Capturing the Moment

As I ready the ship and expedition crew for a summer in Alaska I can't help but think of all those effected by the Nepal earthquake, some being adventurers at their peaks in life tackling the tallest peak in the world on Mt. Everest. Appreciating it all a little more tonight. -Dai Mar

 So I have officially become mobile now as I enter back into the boating world. I accepted a job as an expedition leader with Un-Cruise Adventures onboard their vessel the Wilderness Explorer. It is a small, high-end cruise ship that spends the summer months plying the inside passage of Southeast Alaska. I walked around the ship and took a few pictures to give people a better understanding of what downsizing one must do to come work on board, and in what extreme close quarters you live. My top bunk with no head room the "Shoilet"  Being one of the managers on board means I have a bigger cabin and more space but it might not be what you would expect. A shoilet accompanies the room which is just big enough to sit on the toilet while taking a shower. I guess I do like to multitask. The hotel manager is my roommate so I imagine we will be on similar sleeping schedules.  The ship takes 74 passengers with around 25 crew. It is 186ft long and four stories tall. There will

Manoa Falls with Mom Honolulu Polo Club After almost two years in Oahu I am moving to new adventures in Southeast Alaska on board the small adventure cruise ship Wilderness Explorer with Un-Cruise . My last day of work running tours here wrapped up with a wonderful Waimea waterfall hike yesterday and today has been spent running around tieing up loose ends before I fly out to meet the ship in Seattle. Descending to the YO shipwreck   With a little down time in between errands I wanted to look back at some of the pics and posts from Oahu. I thought I would post some pics in a little Oahu retrospect. Ben contemplating a Pipe surf sesh Lea fighting the wind Soon to be Jurassic World Dolphins on the west side Sailing the tall ship Makani Olu Getting Shacked Taking Ed diving on the North Shore Helicopter ride with the relatives Ed and Jamie visiting Lantern Floating Festival My favorite south shore spot Finding secret h

    As spring brings warm temperatures across the mainland the wonderful climate of Hawaii maintains a steady 65-85 degrees every day. Visiting beach goers try to tan before heading back to their 9-5's and surfers load up on sunscreen because no wetsuit is needed. However, for the intrepid adventurer a very different climate is just a short hour and a half drive up a volcano. Looking for a different Hawaii adventure we decided that hiking through the volcano crater was the goal for today.         Ben, Magen, Kelly and I gathered some cold weather clothes and all piled into a cheap rental car. I was pretty confident in my new wool socks and a loaned Patagonia fleece but would soon find out I was vastly under-clothed. About 5000ft up the side of the 10,000ft volcano we entered a rainy, dark, cloud. However hopes were still high that we would emerge above the cloud before reaching the summit. 8000ft....9000ft....still in the cloud I began thinking this adventure might be a bust.

  My good friend Ben took me out on one of his mid afternoon whale watches late in March out of Lahaina, Maui. Even though we were on the tail end of humpback whale season we had some incredible action. It seemed that this season's calves were healthy and active putting on an amazing aerial performance for us. We saw full breaches from one two different calves, launching themselves completely clear of the water. I was able to zoom in on the action with my long lens.  We also had a quick swim by from a very fast moving competition pod. The female was most likely out front while the males jockeyed for position behind her. It was a beautiful day out on the water and so reviving for me to see all this humpback whale action that I had been missing over in Oahu.

Wreck of the Helldiver: Maui     The wreck of a WWII plane sits on the sandy ocean bottom about 50ft below the surface. This wreck was only discovered a few years ago by scuba divers, although fishermen had known the location for decades as a popular fish hideout. The plane is a Curtis Helldiver SB2C-1C model, with three props and a canon in each wing.   The history of this particular plane took some searching for the original divers who took the first photos of the wreck. They were able to track it down to a prolific pilot named Lieut. William E. Dill who was part of the US Navy Reserve. He later crashed or was shot down during the battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines but survived. Records no longer show what eventually happened to him. There is a great backstory of this plane researched here by the first diver to find it.   The wreck is located just offshore in windy Ma'alaea Bay on Maui's south shore. It is surrounded by sand so acts as a magnet for sea life