Sailing South Shore
My sweet friend got his first boat last year, and since then, he’s been diving deep into learning how to sail. Lucky for me, he’s been kind enough to share little lessons along the way, turning our sunrise and sunset sails on Karma Seas II (the boat’s name) into these special, unforgettable moments. There’s something about being out on the water, where all that matters is the wind, waves, and the people you’re with. It in a way, is so therapeutic.
Sailing with my friends feels like being part of a real crew with each of us taking on a role that keeps the boat moving smoothly. One person steers, carefully adjusting the tiller (steering lever) to keep us on course, while another handles the tack lines, making sure the sails shift properly as we change direction. Someone else manages the main sail, trimming it just right to catch the wind efficiently, and we all just enjoy our time out on the water away from town. Some of the best moments come from the chaotic times, like when the tiller completely fell off, and we had to scramble to latch it back on, or when the engine died just as we were pulling into the harbor. For a moment, we were sure we’d drift straight into another boat, but just in time, the engine sputtered back to life.
One night, the boat’s lights stopped working, leaving us in the dark with no way to see the wind vane, a small tool at the top of the mast that shows which way the wind is blowing, helping us sail straight. Without being able to see it, we had to rely on our only backup, which was a nearly dead flashlight that would stay on for three seconds before shutting off. We took turns flashing it at the sail, trying to make sure other boats could see us and wouldn’t accidentally run into us. At the same time, we’d quickly point it up at the wind vane, hoping to catch a glimpse of our direction before the light flickered out again. We weren’t worried about sailing back to the harbor that night because that was fairly easy. The real concern was that someone would mistake our blinking light for morse code, and think we were signaling for help. But we weren’t. We were having fun, laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.
One of my absolute favorite memories was during a sunrise sail with friends. The sky was slowing glowing brighter in vibrant pinks and oranges, and we were just enjoying the peaceful morning air. As a total joke, we started making dolphin noises toward the ocean, acting like we had some secret superpower to summon them. It was nothing serious at all, just us messing around. But then out of nowhere, as if the ocean was in on the joke, a huge pod of dolphins appeared swimming by. These dolphins were so playful, jumping out of the water, flipping, and putting on a whole performance for us. We all freaked out not believe what was happening, and furthered the joke by saying “I told you it would work” or “We can speak dolphin!” There was no hesitation in the fact that we had to jump in, and swimming alongside them was one of the most magical sights ever.
Another core memory was during a sunset sail when we decided to go all out and make a three-course meal for dinner. We started with fresh fruit and garlic rosemary bread as appetizers, then moved on to a massive pot of pasta for the main course, and finished with warm, fudgy brownies for dessert. It was honestly the perfect dinner, except we completely lost our utensils the first half of our meal. By the time we found forks, we were almost done with our pasta, and at this point we had just embraced the chaos: All seven of us scooping handfuls of angel hair noodles with our bare hands, and shoving the pasta into our mouths. It was messy, hilarious, and somehow made the food taste even better. That same sail, we decided to challenge ourselves by seeing if we could sail the south shore of Oahu without using our hands, only our feet on the tiller. And we surprisingly found out that 14 feet is harder to steer a boat than 2 hands.
There’s this quote that says, “Saltwater heals the soul,” and every time we sail, I’m reminded why that’s so true. Whether it’s floating in the middle of the ocean, letting the waves gently lift my body, or diving underwater where everything turns still and quiet—it feels like a reset button. Being surrounded by nothing but calm, the lovely presence of people I care about, and away from the noise of town, heals something internally to me in a beautiful way.
Karma Seas II has hosted some of the best memories of my life, ones I’ll cherish forever.
