On Wednesday morning we started our journey to Maui from Hawaii Kai. The weather report stated that the trades had died, but the seas and wind told a different story. The winds were blowing from the Northeast at about 25 mph and the seas were about 4 foot. Being on a 35 foot Bertrum called the Hoku III made the journey a little easier. The 90 mile journey around the backside or North side of Molokai was filled in brief doses of excitement surrounded by hours of boredom. One moment, which we tried to capture on our Go Pro, was of an Aku school that we passed through. We have some of the action on film to include a marlin strike. We also hooked up to a few Mahimahi that got away. That night, instead of anchoring at Kalaupapa, we continued to “N” buoy. We arrived there about 2 hours before the sun was coming up.
Finding the buoy at night wasn’t easy-- especially when you are “kinda tired.” I found myself in the Captains chair holding-on as the waves and wind crashed into the boat. I spotted the buoy about 5 miles away. When you are looking at a blinking light at night all kinds of things go through your mind. There is another buoy out there! There is about 10 seconds, no 8 seconds, no 4 seconds interval between flashes. I’ve lost the buoy! All these thoughts were amplify by sleep deprivation.
The world famous “N” buoy! It is located about 22 miles North of Lahaina. It is where we lost a 1200lbs Marlin to the “tax collectors” (sharks), and lost out at $57,000 during the Lahaina Halloween Shootout in 2009.
About an hour after we arrived two sports fishing boats out of Lahaina Harbor joined us: No Problem and Die Hard. Once there was a little light we started trolling around the buoy. Within 5 minutes we had our first Yellow Fin Tuna (Ahi) on the boat. In one hour we caught 4. The biggest Ahi was 80lb and the other 70lbs not bad for 48 hours of fishing. The other two boats did just as well. There were Mahimahi and Ahi jumping all over the place. By the time the sun crested the horizon the bite stopped and the fish stopped jumping. We headed toward Lahaina with our fish bag full.
With about one hour of sleep total, I decided it would be a good idea to run about 10 miles in the hot Lahaina Sun. Things you have to do when training for the Ironman: run, swim, bike, and puke! Finished the run in style, and immediately off loaded the fish to sell.
Each year we dock at slip 39 where our friend and black coral diver Robin parks his boat. Mike the Captain of Hoku III, dove (scuba) with Robin for a number of years. So each year Robin makes sure our fish are sold and we have a place to park. If you are ever in Lahaina, make sure you visit his black coral jewelry Store called Aulani.
We got settled in that night into the Condo Hotel called the Aina Nalu.
The next day we prepped for the upcoming the Lahaina Jackpot and the Shootout. Fixing lures and replacing line.
