Cruising Hawaii

[collisionatsea]

Savoir and Roverhi know what they are talking about! Cruising is difficult in Hawaii for many reasons, yet nothing beats crossing the Alinuihaha Channel in fresh trades for an exhilharaitng sail! If you want to buy a Luders 36 set up for cruising (moored at the Ala Wai in Honolulu), let's talk. It's not listed yet but we're getting ready to. We have sailed a bit around the islands in this Cheoi Lee built sloop, and did a longer cruise to French Polynesia from Kona. A very seaworthy vessel.

[collisionatsea]

We have a slip at the Ala Wai and there is no transfer. Best way is to get on the list (cheap to get on the list). The list is moving quickly since Koolina opened up. When we bought our sailboat years ago, we learned all this the hard way. Prepare to be on the list at least a year, at the Ala Wai. All the other state harbor lists move much more slowly. You can keep your new boat in drydock at Gentry's Kona Marina on the Big Island (Hawaii Island) until you find a permanent spot. Or you can slip hop, 30 days here, thirty days there, which I don't advise, but is an option.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by collisionatsea

Savoir and Roverhi know what they are talking about! Cruising is difficult in Hawaii for many reasons, yet nothing beats crossing the Alinuihaha Channel in fresh trades for an exhilharaitng sail! If you want to buy a Luders 36 set up for cruising (moored at the Ala Wai in Honolulu), let's talk. It's not listed yet but we're getting ready to. We have sailed a bit around the islands in this Cheoi Lee built sloop, and did a longer cruise to French Polynesia from Kona. A very seaworthy vessel.

I don't like those channels. Man o man have they thrown some ugly stuff at me. 10 ft waves going one way, current going a second and 45 knots of wind going a third. YUK !

Then the old guys tell me " Funny, it was great out there yesterday."

[collisionatsea]

Yes savoir, we too, have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in the Hawaiian channels. You go from motoring because of no wind, to full reef and confused seas in a heartbeat. Only to slide behind the wind shadow of Lanai or Koho'olawe and have to turn on the engine again. Very bi-polar conditions. 45 knots is common in the channels, but I have to say we have never encountered that. Just lucky, I guess.

[savoir]

This happened at the SW corner of Molokai. At least it only lasted an hour.

Nothing broke so it could have been worse.

[BlueWaterSail]

Originally Posted by savoir

Not true ? Have all those slips behind the fuel dock with no land access been rebuilt ?

If you buy a boat locally you want to check the possibility of taking the slip. I don't know the slip transfer rules but the broker should.

Yes they were, not quite sure when. A fixed dock & causeway now joins the outermost row of moorings to the marina, and a breakwater was erected right in front of it. Mooring here is temporary for the most part (for visitors), and it is Med-style. A temporary permit lasts 4 months and counts the total time the boat (not the owner) has been at the harbor during the calendar year.

So it you buy a boat and it has been on temporary at Ala Wai for 3 months (for viewing), you only get 1 month until the start of the following year. If you time it right, you can do back-to-back temporaries, one from Sep-Dec, then another Jan-Apr.

State harbors do not allow slips to be transferred at the time of sale. This is one of the biggest issues for those looking to buy here, because they have to find a new slip almost immediately after purchase, and most convenient marinas around town (Oahu) put you on the waitlist. Koolina is an option but it's expensive and far from town.

BWS

[Yachtbuilder]

While some of Savoir's post may seem quite negative, there is more that a grain of truth to most of it. I lived there quite a few years, was a member of HYC and kept my Acapulco 40 in the 400 row.

The State Government is not cruiser friendly, It is not even so for those who live there. The State run marinas (which is most of them) are really third world, poorly maintained and the slip rent goes into "the general fund", and very little comes back to maintain and improve the marinas. What they care about is golf courses, not marinas.

Prior to moving away from paradise in 1998, I attended meetings when Haseko (a Japanese Developer with a large presence in Hawaii) was working hard to get approval to build a new "modern" marina out Ewa way. Much to my surprise they finally won out. If I were still living there and wanted a beautiful spot with peace and quiet, I would avoid the Ala Wai like the plague and put my boat out there. The only downside is that you can't walk to everything and would need a car.

