Current News and Updates

Aloha on a beautiful Sunday in Hawaii, from Mama KWAI.

KWAI is still in Kawaehae harbor on the Big Island of Hawaii and will be casting off her lines later on today. ETA Honolulu is for Monday 1st of December in the late afternoon.
The past few days have been busy for those crew who have remained on work duty on the KWAI.
The deck wood which we originally purchased in Suriname, South America and brought over to Hawaii, on the KWAI about 2 years ago now, and has been drying, was loaded onto a flatbed truck on the Hilo side of the Island and hauled to the ship where it has now been loaded once more onto the KWAI.
We said a tearful goodbye to Cristina, our Super Cargo for this past trip, who had to get back to Spain where she is a Manager in a bank. She did the job of handling all the cargo business with wonderful attention to detail but not only that, I hear tell she was a good crew mate to all. It was not an easy trip in regards to her job because as I mentioned before, what with the dollar rising in value against the Australian dollar (the currency of the Islands of Kiribati), we had many customers who wanted to only take a portion of their original orders, or none at all, thus requiring a lot of book work on our part. Cristina managed to keep things balanced and to report who owed what, who paid what and what was left behind and with whom. Unless you see how many customers we are dealing with and who often times speak English with difficulty not to mention the various customs agents and taxes on the various goods that must be paid, and all the partial payments, or whose Auntie or Cousin or brother is going to pick up a part of the order in someone elses place and other often mind boggling issues, it is hard to get a sense of how hard it is to keep everything adjusted and clear. We are always so grateful when someone has a natural talent and inclination to do the job with attention to all the details. Cristina blew into the job, never having gone on a deep sea voyage before, and did a fantastic job. If you are reading this Cristina, thank you so much!
The rest of the crew remains on board for now to make the short trip to Honolulu. Several other crew mates will be stepping off there, some to take a short break and others to go on to positions on other ships. I will list them individually as they sign off.
As we are going to be replacing the decks on the KWAI , we will not be docked in our usual spot in Honolulu but instead over at pier 36 where we will be for the better part of two months (quicker if possible of course).
I will post pictures of the work being done as it is sure to be an interesting part of the rennovation project of the KWAI.
For all our cargo customers reading this, I will keep you updated with time scheudules and will email all of you individually at least one month prior to accepting any cargo for Voyage 14. If you do change your email address or primary contact phone number, please let me know so I can keep you informed and updated.

I am still looking for a shore cook until the end of December. If you have an interest in this position, I welcome all responses and look forward to hearing from you.
I will post any other available positions for the next voyage.
If you have never shipped with us,please contact me and I will answer any questions you might have.
May health, joy and prosperty accompany you on your journeys and as always a fair wind. Aloha, this is Mama KWAI~ over and clear.