Safe moorage in Hawaii

[standardhuman]

Option A) Instead of departing immediately for WA from HI, I'm contemplating staying in HI during the remainder of July-August, flying back to CA for a two week contract at the end of August, and returning to bring the boat to WA around September 4. This would mean landfall at Vancouver Island at the end of September, beginning of October.

Option B) The original (and currently most likely) plan was to spend 4-5 days recouping and reprovisioning in Hanalei after the race then head immediately for WA. The downside is that I would miss the job (and a lot of friends at said job...OK, so the contract is at Burning Man) and who knows how I will like another 20+ days alone at sea so quickly after the race (expected to take ~20 days). On the other hand, I could then make the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend and have time to see some of the San Juans before the Winter sets in.

So, if option A, any suggestions on good places to leave the boat for a couple of weeks? Not sure how far from Hanalei I will have strayed by late August, so I imagine most places in the islands may be considered. Any favorites?

Opinions on both plans encouraged.

Brian

 

[peter00]

Brian, Ronnie Simpson wrote elsewhere on the forum about a good experience he had leaving his boat in Nawiliwili (?) which is reasonably close to Hanalei. I can't speak to that. We stayed in the islands for the whole winter after the 2012 race and for leaving a boat unattended Honolulu is probably the best with Ala Wai Small boat Harbour being a bit cheaper than Keehi Lagoon/ You must have valid insurance for Ala Wai as well as all registration papers etc. (not sure about Keehi). Downtown Hono can be very hot in the summer but it is very central for shopping etc. Keehi is a bit more problematic as well as being noisy and dirty. It can be a very rough passage from Kauai so best if you're not forced to go until the weather serves. Hope that helps.

 

[jakmang]

Nawiliwili is safe and sheltered. It is small, so call up the harbormaster and see what availability there is. There is an area to anchor there too if you feel good about that. There were a fair number of empty slips in July 2012. A number of boats anchor in Hanalei for the summer and move back in the winter. You might have to be out by their normal return.

October weather can start to be a bit rough off the Northwest Coast.

Cheers,
-jak

 

[WBChristie]

Ill be heading back to Brookings Oregon about 4 or 5 days after arrival hopefully (Elizabeth Ann)
Gary

 

[ronnie simpson]

Peter and jakmang are both spot on.

Nawiliwili would be an excellent place to leave the boat. In all likelihood, she would "probably" be fine in Hanalei, but i always am sketched out at leaving my boat unattended for more than a couple days in case something fluky happens. s/v Champ stayed unattended in Hanalei for a month in Hanalei with no issues before I delivered her home to Seattle, just for reference.

The harbor agent in Nawiliwili that helped me was named Kristy K. Kahananui and I found her to be extremely helpful, and I think Nawiliwili rocks! So much so I became an NYC member in 2012 and that is still my home club. Between May and October, a lot of the local Nawiliwili boats go to Hanalei as jak mentioned, leaving a lot of slips open in Nawiliwili Harbor.

Kristy Kahananui
Harbor Agent
Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor
(808)241-3115
[email protected]

Anchoring the boat in Nawiliwili could be a bit dodgy. I have anchored there a couple times for 1-2 days and never had an issue but after a hard rain, the river is running out pretty hard, creating a contradictory current to the trades blowing, making the boat rolly and uncomfortable, potentially causing chafe, dragging, boat/ anchor flipping directions if the breeze dies and current builds, etc. The ground there is also silt and loose sediment over coral if i remember correctly. A slip for your boat will be under $10 a day. I think i paid $240/ month to leave my 24-foot boat there for 4 months.

Aloha and good luck!

ronnie