Capturing the Moment

  Exploring thousand foot cliffs, covered in tropical beauty and raging waterfalls, on the North Kohala coast of Hawaii. After an afternoon cruise along this wild coastline yesterday, and a big storm still crashing into the island of Hawaii from the south today, there wasn't much we could do, except hide from the winds and waves on our expedition cruise ship, the Safari Explorer, until the storm lets up a bit tomorrow. But I really didn't want the guests to just sit on the ship all day. We had to do something. So why not do something we've never done before. That is the difference between cruising and expedition cruising. On expedition cruises, you have the flexibility to change your schedule and take advantage of opportunities as they come up. We can change based on weather, whales, or even the guests we have on that trip. And this morning was the perfect example of that expedition cruise mentality. Even though we had some big north swell rolling in, we attempted to crane ...

  Leaping dolphins, eager to come bowride in our wake, greet us. They don't see many boats on this side of the Big Island. This is why I work on an expedition ship, to take people and show them things that people normally don't see. The towering cliffs of the Kohala coastline of the Big Island. Even though I have lived and worked in the islands for years, I have never seen these from the water. Usually the trade winds roar on this coastline, and the big winter swells slam against the cliffs here. Today the weather had shifted, and was storming out of the south. Boats on all the islands were scrambled to find safe harbors. Instead, we took the opportunity to go to a place where we had never gone before! We usually have pretty predictable weather out here in the Hawaiian islands. Trade winds blow from the northeast so reliably that the tall ship traders would count on these winds to help them cross oceans and deliver their goods. Fast forward to modern times, and I count on these...