September 8, 2023 | Leg 7, Day 7.
Sailing along Oregon coast towards California.

When your day is filled with great celestial elements, you know the nighttime sky will awaken..

As the northerly winds started to fill in, the crew gets excited. We awake the head sail, the main and the mizzen. The crew is ready, standing by on the tricing lines, the halyards and the sheets. Responding to the captains orders, the sails are lifted and Hokule’a starts to move.

Todays seas and wind conditions are not ideal for sailing, however it feels nice to open the crab claws to get as much movement as we can while our escort vessel, Kolea, makes a refueling pit stop. The temperature is now warm enough to shed some layers and as the sun set, the nighttime sky put on a show. The planetarium was open for business and all of the hokus were out. When you’re on deck with one of the best navigators on the planet, let the IMI IKE BEGIN.

Throughout the night, the waves got steeper, the cloud cover and fog started to roll in. Perfect time to move in to our next port.

– Kalani Kahalioumi