Tendering in Kona

Having left Honolulu just after 9pm, we sailed overnight to Kona, a short hop of around 150 nautical miles to arrive at an anchorage for around 7am the following day. Upon arrival, we dropped anchor and lowered 6 tender boats which we'd use for the day ferrying guests to and from the quayside. Tendering tends to be a challenging day, loading the boats from the ships pontoons and driving them across to the quayside where their various shore excursions await and then at the end of the day doing everything in reverse ensuring we sweep up the very last guests before the last tender leaves for the ship.

I headed across on the first tender to establish the shore party. This is my favourite part of tendering as for the first 30 minutes or so you get to have some breathing space before the tenders carrying guests arrive. It's early, it's warm and peaceful. 

On this occasion I watched the local swimming clubs heading out for their morning swim in the clear warm waters and small pods of dolphins doing the same. Apparently the quayside is where the Ironman 2026 world championship will be held. A 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride all topped off with a marathon run of 26.2 miles. They're welcome to that frankly!!!

The biggest issue with tendering is that those of us involved in the operation have limited time to actually see the place you visit. From my vantage point I could see the main town which has an array of inviting looking bars. The place had a great vibe about it. A chapter of motorbikes bubbled past, their riders all wearing identical leather jackets, loads of locals all coming to view the ship at anchor, everything just felt laid back and relaxed. Definitely somewhere I thought would be great for sitting in a bar watching the world go by. However, there was a job at hand that needed doing so suck it up and get on with it. 

Later that morning the Deputy Captain made his way across to have a look at the operation, once content that all was well, the two of us headed into town for a Hawaiian coffee and a quick scour around the tourist tat

Just before midday, I headed back to the ship for lunch. At this point I'm approximately 50% sun cream. It is hot!!! I'm also dehydrated and hungry. The ship was conducting some public health clean downs in the messes, so lunch was up on deck 12 in the form of a barbeque. Heading upstairs, I exited the lift to a full on outdoor kitchen set up, serving a huge array of food. The deck had been closed off to guests, music was playing, crew were all sitting under parasols eating and chatting. It was a really nice atmosphere and made a change to be eating outside. 

As the day draws to an end, we're faced with the task of getting all guests onto tenders and away from the quayside and back on board. This is a mathematics task, fathoming how many you have ashore against the amount of tenders available. Before we sail, each tender needs to be raised and stowed and secure for sea. There's an appetite to get the boats raised against the need to have enough availability to ensure the guests get back in a timely fashion. By around 5pm we still have the best part of 300 ashore but eventually they're all on board and are gradually boarding the ship. By around 6pm, the doors are all closing and I give the bridge a positive report that everything has been inspected and we're secure for sea. 20 minutes later, the anchor is stowed, the last tender lifted and we are away.

It's been a hot sweaty day, and it's time for a cold beer and an informal debrief in the officers wardroom. A chance to whine about the day, put the world to rights before a shower and bed!! Another day done, a stunning location, and a feeling that we got it right (on the whole)