Bareboat in Oahu, Hawaii

[Roman]

Hi, everyone
Just joined the forum and found it great for all kinds of information.
We are from Alberta, Canada and due to lack of oceans at our locale
we go for long cruising charters in the Pacific NW. (love it there)
We like performance sailing and pretty much charter Big Jeanneau's
each time (43'and bigger). They give us the speed and comfort at the same time. We also sail high performance planing dinghy for the rest of the summer on Canada's mountain lakes.

We have been looking for new cruising grounds with a bit warmer water
and living close to west coast, Hawaii is the prime spot. We reserched
all the info on this forum and others as well. We do not like the Caribean
as it has changed a lot recently
and Polyneysia and Australia is so far (expensive) away.
So Hawaii it is and we are willing to work a bit harder while sailing there.

There is not that much info on bareboat as Hawaii cruising requires advanced seamanship.
We are trying to find more about the bareboat charter company in Oahu.
It seems to be the only bareboat charter in Hawaii. Their web site is friendly but it would be great to hear some first or second hand experience. They have fast Bene's there which may be handy for upwind
work inbetween the Islands.

Also after looking at the weather stats and taking into account the price of charter we plan to charter there April or May. Which month would be
preferable considering sailing and snorkelling. There seems to be the jelly
fish migration starting in May. Is stinger suit required in May or just being carefull and avoiding the stingers is OK.

Thank you

Roman

Things do happed by chance - or it seems - but they get better when you ready.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Roman,
You don't need suits. About 10 days after the full moon the box jellies start to invade the beaches. If you wait a couple days they clear out. Lifeguards put warning signs out on the beaches.
I am not familiar with the charter folks on Oahu. There aren't many because of the state's attitude towards boating and boaters.
There might be some others in the forum that live on Oahu that can help with your questions.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[Roman]

Thank you John for the good news. People do not like the suit much.
In your experience if you were to cruise the Hawaii Islands in April or May - what month would you prefer. Or you think it's a toss?

Thank you.

Roman

[Kanani]

As SkiprJohn stated, Hawaii is not very boater friendly and it may be hard to find a bare-boat charter.

My best friend is in Ala Wai Marina right now. If you find someone that is chartering, I can have him check it out for you. Be very careful with who you do business with there and always have an alternative plan, in case the boat isn't "As advertised".

April and May are just the same in Hawaii....80 degrees and sunny. Light trade-winds from NE to E. You get what you get and you can't predict or change it. Winds in the channels can be quite brisk at times but nothing unmanagable.

There is hardly anywhere to sail to in Oahu. You can anchor off of Waikiki or if you have plenty of coastal cruising experience and are good at charting, you can go over to Kanioi Bay (if they will let you). It's about an 8 hour sail over to Lono Harbor on Molokai and another 8 hours to Lahaina on Maui. Another good spot is Lanai Harbor on Lanai Isl. The diving there is great. The little harbor is quaint and quiet.

I spent a couple years cruising all over Hawaii. I'd be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

[Stranded Mariner]

Originally Posted by Kanani

As SkiprJohn stated, Hawaii is not very boater friendly and it may be hard to find a bare-boat charter.

I haven't been back in Hawaii since the early 90's (I was working on Kauai on the power station) and back then I wasn't cruising. But just out of curiosity, why is it that Hawaii is not boater friendly?

[Kanani]

The problem really wasn't/isn't the "Boaters" but the government sees it that way. The problem has been "non-boaters" living aboard derelict vessels. They often left them un-maintained and lived on them until they sunk. Once they sunk, the people would disappear and leave, the very expensive, clean-up to the state.

You may have been there when Hurricane Iniki went through. About 12 boats sunk in Keehi Lagoon. The clean-up from that was very costly and the tax-payers didn’t like it.

There are and always have been/always will be a lot of homeless people living on anything that will float. It is really a "Homeless" problem that the state is not willing to deal with. However, the problem is not identified for what it is, so the boating community is looked down upon and the government is not very sympathetic. In fact, it is down right hostile to "boaters" IMO.

