peacock grouper (Cephalopholis argus), which is an invasive species:

Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) looking for a meal:

I Should be Working…

…but I went to the harbor instead. What a surprise.

Hai Soon 39:

Ooo…barracuda…

Lots of them in the harbor.

Mysterious, small, orange floats by Pier 15:

Weeks tug and barge:

Noho Loa in a hurry:

O.M. Humorum with Tira Lani and Mikioi:

Not a very good photo. Oh well.

February Ends, March Begins

I came down with a bad cold, so I wasn’t feeling up to posting these earlier.

SATURDAY

Something different. False kamani (Terminalia catalpa) leaves:

Cruising around, looking for food:

Noke’s stern:

Someone missing a shoe?

American Contender detail:

SUNDAY

I’m not sure if this is the best solution, but at least someone did something about the boat:

Waiting for BBC Shanghai to leave:

Or, maybe not.

Mamo arriving to assist:

Or, maybe not.

Well…that was a waste of time.

Nunui:

Mikioi assisting Manoa:

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:

Brief Visit to the Harbor

A few pics from Saturday.

Fishing boat Lady Mocha I:

Small cargo ship CRS Rebecca:

Three large crocodile needlefish:

Spotted boxfish:

Spawning wana (sea urchin):

Portrait of a spotted dove:

Spring Line – Redux

Adjustments made to the “new” spring line.

Much better. The other old line should be changed as well.

A school of papio was hanging around between the hull of the ship and the pier:

Ooo Shiny!

I’m still unhappy about things in general. However, Saturday was a good day.

I left the house with the new grinder tucked away in my tool bag. Before going to the ship, I stopped by Lowe’s to look for a flap disc for it. They had some, but not the right kind to fit my grinder. Bummer. A short walk down the street to City Mill…success!

I wasn’t in a hurry, so I decided to get some exercise and walked from City Mill to the ship.

On the way, I saw a large school of aholehole:

In a previous post, I mentioned the hull and frame samples. Here’s what they look like:

The one on the left is from the frame and the one on the right is from the hull.

My task for the day was related to the samples. I have been speaking with Vern Mesler, who has been very generous with his time in terms of giving me information about dealing with wrought iron.

He was curious about the physical structure of the ship’s iron and suggested that I do the field ID procedure specified in one of the documents on his website:

Field Identification of Wrought Iron

Grinder time!

Safety gear is important:

The last time I used a grinder was a few years ago for cutting, not grinding. So, this was something new. It took a little getting used to again, but it was satisfying to do something different.

While I was working on the tween deck, a visitor to the ship appeared. It was a pleasure to finally meet Rick Wilson, whom I got to know via Facebook. We chatted briefly about some of the issues the ship faces. I’m looking forward to more discussions.

Back to work!

Being a grinding newbie, the job I did wasn’t the best, but it will do for the moment.

Frame:

The new toy:

Lovely End to a Long, Unhappy Week

The past week was another unhappy, long, and stressful one. Still unhappy for the same reasons. I’m not sure what to do, if anything, about it all. Walking away from a tough situation is not in my character, but it’s so damn tempting.

Yesterday wasn’t a typical Saturday. I arrived at the ship at my usual time. However, I didn’t stay very long as I had made a last-minute appointment to see a doctor for something that was bugging me.

Near the ship, a trumpet fish was floating head down, trying to be stealthy:

Maybe hiding amongst some debris will help?

A young crocodile needlefish was having better luck at looking stick-like;

A good-sized omilu (wrasse for scale) visiting the cleaning station at the end of the pier:

I managed to get some shots of MTM Antwerp arriving before I had to dash off for my appointment:

Since it was such a nice day, I decided to return to the harbor area. I walked from Aloha Tower to Pier 38.

Malolo flying:

I picked up some tarred seine twine at POP:

Mmmm…poke bowl from Nico’s for lunch:

I have to admit, it was a nice change of scenery.

It seems the fish are making a comeback from the molasses spill. Here’s a juvenile sailfin tang:

I also saw a large crocodile needlefish, two barracudas, and a nice school of something…could have been aholehole.

A couple of ‘a‘ama were facing off on the rocks:

(The one on the right won.)

I was there in time for another ship-spotting opportunity. Symi was shifting from Matson’s pier to Horizon’s.

Needed three tugs (Pi‘ilani, Mamo, and Mikioi – not in photo above), due to engine trouble, I understand.

So close and yet so far…

Honolulu approaching the pier.

I wasn’t expecting a ride, but was offered one. Gladly accepted!

YB barge Kala‘enalu:

Fishing boat Princess Jasmine at sea:

Captain Lenny Stenback and Maui:

Back in the harbor and trailing behind another YB barge, Ha‘aheo:

Nothing like a nice day in pleasant company to raise one’s spirits!

Mahalo to Captains Sinclair Brown, Lenny Stenback, and Paul!

Unhappy Week

Yeah. It was bad.

I really considered whether things are still worth the frustration and bad feelings. Up to now, I’ve always said “yes” without hesitation. Now, I’m not so sure.

One thing that came out if it, was a clear indication and understanding of where I stand. It’s not in a good place. I don’t like it. However, there is nothing I can do about it. I can’t change people. I can only change myself and the way I think.

I take comfort in the support of friends and those who know and understand old ships (you know who you are). That support is precious and I thank you. It’s kept me from walking away.

Anyway…enough doom and gloom.

A mishmash of things today.

Another rivet bit to add to the collection:

It’s not a recent occurrence, as it was in a pile of debris. (Wow, odd angle, my hand looks stunted.)

The frame where it probably popped off from:

NEWS! It’s noted on the Friends of Falls of Clyde website, so I can finally say something here. Dry dock is happening soon. Yes. That’s the plan anyway. Nothing is firm yet.

With that in mind, there are things to do.

One of my projects is seeing that the pumping system is in order and completed. It works as it is now, but we still need to extend the line to the two #1 tanks and the pump room.

I took an inventory of what we have on hand:

Paul arrived at the ship and said something that made me laugh. Laughs have been in short supply lately, so that was quite nice. Discussion, a walk through the ship, and he was on his way.

I finished the small project that I was working on, which was to replace the stretched-out bungee/”Posted – No Trespassing” sign combo:

Purely cosmetic, but I do take pride in making the ship as presentable as possible given the circumstances.

I actually nodded off for a bit in my chair on the ship. After that, I didn’t feel like doing anything else. Time to go.

Mokihana was leaving, so I went to the end of the pier to watch.

Saw something curious stuck to the wall (next to a nice healthy wana):

A bit of Googling…Nudibranch eggs? That would be cool. I like nudibranchs.

Grace:

Grace and steel:

For a change, I decided to head over to Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park.

Lots of ‘a‘ama, popular rock:

Olivine basalt:

A marbled blenny, I think?

I like blennies too.

A series of photos from a different perspective (see Making a Day of It for the view from the pilot boat)…

Mokihana in the distance, on the way to California:

Honolulu headed out to Maui:

Maui in the distance:

Maui in the Honolulu Harbor channel:

Maui in the harbor:

Boat of the day, Noho Loa:

***

“On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place.
If the summer change to winter, yours is no disgrace.”