[Silverado6x6]

I have never been to Hawaii, but my curiosity draws me to all the different threads about it, bottom line Hawaii looks like this to me, if I have enough money to buy a tourism money generator like a vacation home or such then Hawaii is good.

But its alarmingly more hostile if you are just the tourist be it if you are on land or from the sea. No thanks on Hawaii for me, I'm too much white meat.

[ziptie-ducktape]

I am currently in a state run harbour in Hawaii on Oahu, drugs, vagrancy and homeless living in cars rule. If you leave your yacht be warned it maybe empty when you return,,,

[SkiprJohn]

To Silverado,
Hawaii has one big industry. It is tourism. Tourists who fly here and stay in a hotel or resort will find every accomodation to their liking and the Hawaii State Government bends over backwards to make certain airlines, hotel industry and anything catering to tourism is well taken care of.
They just do not get it as far as marinas, boating and cruisers are concerned.
kind regards,

[Yachtbuilder]

Some of these recent posts brought back a "not so good" memory of my first experience when I sailed into the Islands in 1979. We had anchored in the harbor at Kahuliu, Maui. On the first night we took the dingy ashore and walked across the street to go to a movie. When we returned we noticed the zodiac had been moved, a few palm trees down the beach. I figured some local kids had been playing with it and thought nothing of it. When we reached the boat and climbed into the cockpit, it became obvious someone had broken in, as the teak companionway doors were destroyed.

When I went below it looked like the boat had been in a roll over at sea! There were burned matches everywhere, including in the hanging lockers, which were full of clothes. The cabin sole, from the companionway to the forepeak, was strewn with our belongings. It seems these morons who broke in knew nothing about boats, as the battery switch was still off, so they had no lights. We were lucky this beautiful boat wasn't set on fire.

They took every personal item that they could hock, including my S&W 9mm pistol. I thought I had it so well hidden that even customs would never find it, but these guys did, with only matches.

All of this took place in front of the Maui Seaside Hotel. I rowed back in and called the cops and waited until this tall Phillipino Officer shows up, and then rowed him out to the "crime scene". He was getting a big charge from all of this, thinking it was funny. I can imagine what he may have been thinking "Rich Haole Yachtsman gets it good, Brudda".

After he dusts much of the boat for prints (and leaves purple powder everywhere) I take him back to shore. He leaves, laughing, saying he will be in touch. After three days I go to the Police Station, which is in Wailuku, just a few minutes up the road, and talk to the Chief. He says not to expect to get any of our stuff back. That infuriates me and I ask if he has checked the pawn shop (which is just a five minute walk from the Police Station). He says "no, they wouldn't try to pawn the stuff there". So I tell him I will conduct my own investigation if they aren't going to do anything. He didn't like that.

So I walk over to the pawn shop, explained to the owner (a very nice man) what had happened. He asked me what was taken and, when I gave him a good description, he said he had some of it home in his garage, trying to rinse the salt water out of it. He would bring it to his shop the next morning, and I made sure MPD was there. The only thing these pukes didn't pawn was my gun. This haole detective, who acted like he was straight out of the NYPD show, wanted to see the permit for the gun. He then impounded all my stuff and asked me to prove it was mine. The pawn broker settled that by tellling the cop that I had given a complete description, before seeing it. Two weeks later I got it back.

To summarize, the cops, after much prodding by me, caught one of the guys. It seems these dummies had provided valid drivers licenses to the pawn broker. They were both a couple of Oregon hippie welders looking for work on Maui. One of them had escaped back to Oregon (with my gun) and the cops said that was the end of that. I insisted they send a man back to Oregon and bring that guy back here and prosicute him. After much harrang, they agreed to do that. They went to his mother's house in Oregon (without a warrant) and she wouldn't let them in. They later found out he was already in an Oregon jail. The gun was never recovered (or so I was told). We did get partial restitution from the mother. If any of you find a moral to this story, let me know!

Let me just say, Hawaii has a lot of positives to it, and, having lived there 19 years, most of my friendships with the locals, were more sincere ones that many of the ones made here on the mainland. Real friends, not the "what can you do for me" type. But the State, County and local government still has somewhat of a third world mentality.

There is a lot I miss about the place.