[SkiprJohn]

As Kanani said. April or May doesn't make much difference. During the late spring and summer the windward sides of the island, like Kaneohe Bay are open for the most part and fun to cruise. Anchoring and mooring is a problem and whoever you get the charter from should be able to let you know where it is legal to drop anchor.
My favorite anchorage is Hanalei Bay on Kauai. 22 hours sail from Waikiki. The sail back is beating to windward.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[SkiprJohn]

I know Aloha Sailing and if you are qualified, and they do U. S. Saliling keelboat quals, they'll let you sail bareboat in the Kailua-Kona area but not interisland. They don't have large enough boats.

Chinese Junk Ride's boat sunk years ago. I could tell you the whole story but suffice it to say he built his boat of plywood and didn't take care of it. He was not a boat builder.

Again, they are on Hawaii not Oahu.

JohnL

[roverhi]

Derelict boats have little to do with the State's attitude towards boats and their complete ineptitude in managing the harbors. Hawaii is a 'people's republic' that plays the politics of envy to the hilt and resembles a third world country in the way the government is run. The previous governor supposedly had it in for yachties because of an imagined snub by the Waikiki Yacht Club when he was in the State Legislature. The current governor or at least the just departed administrator of the DLNR that controls harbors, siphoned off money from the harbors division for all sorts of 'eco friendly' enterprizes having nothing to do with water or boats. There is also a vocal minority of boat owners who claim a slip as a right that they shouldn't have to pay squat for, and squat in with boats that hardly ever go to sea. Add influential people with big bucks and local friends and you have slips that are supposedly public assets built with public money being sold as private resources, often with the slips being worth twice or more the boat that sits in it. Then we have the eco NAZIs who protest anything and are far too effective in halting progress with the help of the judiciary.

So, the State has let the Ala Wai boat harbor in Waikiki nearly completely fall into ruin. Keehi Lagoon is close behind the Ala Wai in condition but only the desperate would want to have a boat there in any case. Both these harbors have more slips condemned than functioning. It got so bad that there was talk of cancelling the TransPac race because they weren't sure they'd have enough viable slips for the boats. Roy Disney personally castigated the State in an open letter for what it has allowed to happen to the Ala Wai. Unfortunately, those two Oahu Marinas are just the tip of the ice berg.

Maintenance and improvements on all the State Harbors is abysmal and waiting lists gargantuan. Construction of new marinas and slips is at a complete standstill because of political indifference and the 'change nothing' attitude of the rabid environmentalists with their friends in the judiciary.

In short, In Hawaii, The State Harbors and their administration are a poster child for privatization. It's so bad that I keep my boat in California whereI can find a slip without consulting acturarial tables to determine if I'll live long enough to get it. That is if the slip hasn't fallen into the ocean by the time my number comes up.

As far as Bare Boat charters, insurance is a problem. Mistakes are often fatal here that would be an embarassment in less forgiving waters. During the winter, there are no safe anchorages outside of harbors and even some of them aren't completely safe. A 15' or 20' error in navigation can turn a boat into kindling in minutes. Sailing against the tradewinds and currents in the channels is brutal. Of course it's relatively warm water and almost always sunny so is a small improvement over the PNW. Downwind sailing with the trades is some of the most exhilerating sailing imaginable and the scenery on the windward side of the Islands, amazing. The problem is you can only really only enjoy the windward sides in the summer and once you get there, you have to turn around and buck the winds and seas getting back.

Hate to throw a wet blanket on sailing in my home waters but it has it's problems, big problems.

I'm glad Iniki was moving fast and didn't beat up Kauai. Of course a quickie DIRECT hit by a category 4 hurricane doesn't cause much damage, NOT!!!!! Almost every house on Kauai suffered major damage and EVERY water front property was totally wasted. Almost all the electric poles were ripped out of the ground and/or broken and the power lines down. All the hotels were closed, some for a year or more for repair/rebuilding. The trees that weren't blown down were almost shorn of leaves. Kauai was not a pretty site. Just talked with a guy who lived through it. His house came through the right forward quadrant hit without much damage. He went out in the yard when the eye passed over and picked up furniture and stuff that had been blown around. As the eye passed over, the wind on the opposite side of the eye switched 180 degrees and went from near calm to 120mph+ in seconds. He loaded his family in their SUV in the garage as a precaution. Fortunately he did so as the neighbors house exploded and the debris tore his house down around their car. I was in Kauai a couple of moths after Iniki and it looked like a giant scythe had leveled everything taller than 20'

Aloha
Peter O.

[Stranded Mariner]

Thanks for the background on boating in Hawaii Peter.

