CRUISING HAWAII - Oahu
August 19th, 2018
Lahaina, Maui
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| Hawaii in Summer... Dodging Hurricanes... HECTOR |
If a major storm had not thrown us off our course to Alaska and forced us to divert to Honolulu, we never would have chosen the Hawaiian Islands as a cruising destination. There are several reasons for that.
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| Kewalo Basin and Ala Wai Boat Harbor, Honolulu. No transient docking available |
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| The sad state of Ala Wai Boat Harbor |
- Few protected anchorages. The Eastern coasts are, obviously, exposed to the trade winds and unsuitable. The Western and Northern coasts are made of steep cliffs and rocky shores, steep drops, and count very few natural anchorages.
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| The work dock... we nudged Domino next to the SWATH |
- Decrepit harbors. I hate to say it, but it is true. The yachting population is not a State priority and the State-controlled harbors are in dire state of disrepair. Take Oahu, for example. It took us 4 days to find a berth at the Ala Wai in Waikiki, and only after we got denied by all of the other State-harbors, private harbors and yacht clubs.
The splendid and immense Pearl Harbor, the only safe harbor in all of the islands, of course, is reserved to the military and the only way to get a mooring is to be military personnel. Well, scratch that!
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| Riding HECTOR on the lagoon |
Keehi Harbor (State-owned), by the airport, is another enormous harbor, with fair protection. We called, and there is NO berth or mooring for a 65’ boat, and there is NO anchoring in the enormous Keehi lagoon. Yet, when we took a peek at the harbor, a good 30% of the docks were destroyed, and of the boats present, I’d say a good 20% were derelict. Some weird traffic goes on at night too, making you wonder what’s going on under the nose of the harbormaster! However, when hurricane HECTOR reared its head, we anchored in the lagoon anyways, and beseeched permission as soon as the harbormaster’s office opened. After some back-and-forth, we were allowed to stay until it was safe to cruise again.
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| Friday Night in Waikiki's Ala Wai Boat Harbor |
Kewalo Basin (State-owned) had no room for us. We waited 4 days for any yacht to be moved around, but no, no room for a transiting yacht.
Koalina Boat Harbor (private) was promising… but no, no room for a 65’ boat, and even if there had been, the monthly fee was $3,000 and NO live aboard.
The yacht clubs were no better. The Hawaii Yacht Club had no room above 45’ and the Waikiki Yacht Club had no room, period.
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| The perk: Fabric shopping! |
Ala Wai Boat Harbor, Waikiki (State-Owned) - After spending 4 days at the loading dock (usually a 30’ limit) and with no other option available to us, we begged the harbormaster to let us stay at the work dock, a 24-foot wide berth for our 23’ wide cat… a tight fit. We took it, at $231/week, no easy-way electricity 9have to register with the city; we passed1), no facilities, no bathroom and transients and taxi drivers urinating outside the condemned public bathroom. The weird thing? We were happy of have found a space to park our boat.
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| The Ala Wai Boat Harbor - So many derelict boats that should not be there! |
All this to say, don’t cruise Hawaii with a big boat!
By now, I’m sure that you have written to the Hawaiian congressmen and begged to support yachting in their district, right?
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| Learning the Hawaaian quilting with the pros... the real deal! |
For all the ugliness of the situation, there were a few bright points. Hotels, restaurants, bars, shopping (Don Quijote is the best!), night life, Ukulele lessons, Friday night fireworks, World Cup on TV, and —my favorite— learning to quilt the traditional Hawaiian way with the legendary Poakalani clan, the Serrao Family.
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| Ukulele and Hawaiian Quilting! |
But once JP got the fuel pump fixed and installed the new washer dryer (you read right!), we were off cruising again.
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| Thank you, my Captain! |
POKAI BAY - (Wai’anae) 21*26.661N, 158*11.536W
If you have a small boat, you can anchor behind the breakwater, but we found the proximity of the park a bit loud. This is a cool spot. Every morning, large pods of spinner dolphins come to feed in the area… and an armada of charter boats follows, dozens of people in the water to swim with the creatures. With a bit of luck and patience, we managed to slip quietly down our swim ladder and have some 1-on-1 with a small pod, papa, mama, and newborn baby!
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| How can we not love these amazing creatures? Spinner Dolphins |
Snorkel on the outside of the breakwater and you are sure to find a few turtles. As for me, I was pretty jaded and ready to go back to the boat when I was surprised by a 4-foot Zebra Moray Eel. You never know!
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| Zebra Moray (Photo Graham's Island.com) |
NORTH SHORE - WAIMEA BAY - 21*38.421N, 158*03.943W
Strange… sailboats are allowed to anchor close to shore. Motor yachts must anchor outside of a line that stretches between the outermost structures built on both sides of the bay. Still, it’s good holding and a mythical spot.
All day, we watched hundreds of enthusiasts jump off the Black Rock… they jump at night too, crazy buggers!
The snorkeling in the bay is marginal, just big boulders and nothing much.
But…. we anchored at North Shore and could just imagine the force of the winter waves by looking at the steep grade of the beach and the cliffs around. Moana! Never to be underestimated.
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| Fourth of July at the Ala Wai... we have 40 flags out! |
Off to Molokai, Lanai, and Maui….
Till next time,
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| Ahi Poke, anyone? |
dominomarie