Yachtbuilder

[collisionatsea]

All of this having been said against cruising in Hawaii, (and all of it true) I do have to say that there is nothing quite like being moored at the Ala Wai, especially on 800 row by the breakwater, with a view of Diamond Head and Waikiki on one hand, and Magic Island on the other, the iconic rainbow of Hilton'w tower (think Hawaii Five-O, old school). The melting pot of Honolulu offers a wide variety of people and cultures, the ease of walking to the or taking the bus, the entertainment provided by local surfers, fishermen, tourists snapping photos of the sunset and weddings on the beach, -- and the Hawaiians partying in the parking lot, plunking on ukuleles or sometimes electric guitars and drums -- is always interesting, always Hawaii. In many ways it IS paradise.

The mooring fees are still inexpensive (cheap actually, although some of the docks are condemned) but the Hawaii Yacht Club is friendly and right there in the harbor, as others have pointed out. The HYC has a voyagers and cruisers society that promotes interisland sailing (which is not easy as anchorages are in short supply, as are slips). They are open to everyone, from beginners to circumnavigators, and if you don't own a boat you can go along as crew on someone else's. And then there are the Friday night races... In spite of the lack of facilities and the hurdles put up by the state, the people themselves are very kind here, if you show aloha you will receive it in kind, and more.

After doing some interisland sailing ourselves, followed by our sail to French Polynesia in 2000, Topaz, our trusty Luders 36, is now our Waikiki waterfront condo. We'll enjoy our weekends on her until we find the adventurous person or couple who wants to buy Topaz and live the dream, or sail her away.

[Yachtbuilder]

Well, now you have made me homesick! All those positive things you mention about Hawaii are true and I do miss it, having been gone 12 years. If my hi-rise engineering work had not gone away, we would still be there.

No can afford anymore, Brah.

Yachtbuilder

[RecBoater]

Aloha from the "Big Island" of Hawaii.

On December 6, 2010 at noon, Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie was sworn into office, along with William Aila, Jr. as the Department of Land & Natural Resources (DLNR), Director and Chairperson of Board of Land & Natural Resources. William Aila, Jr. has been a DLNR, Division of Boating & Ocean Recreation's (DoBOR) Harbor Agent at Waianae Small Boat Harbor for approximately twenty years. I look forward with great expectations, Hawaii small boat harbors and launch ramps will improve, along with improved service to all boaters.

Please consider the opportunity to sail near to an active volcano eruption on the south-eastern coastline of the Big Island, that been erupting since 1983, instead of paying $150-$175 per person for a lava tour from Pohoiki Launch Ramp.

Check out NOAA chart 19324 for offshore mooring in Hilo Bay or contact DOT Hilo Harbor at (808) 933-8850 or DLNR DoBOR Hilo office at (808) 933-0414 for temporary mooring within commercial and/or small boat harbors.

Aloha from Hilo, Hawaii

[BlueWaterSail]

To be fair, Hawaii as a cruising destination needs to be put in perspective. It's the most remote landmass in the world, so the ratio of airborne arrivals to those via the ocean are (I'm guessing) in the region of 5 million to 200 per year (0.004%), not counting transpac. Naturally, the airline tourist gets the most attention.

To have the best cruising Hawaii experience, limit your stay to 3-4 months, use the Ala Wai temporaries and you'll be right there - Waikiki beach, all the facilities and ammenities, and plenty of time for day trips to wherever you want. After that, it gets complicated - no slips, or expensive and remote facilities and not many options. Locals have to tough it out for many years sometimes, mooring in dirty, noisy and crime-ridden areas like Keehi lagoon before their name comes up for a berth at the Ala Wai. I was one of those, and I love my slip across from Waikiki beach. And the Ala Wai harbor staff are really helpful and friendly if you take the time to get to know them.

In conclusion, things are not perfect here, but for a temporary taste of all that is Hawaii cruisers pay a ridiculously small fraction of the cost of their hotel-bound tourist counterparts. It's well worth it, just be ready to beat it back eastward or continue to follow the trades, it never ceases to amaze me how many boats arrive only to have a for sale sign hung on them shortly afterwards, the owners having had a change of plans.

You are, after all quite literally in the middle of nowhere.

BWS