| Iwalani means "Heavenly Sea Bird" in Hawaiian. The name was chosen by my eldest son, Ben. She is a double ended, 42 foot, wooden, gaff rigged cutter. Having learned the wooden boatbuilding trade apprenticing to my grandfather Stanley Grodeski, the choice of a traditional boat was easy. Her systems are modern though, using the latest technology. Iwalani is the realization of a lifelong dream. As a teenager I was fortunate to meet two early circumnavigators, Gerry Mefford and Dennis Puleston. These men sailed around the world in the 1930's, before radar, GPS, depth sounders, weather fax and satellite phones.
We left Georgetown, Maine at the end of July, 2000. First we headed to the Panama Canal, then on to the Galapagos, Marqueses, Tahiti, Fiji, New Caledonia, Australia, Madagascar, South Africa, the Carribean and finally back to Georgetown Maine. The trip took three years. During that time we posted weekly updates.
We hope you enjoy our site. It was created to inspire others, as I was inspired by Gerry and Dennis.
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