As for Iniki, I think I've never seen such damage. Our crew of engineers was staying in the Poipu Beach Hotel, but during the storm all went hiding in the concrete basement of the Port Allen (Ele'ele) power station, which we had helped to build.
One of my friends had a motor boat for fishing charters. The storm surge threw it right on the road to the station.

After the storm the island looked like a war zone. The power station was practically undamaged, but I can't remember one power line that was not torn to pieces.
Our hotel was basically gone. There were lava rocks in the bar, and palm trees penetrating the walls of three rooms in a row.

The national guard came after a few days, and installed these little mobile generators everywhere. After camping in our site office for a while, we could move in some condo's which were not too badly damaged. The roof was temporarily fixed with blue plastic like everywhere else. Everything changed. Some people who saw their businesses ruined moved to the US mainland, others who came as temporaries, like roofers, electricians, insurance adjusters etc., found a permanent job and stayed.

The last time I was in the islands was early 1994, and I never have been back since unfortunately.

Andreas

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by roverhi

”... It got so bad that there was talk of cancelling the TransPac race because they weren't sure they'd have enough viable slips for the boats. Roy Disney personally castigated the State in an open letter for what it has allowed to happen to the Ala Wai ...”

Roy Disney’s latest open letter, published in the Honolulu Advertiser August 13, 2007

State has shown it can't manage boat harbor ~ By Roy E. Disney
Goto: State has shown it can't manage boat harbor - The Honolulu Advertiser - Hawaii's Newspaper

Two years ago, following the 2005 Transpacific Yacht Race, I wrote to The Advertiser, lamenting the sad and dilapidated state of the Ala Wai Boat Harbor. My letter was reprinted in a number of publications, in Hawai'i and the Mainland, and for a brief few months there was hope something might be done.

Two years ago, the second-largest fleet in Transpac's illustrious history arrived to find the entirety of "Transpac Row" condemned, rotting, and useless, not just to them but to the state in general. Instead of the 100-year tradition of a true "gathering place" for the visitors, the boats were scattered haphazardly around the boat harbor and largely left to fend for themselves — and to feel entirely unwanted and unwelcome.

"How could it get much worse?" we said to each other in 2005.

Well, in 2007, another near-record fleet found out how much worse it could get. Two more rows of slips were derelict and almost nonexistent; boats had to be tied stern-to with no access to either electricity or fresh water. The feeling of aloha was almost entirely missing.

As you know, Pacific High Productions has been shooting a feature film — slated for distribution next year by the Walt Disney Co. — based on the Transpac race, working in and around Ala Wai since January. The condition of the boat harbor has severely limited our shooting options and angles, lest we embarrass Hawai'i by inadvertently photographing the pathetic conditions there.

We would certainly find it difficult to recommend it to others in our industry as a filming location. In the past, Ala Wai has been a highly desirable location, for such shows as "Gilligan's Island," and of course, "Hawaii Five-0."

Ala Wai Boat Harbor is without a doubt the single most important and most prestigious location for a world-class marina in the entire northeast Pacific. A restored and vibrant harbor, right on the edge of Waikiki Beach, would be a highly visible source of pride, and more importantly, of income, to the city and the state. It could be a tourist attraction of real importance.

But the simple fact is that NOTHING has been done, and Ala Wai continues to suffer from what seems to be almost malicious neglect.

If the trend continues, the harbor will be empty of useable moorings by the time the 2009 Transpac racers return. In the interim, local mariners of all kinds — sailors, fishermen, every lover of the sea — will continue to suffer.

It is tragically ironic that the state which takes such great — and deserved — pride in its roots in the sea, which has produced a living symbol of that in Hokule'a, should neglect one of its most important gateways to the sea.

It is my strong belief that government has demonstrated that it is simply unable to run the boat harbor properly. It is time for private enterprise to step in, take over and do what it has done for many similar marinas elsewhere, all over our country and abroad.

As I said two years ago, I write as one who knows the state more than a little. I first came here as a kid in 1939, and I have always returned out of love. I have come back as a tourist, as a businessman, as the owner of a local television station for many years, as a competitor in the Transpac, and most recently as a filmmaker and a homeowner.

It pains me — as it should pain every Hawai'i resident — that government has been so remiss in recognizing the importance of Ala Wai. Please, for all of us, visiting sailors, local sailors, but especially for all the proud citizens of Hawai'i, fix Ala Wai!!!

