Whew…Another Lucky Break

A powerful earthquake in Chile meant a bit of worry for us. Fortunately, the tsunami waves generated had minimal effect here.

Regarding the ship, there is very little one person can do in such a situation. Still, I accepted the offer of a friend to drive me to the ship in the evening after I got off from work.

One thing I had done on Saturday, was to take the old spring line and wrap it around an unused bollard. I was thinking that it might help a little in terms of the windy conditions (keeping in mind what happened with the ex-Superferry barge). Once I was at the ship, I ended up taking up some of the slack in the line and putting an additional wrap around the bollard. A very small thing, but it made me feel slightly better about the entire situation.

Since I was there, I decided to check on the aft peak.

It looked like there was less water, but it was really hard to tell due to the poor lighting. Note to self: See what can be done about the work lights. I think it’s okay, but I’ll check again on Saturday.

I like the juxtaposition of the cool blue of the evening sky with the warmth of the tween deck lights:

Usually, it’s the other way around with the daylight being brighter and warm.

Before I locked up and left, I asked the old crew to look after the ship.

Quiet Day…

…before the excitement of the tsunami.

I was rather tired yesterday, so took it easy. I did some general ship keeping stuff along with applying another coat of varnish where needed.

It was nice to see an ‘iwa circling rather low over the ship. I regret not being able to get a photo of her.

I went on my usual casual rambling around Piers 8 and 9.

Kagawa Maru rat guard:

Kagawa Maru chafing gear:

I also came across this worn mooring line (not Kagawa Maru’s):

I know that FOC’s lines aren’t perfect, so I shouldn’t be too critical. However, this obviously needs attention. Some of the other lines in the area weren’t looking so hot either.

Chafing Gear Again

Another busy week! Happy to be away from the computer.

It was a rainy day, so staying in the salon and working on the chafing gear sounded like a good idea. I’m quite pleased with the finished product.

(Hmm. Maybe I should have cut off the ends of the seine twine instead of just trying to tuck it under the fire hose…)

I heard that there was supposed to be a holiday boat parade this evening. I thought about staying down at the harbor to watch, but I’m glad I came home. The weather is pretty poor…wind, rain, lightning, and thunder.

A while back, I signed up to get NOAA’s earthquake/tsunami alerts. When I came home and checked my email, I saw the message about the earthquake in Mexico. I think I need to sign up for the text message version! Just in case…

Japanese tsunami debris spotted at sea heading for albatross islands

Japanese tsunami debris spotted at sea heading for albatross islands, where clean-ups are underway | latest-news.

Not So Lucky…

Photo showing some of the damage to a pier in Keehi Lagoon.

Whew!

For those of you who were worried about her, the Falls of Clyde is fine. Here is a photo of her taken at about 11:30 this morning.

We were very lucky.

Warning Downgraded to Advisory

The tsunami warning has now been downgraded to an advisory. Now that the sun is up, I can see all the ships and boats that went out to sea to avoid the waves. It’s rather weird to think that during last year’s tsunami warning, I was out on a boat floating offshore too!

No word yet on the status of the Falls.

Keehi Lagoon looks like a mess. 😦

Japan Quake -> Tsunami Watch

A tsunami watch has been issued for Hawai‘i. If a tsunami has been generated, it is estimated to arrive at around 3:00 AM.

ETA: Now upgraded to a warning. 😦
ETA: Civil Defense sirens going off.
ETA: Civil Defense sirens going off again (23:15).

It’s a good thing we left the extra mooring lines on the Falls.

ETA: Warning extended to the Mainland (west coast).

Post Tsunami Warning Post

(I’m only getting to this now because I’ve been a bit under the weather.)

A group of us went down to Pier 7 to add mooring lines to the Falls of Clyde. As expected, the civil defense sirens went off at 06:00 and ships were already getting underway to leave Honolulu Harbor.

After we did what we could for the Falls, I accompanied a fellow FoFOC board member to Ala Wai Boat Harbor to help her take her boat out to sea. Before going over to her boat, we went to look for something to eat. Due to the circumstances and the relatively early hour of the day, there weren’t many choices.

The scene outside the McDonald’s near the harbor:

We eventually managed to get some food (not McDonald’s). We returned to the harbor and hung out with some friends who were also taking a boat out, until we decided it was time to leave. We were one of many. It was quite amazing to look out at the horizon and see so many different types of vessels.

The view towards shore:

And of other vessels:

Dariabar

Pi‘ilani, usually seen hard at work in Honolulu Harbor

After we returned to Ala Wai Harbor, we went back to Pier 7 to check on the Falls. We were relieved to see that the old girl was fine.

We were in time to catch the parade of ships returning to Honolulu Harbor:

Robert C. Seamans

It was a unique experience, but not one that I’d like to repeat!

Chile Quake -> Tsunami Warning

A tsunami warning has been issued for Hawai‘i. Estimated arrival time is just after 11:00 AM. Will probably be down early at FOC to put on extra mooring lines.

ETA: Civil defense will be sounding the warning sirens at 6:00 AM.
ETA1: Headed down to Pier 7!