Friday - Progress ?

We coordinated early at the Gringo Cantina and got the day started off right.

The morning coordination meeting. 

Jerr, Daniela, Sally, J and me

Ruben and his helper were out early putting additional flotation on the keel.  J and I joined the crew already in the water and got the water pumped out that had come in overnight.  John and his wife Arlene, from Washington State, joined in to help as well as Eric and Gerado.

We worked all day getting additional flotation attached as well as haul lines.  High tide was around 6pm and we were waiting for that to get moving.  Gerado and his helper were on the boat while Ruben directed the effort.  At about 5:30pm the effort was made to get Mahalo Nui moving. 

She Moved !  A cheer was heard from the beach and she was in deeper water, not deep enough but deeper.  This allowed Ruben to put the long awaited emergency patch on the "hole" in the hull near the base of the mast.  The hole isn't an open hole but more of a split of fiberglass which allows water in.  With the patch in place, J and I reconnected the bilge pump and got the remaining water out of the boat.  As long as the patch holds and there are no other leaks she should be sitting exactly where we left her this evening.  Ruben has inspected the hull and didn't find any additional suspect breaches so we are all hopeful. Ruben and his helper worked well into dark to be prepared in the morning.  We plan on getting an early start ( 6:30 ) to take advantage of the high tide and with the added flotation, we should be able to get her moving and into deep enough water the sit upright and get towed to the marina. We need everyone to cross their fingers for a successful day tomorrow !!

The sun setting over the resort

Many suggestions have been made on how to get the boat moving but geographically speaking, Mahalo Nui is on a section of beach that can not be reached by a conventional vehicle such as a crane.  The resort is too built up around the entire area to get any vehicle even close nor is there a section of the beach where we could pull her to and get a crane type truck.  Because of the reef that is at the entrance of the "beach area" only very shallow draft boats can get in and then its a long path to where Mahalo Nui is around the various reef sections and coral heads.  The path we must pull Mahalo Nui is exactly that path with the water depths averaging 3 to 4 feet for about 200 ft and then we should be in 5 to 6 feet of water where we can allow her to sit upright and be guided to the marina.