Roy E. Disney
Skipper of Pyewacket, MaxZ86
Los Angeles

***

Excerpted from the “44th Biennial Transpacific Yacht Race / Los Angeles to Hawaii
Transpacific Yacht Club newsletter: Transpac 2007 Press Release

”... Roy Disney, following his 15th and final Transpac, wrote a letter published in the Honolulu Advertiser bemoaning the situation.

At about the same time, Curtis A. (Bud) Thompson, a former commodore of two Hawaiian yacht clubs and general chairman of the Honolulu Committee for the 1969 Transpac, wrote a letter to Gov. Linda Lingle. She responded last October:

"My administration is concerned about the condition of the State's small boat harbors, as we do want them to be places that our citizens and visitors can enjoy. We also recognize the economic value of prestigious yachting competitions and will continue to support events like the Transpac.

"I wish to assure you that we are looking into various solutions for the repair and upkeep of our harbor facilities and, in addition, we continue our efforts to persuade legislators to dedicate additional funds."

Nine months later the state has made no apparent moves to improve the marina, despite Lingle's stated concern and assurances.

Last month Thompson wrote her another letter pointing out the potential added benefits of Transpac to her state through Disney's Morning Light project that will see "the youngest crew ever to sail Transpac" racing a Transpac 52 to Honolulu.

As of this release he has received no response...”

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by Stranded Mariner

Thanks for the background on boating in Hawaii Peter.

As for Iniki, I think I've never seen such damage. Our crew of engineers was staying in the Poipu Beach Hotel, but during the storm all went hiding in the concrete basement of the Port Allen (Ele'ele) power station, which we had helped to build.
One of my friends had a motor boat for fishing charters. The storm surge threw it right on the road to the station.

After the storm the island looked like a war zone. The power station was practically undamaged, but I can't remember one power line that was not torn to pieces.
Our hotel was basically gone. There were lava rocks in the bar, and palm trees penetrating the walls of three rooms in a row.

The national guard came after a few days, and installed these little mobile generators everywhere. After camping in our site office for a while, we could move in some condo's which were not too badly damaged. The roof was temporarily fixed with blue plastic like everywhere else. Everything changed. Some people who saw their businesses ruined moved to the US mainland, others who came as temporaries, like roofers, electricians, insurance adjusters etc., found a permanent job and stayed.

The last time I was in the islands was early 1994, and I never have been back since unfortunately.

Andreas

Interesting......you and I left Hawaii the same year. We sailed out of Ala Wai on Feb 11, 1994, enroute to Palmyra and our 2nd circumnavigation.

My best friend ran a catering business in Hawaii. His company made packaged meals for the hotels and other businesses on all of the islands. He owned a Cessna (Airplane) that he used for his business. When Iniki hit, he called me on the phone and asked if I wanted to fly over to Kauai with him. He got special permission to fly over to help arrange food supplies.

We got over there about 2 hours after Iniki left. We flew around the island (taking pictures) for quite awhile before we could land. There were military transports landing.

Although there was a lot of damage and swaths of destruction (that appeared to be tornadoes) it was relativily minor (in comparrison to what it could have been) due to the fact that the eye of Iniki took about 30 minutes to clear the island. The eye of Iniki was traveling at 30kts when it passed over Kauai. It was moving so fast that it overran it's own storm surge and practically flattened it out from the forecaste 20' down to 6'. Had Iniki continued it's forecasted movement of 10kts, destruction on Kauai would have been nearly total IMO.

We spent 2 days on the island and traveled around pretty freely. By the time that we left, I was amazed at the amount of work that had already been done. There were hundreds of power poles being put in place and almost all of the roads had been cleared.

Hurricane Andrew had devistated parts of Florida just a few weeks prior to Iniki. There was no way that the Governor of Hawaii was going to take the flack that the Gvnr of Florida and FIMA got. The National Gaurd was on the ground in Kauai before the last winds of Iniki blew.

As bad as it was, it could have been SO MUCH worse. If I remember correctly, only 1 or 2 lives were lost and I think that they were more health related than direct injury related. What a miracle.

[cedric.02]

Boating in Hawaii is really great! I did that already selveral times and i will again for sure - thank's for the background.
I saw some of you guys lived there already - how is it to have a Oahu real estate?
The father of my wife has a sailing boat and he is thinking of moving their!

Ceedy