off Hanalei Bay, Kauai, March 8 1784”
Captain George Vancouver had been a midshipman on Captain Cook's third voyage during which he discovered the Hawaiian Islands. Ever since that time the captains and crews that visited Hawaii had yearned for a safe harbor where they could be secure from the high winds and winter storms of the deep Pacific. Besides charting the North West Coast of America and the Hawaiian Islands, the expedition was constantly on the lookout for this elusive safe anchorage. On March 8, of 1794, Vancouver's expedition took advantage of a favorable wind to sail down the north coast of Kauai. In this painting the Discovery and Chatham are crossing the entrance to Hanalei Bay, with Bali Hai and Haena Point in sight. Hanalei Bay offers an anchorage behind its reef which is safe except in the worst of the winter storms. Somehow the lookouts on the Discovery and Chatham missed this exceptional opportunity and continued on around the western end of Kauai to Waimea, where they and their shipmates would be rolled endlessly in the open anchorage. If only they had looked more carefully...
Image Size: 21’ x 31’ ; unf...$1500.00
