7/11/14 Wandering Dolphin's Hawaiian Adventure - Maui

Our adventure in Hawaii comes to a close tomorrow.  We have spent the last couple of weeks in Maui where we have adventured with our friends Richard and Chenoa, met long lost cousins (in Tofer's case) and not so long lost (in Becky's case), ran into blog followers who visited the boat, and even bumped into one of Tofer's favorite middle school teachers from 30 years ago in Wyoming.

When we arrived in Maui we were amazed at the difference an overnight sail can have.  We went from rainy, almost chilly, laid back Hilo, on the Big Island, to dry, hot and bustling with tourism Lahaina, on Maui.  We had made arrangements with the Yacht Club for a mooring out in the harbor so it was pretty easy to just grab one of the available moorings.  We checked in with the Harbor Control office where we were required to show our boats documentation and clearance papers for Hawaii.  They were super nice and gave us great information about the area and the fees for staying in the harbor were, once again, very affordable.  It cost us $2.00 per person, per day as well as $2.00 to use a mooring.  Hard to complain about spending $14.00 a day to stay in one of the top destinations in the USA.  We also ended up having a front row seat from our boat for Maui's firework show right in Lahaina harbor on the Fourth of July!

We did find the attitude of the Yacht Club a little confusing.  They were never very friendly and we always felt like we were not really wanted there.  The first day we arrived to give them all of our paperwork they were so rude we almost wanted to leave.  In order to stay on a mooring, (or even be in any Hawaiian harbor) you are required to have $500,000 liability insurance for your vessel.  We didn't have this coverage and instead of just saying, "Hey guys, just go get the coverage and you'll be set."  They just told us to get off the mooring immediately and drop our anchor.  That would not have been a smart thing to do so I just ignored them, we went to an agent right here in Lahaina, who sold us the coverage we needed for $80 per year and we went back to clear in with the club.  I'm not really sure what the problem is but they sure don't seem very welcoming.  That being said, we found almost everybody else to be super nice.  One of our favorite places was, Local Boys Shave Ice.  The girls there were SUPER!  They had us coming back for more not only because of there YUMMY shave ice but because of there bubbly fun and welcoming spirits.

The $5.99 breakfast special at "Cheeseburger in Paradise" was great but I think the best actual cheeseburger was at "Cool Cats." That was where the best milkshakes could be found as well.

From the harbor in Lahaina the grocery store is within walking distance but you really need to rent a car to see the island.  The bus system is great and for $4.00 you can get an all day pass.  It would be crazy to try to see the whole island with a family on the bus though, not to mention trying to provision.

Richard rented a car and one day we drove the road to Hana which took all day but was well worth the time.  The road has about a thousand curves in it through jungle with amazing views of the ocean through the trees.  Becky drove in and Richard drove out... They even sell " I Drove The Road To Hana" T-shirts because it's such a big drive!

Becky's cousin Josh and his wife Danielle came to visit one day and spent a little time out on the boat.  Jared, one of our readers also came out to the boat with his little daughter Katlyn.  They just happened to be here for vacation and saw us one day having breakfast!

We went snorkeling at Black Rock which is a beach off of a resort and was full of people.  Kaleb ran right up to the top of the rock and jumped off with the locals.  I'm not even sure he looked down before he leaped.  We saw a couple of turtles while we were there as well as some very pretty coral and a ton of fish on the bottom hanging out in tidal eddies.

Our next snorkel spot was at                      where the boys spent most of their time playing in the surf and checking out bikini clad babes.  The snorkeling there was not great though.

Kristofer's cousin Melinda and her boyfriend Kurt joined us for the Fourth on the boat.  We fired up the BBQ and Richard cooked burgers and we watched the closest fireworks show ever while sipping margaritas on the deck of Wandering Dolphin.

There is a movie theater right across from the big tree so our movie nut family got to watch a few shows and with a Bad Ass for coffee and Cool Cats for cheeseburgers and free internet at Burger King right there our family had everything we like right within visual distance.

Lahaina is a great stop for cruising boats and if you can just ignore the attitude from the bartender at the yacht club you'll have a great time.

We hope you will follow us as we sail again.  We will be back to posting daily position reports and blog posts while we are offshore.  Remember to follow our Facebook page as well.  We post regularly in real time using our Delorme InReach.  All comments are passed on to us as well.  We also love to get your messages on our Iridium phone and we will post these instructions as well.

Next stop for WD will be Blaine, Washington where we have a slip and the family will be staying on the boat for the winter! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.   Should make for some interesting stories though huh?

Setting Sail,
Captain Tofer, Becky, EmilyAnne, Kanyon, Kaleb and Benny.