I sit at my desk on day 2 of our call, having spent an ‘overnight’ here, we sail at 4 p.m. this afternoon for Majuro on the Marshall Islands. We arrived early in the morning and berthed under the ‘Aloha’ Tower.
We are not in the harbour where events of December 7th 1941 took place, rather we are further east. The memorials and museums are 9.5 miles, or 15 kilometres away; of course many of the guests are taking tours there and for many it is more of a pilgrimage. For example, we have a gentleman on board, who has travelled with his wife for years with us. As a young man, he was a ‘Flyboy’, U.S. Marine Corps and flew off carriers. The Battle of Midway was his first combat flight, he lost half of his classmates that day; he flew throughout the war with the Marines, surviving is a miracle.
An overview of the approach to Oahu. The Naval base is the to the left.
Into the channel and to our dock
I left my last post with the anticipation of a ‘whale watch’ tour. Perhaps my notion of the behaviour of the Humpbacks here in Hawaii originated from those TV shows, where one sees Humpbacks, lying on their backs, lazily taking in the scenery in the calm seas, wearing sunglasses. 😯 I was to be disappointed,; not so calm and the only whales we saw were at a distance, in my opinion, Alaska is much better. Of course, after having concluded the tour, all and sundry would tell me that “oh, you should see Maui” or “it’s the wrong time of the year”; lesson learned……..Nevertheless, being off the ship for a few hours was very pleasant.
The commercial dock area.
An overview of the approach to Oahu. The Naval base is the to the left.
Into the channel and to our dock, the green track.
Our berth, photo taken from the whale-watch boat.
The ladies and I on the whale-watch boat, (we’ve all been lei’d)
🙂
The nearest we got…
…however it was put to use to take this, a ‘Boomer’ leaving Pearl Harbour
Berthed near the Aloha Tower, (telephoto had to use it somewhere)
Telephoto lens at the ready, alas, it was not necessary….
Honolulu from the sea
Honolulu beach-front and the oldest hotel, the Grand Hawaiian, dwarfed by new hotels and apartment blocks.
Waikiki and Diamond Head
The ladies are off ashore, while I write this and pore over numerous emails. We have just over 4 days at sea and cross the International Date Line, we are sailing into tomorrow, although many of my readers are there already! 😎
About Humpback Wales
They come to MOLOKAI between mid Dec.And mid April to mate by the thousands from Alaska. A little news for you.
Hi Captain Mercer:
I would like to mention that the submarine pictured is an SSN fast attach, not an SSBN missile boat which are referred to as “boomers.”
Thanks for enlightening me, Mike ?
Thank you so much for the postings, we really enjoy reading them. Wish we were on board for this trip.
Only another 11 months and we will be on the Amsterdam for the 113 Grand Cruise.
Take care and safe sailing!
Elizabeth and Viktor
Hi Captain Mercer, love reading your post. My friend is cruising with you, sure nice keeping tabs on what’s going on. Safe crossing. Hope to read posts as you cross.
Many memories from previous trips on the Amsterdam
Thanks for your Posts on the W.C.
These pictures bring back so many memories of our 1st Hawaiian cruise ? On Rotterdam V, back in ’93, ? Celebrated a big birthday on board ?
Thank you for sharing the photos
Hi Captain Mercer, Dick and I are enjoying your posts. Since we are not there this year, your posts are the next best thing. We like the picture of you and the girls. We would not recognize you with that facial hair, really different. See you next year though, already booked. Have fun, looking forward to more posts.
Truly, Mary