Hello Hilo

Hello all. Well here we are in Hilo, Hawaii. The passage ended up being 20 days, and we docked last night by quite a large barge at around 3am. (Im in an internet cafe at the moment so I apologise for atrocious spelling and/or choppiness.)
Im in Forward watch with Antony who is hysterically funny, and with whom I greatly enjoy discussing all things Africa. With me in probably the greatest watch of all time is Christina, Nouri, Kelsey, Keith, Quinn, Blayre, and Lindsay. I must say, we have a grand time. Blayre keeps us busting with laughter almost around the clock, and at any one moment there is bound to be one or more of us singing. Music has been a lifesaver, and there have been multiple instances of up to six people huddling up on deck, all connected to one iPod. Thank you for earphone splitters. Everyone more or less managed to cram all their earthly possessions into their bunks, and things haven' been overly chaotic down below, despite a few wet and cold days.
The first week and a half was surprisingly cold, with everyone huddled up on deck in foulies with multiple mugs of tea. I have gained a fine appreciation for coffee, and inventiveness regarding adding extra flavours to kick it up a notch is seen as quite a skill (vanilla is the best thus far).
The last week has been fantastically warm, and we saw the first full-out deck showers. We looped the fire hose around the fore shrouds and created quite a pleasing saltwater shower, under which most of us crammed ourselves. So very nice to be clean. The water is, to steal a phrase- 'powerade blue,' and the sun has been great. This week has also been rather successful fishing-wise. We got our first Wahoo a few days ago, whichw as a nice addition to the Tuna and Dorado that we had been enjoying. (Favourite way of preparing fish so far: Smothered with garlic, mayo, and oranges...delicious). Gillian has agreed to teach me how to cook (I figured it just may be important for me to learn how to feed myself), and Tav and I did her proud with a batch of the best garlic and Parmesan mashed potatoes of all time.
Oh yes, we started bowsprit hanging this week as well. After a bit of length-determining, the ropes were set up, and have been in use almost steady since. Our speed seemed to hover around 6-8, but with slower periods bowsprit adventures have been a lot of fun. Id like to draw attention to the fact that I got completely smoked my Christina upon her downswing. I believe my last words were "don't worry, you're small, just drop," I then got flattened. Very humorous, and the best part is that Quinn has it all on tape. Quinn and Chris have been our onboard film crew, and I'm sure will have way too many hilarious snippets of boat life.
We have become quote adept at fast sail changes, as main to try and back again (perhaps with a little course/fore action just for good measure) happens daily. We are now, if I do say so myself, a finely tuned sail-maneuvering machine. One rather scary incident; a connector piece with the yard broke about half-way through the passage, and Jose, Jordan and Tav spend almost 2 sketchy hours rocking around up there cinching it up and putting a new piece in (ask them for more details- I merely manned the lines.
There have been some great jam sessions, and the fiddle has made the odd appearance. Its so hard to keep it from getting all damp in the case, so pray that it doesn't fall apart on me in Fr Polynesia!
And now, Hilo. A little town on the Big Island. We are all pretty excited to be on land again, though it is strange not to see the 360 horizon and amazing sunsets each evening. No doubt the excitement will wear off quickly and I will be pining for another passage.
Being that I managed to eat my way through $40 of stash already, I will be restocking my supply here. The first order of the day was to find somewhere to get smoothies - something we did with great efficiency. After that needed fix of sweetness and coldness, we are ready to take on anything. Then followed some pineapple. It was quite possibly the best I have ever had (Colin, Erin, Ros...I was tempted to smell it gently to determine its ripeness, but I restrained myself...) and I managed to cover myself with it. Having gotten internet over and done with, the plan is to wander off towards the famed Rainbow falls for a much needed submerging in fresh water. Apparently it is "much too far" away, but after a consultation with a very helpful tourist information man, we determined that "much too far" means 2miles...so we may just give this epic trek a shot.
The plan is to take two days here in Hilo then make our way gradually up from island to island, ending in Hololulu after a trip to Kauai. The snorkeling, hiking, and hang-out time is being very looked forward to.
Anyways, I hope all is well with everyone. If you made it through this massive update, congratulations! I got some great photos this leg, so as soon as I can upload a few then Ill stick a few up here. I hope all is well at home, I love getting emails so keep sending them! For all of you wanting to send me real-life mail (I know you all do), Ill try to get a list of mail stops soon. Oh, and Oma...could you send my drivers license either to Hawaii with a trainee or to Tahiti? Thanks so much.

One drivers test down, and only a few hours until boarding

Well this will be quite short, considering how late it is, and how very much I still need to accomplish before tomorrow morning arrives. For all of you who have been following along with the Elske-needs-a-grown-up-drivers-license adventure, I can proudly tell you that I passed my test with flying colours early this morning. Sure I may have left it until the last possible minute - and as such will have absolutely no chance to use said license for over a year- but the point is that I now have it.
As for offshore prep, things are slowly coming together. Travellers cheques and money switching happened today, as did Malaria med pickup (not to mention all the little last-minute errands that never fail to take longer than anticipated.) The Grace is now in the Inner Harbour (feel free to visit, one and all) and is truly a sight to behold. Now all that is left for me to do is to pack up my entire life for a year, and move it into a bunk that is 6ft x 3ft. I already have photos up all around my bunk, and have managed to be rather creative in my storage techniques.
Anyways, wish me well, and the next you'll hear of me will be from Honolulu. Take care