Today we sailed around the Island of Kauai, Ni’ihau, and Ka’ula. The journey was amazing and having the chance to see two islands that not many people get to see up close was even more exciting.

As we sailed past Kauai, many cadets took the chance to be out on deck to enjoy the scenery. We sailed within 2 miles of the Nā Pali Coast to see cliffs that seem unreal. These cliffs were hundreds of feet tall and provided an opportunity for everyone to have a brief break.

On deck many cadets continued to chip paint on the patio deck, the process is time consuming, but like the rest of the ship, it to must be repainted. The work looks very strenuous as they are working above their heads to reach the paint. They are taking extra precautions to make sure the paint chips don’t fly off into the seas.

In the engine room, many cadets were busy at work. A group was seen working on the distillers. The distillers produce fresh water from sea water. Occasionally, they must be taken apart and worked on, typically to clean the metal sheets or to inspect functionality. Other were adding lube oil to machinery, this is to prevent friction and the machinery form being damaged. While this is happening there is a cadet standing by with some rags and wipe up and spilled oil.

As we finish our pass of Kauai, we head towards Ni’ihau and Ka’ula. These two islands do not allow many people on them and it is a special treat to see. We are greeted by a group of friendly dolphins who wanted to see what the large ship was doing, they played in our wake and a few jumped out of the water as if they were waving hello.