So . . . Hawaii . . . What Gives ?

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Its hard to describe the sailing here. There are no big bays like San Diego. Very few places you can just day sail to and tie up to have dinner or cocktails. Each Island is at least an overnight sail and some require going through a nasty channel. The weather is a lot more humid but it truly is beautiful. It does rain. The most rain you'll get will be here where I am. Average is 120" a year but everything is green and orchids are natural. You get about 6" a year if I remember San Diego right.
kind regards,

You got that right! First time I ever got seasick was crossing the Molokai Channel ... nasty.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Its hard to describe the sailing here. There are no big bays like San Diego. Very few places you can just day sail to and tie up to have dinner or cocktails. Each Island is at least an overnight sail and some require going through a nasty channel. The weather is a lot more humid but it truly is beautiful. It does rain. The most rain you'll get will be here where I am. Average is 120" a year but everything is green and orchids are natural. You get about 6" a year if I remember San Diego right.
kind regards,

Oh my gosh. That is a lot of rain.

[cuthbert]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Then you've got what's left of the ethnic Hawaiians (who tend to forget, they all came from somewhere else too, and they were only unified by years of war and a warlord) not wanting more mainlanders crowding them out.

Wow! That's a bit fierce.

You believe all ethnic Hawaiians bear a grudge towards outsiders?

Really?

[SkiprJohn]

cuthbert,
I'll have to chime in that most 100% ethnic Hawaiians do want their nation back and as they've explained it was stolen from them very much as native Americans had their nations stolen. Many don't want others coming in and buying up their ancestral lands.

Rebel,
We get a bunch of rain here near Hilo but all the rest of the islands get much less and especially on the leeward side.
kind regards,

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by cuthbert

Wow! That's a bit fierce.

You believe all ethnic Hawaiians bear a grudge towards outsiders?

Really?

I don't know about a grudge, but I found out the hard way, they get more than a little testy, if you're in the way while surfing on "THEIR" beach.

[Aussiesuede]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

I don't know about a grudge, but I found out the hard way, they get more than a little testy, if you're in the way while surfing on "THEIR" beach.

I'll share a little story about "outsiders" and Hawaii:

A few months after I moved to Hawaii back in the 90's I'd met a guy at a pub who "looked" local. Turns out that he'd actually been raised in Northern California and had family in the islands and decided to spend tome time in Hawaii after graduating college. He told me of one of the first times he went surfing out near Nanakuli and got the crap beat out of him. He'd "dropped" in on a group of locals while surfing and had the hairbrained idea of "Standing his Ground" when they first approached him and started razzing him. That didn't end well and he got a pretty good beatdown. He thought the fact that he looked like any other local would allow him carte blanche to surf when and where he saw fit. What he discovered is that there was a hierarchy that had more to do with having "put in your time" than it did with anything else. Hoale's are simply much easier to identify as outsiders before approaching, and true locals already knew the lay of the land. His advice saved me from what were sure to be some good beatdowns during my time in the islands otherwise. He illustrated his point with a pretty simple story which made a world of difference in how easily I was received vs the experiences of what many of my other mainland newbies had gone through. More or less summed up as follows:

Imagine if you lived in a desert community and your house was the only one in the neighborhood with a pool. So on hot summer days, all the kids in the neighborhood came over to your place to play in the pool and beat the heat. Imagine if after some time some people you didn't know decided to drop in because they'd heard that there was a pool available. They just walked into your backyard, never greeted you, jumped in the pool, changed the music on the radio, and rearranged the lawn chairs. It wouldn't take very long for you, and all the other kids that you knew and actually invited got together and confronted these interlopers.

Having had that little tale told to me gave me a bit of perspective I would not have gotten otherwise. Whether we agree with it or not, it pays great dividends to understand the perspective of those who are already in new environments in which we arrive. Their view of things is very likely to be different than our own and things simple as introducing yourself, and asking can you join in - go a LONG way towards watering down any potential hostility. Over the years, I've shared that story with a good many folks who said they were thinking of moving to the islands. I'd like to think I've prevented a lot of beatdowns in the process. The visual of that backyard swimming pool is usually understood by all. When surfing in Hawaii; Greet then ask to join in. It's much better than the reaction many receive from locals when they just drop in unanounced.

[Loco Gato]

In Oahu, the Kewalo Basin Harbor is a pretty good spot. Close to just about everything, except West Marine out on Sand Is. For a waterline length of 58'4" , it runs us about $700.00 per month, less electrical. That you set up yourself and Charles, the Harbor Master, will help you out there. They are working hard to make Kewalo a great place to stay and are very helpful in general. If you want more specific info, let me know.

[prof_mariner]

My wife and I are from Hawaii, sailed the islands for most of my life, and did yacht deliveries around the islands, California and Mexico. Sailing in Hawaii is serious stuff, nothing like S. California and Baja (which is where a lot of people take off from). I know lots of cases where people sailed from California easily only to get the snot scared out of them in the Molokai channel (and that channel is mellow compared to some of the other spots). Slips are also very hard to find and can be very expensive. Not saying it can't be done nor that's it's not worth the effort, but it'll be a lot harder to find than other places. But because it's such a challenging place to sail, the rewards can be that much greater. I've lost count of the days and nights I've anchored, all alone in some of the prettiest cove's on the planet.

As for getting along with island locals, it's always been my belief that you get what you give. It's a lot mellower now than it was, say, 30 years ago and the locals are outnumbered by "haoles" (visitors) almost everywhere now. But if you fail to show basic courtesy or respect to a local, you may just find out how unacceptable that is the hard way. To be honest, though, that's the case anywhere you go. Be polite, have a big smile, and you'll be fine almost anywhere on the globe. If you have any specific questions about the islands, drop me a PM.