Hawaii-Maui-Lanai-Oahu

May 23-June 18, 2025

Since arriving in the state of Hawaii we have had a blast exploring the islands and making new friends. In this blog post I plan to cover some detailed information we learned about checking in to the state/country as well as details of the anchorages we have visited. I’ll keep this information in italics for those non-sailors who are not interested in these details. This may be useful for sailors planning a trip to Hawaii.

Hawaii

As described in our last post, we arrived in Hilo, Hawaii after a 20 day, 1 hour, 30 min passage. The anchorage was super calm and relaxing. We put the dinghy down and went into town to explore. Hilo is a small, somewhat rural town without much tourism. There are some great restaurants which we certainly appreciated after being on the boat for almost three weeks. Our highlights included Pineapples (upscale casual), Verna’s (great lunch plate), Hilo Bay Cafe -HBC (great sushi), Ola Brewing, and Ponds (old school restaurant).

We met a wonderful local woman named Rhonda when she sailed out to say hi to us in the anchorage. She runs the local youth sailing program and is the unofficial cruisers ambassador. Just a wonderful person. She even let us use her car for a few days while we were there. We used it to explore the island. Along with our friends on Ka’Sala we visited Rainbow Falls and the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens which were amazing! The gardens are a must see while in Hilo. Afterwards, just down the road from the botanical gardens we had a great lunch at Piilani Kitchen.

The next day we drove up to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park for some great hiking. We did the Crater Rim to Kilauea Iki Trail which brought us through an older crater as well as giving great views of the active Kilauea volcano. Although this one is very active, we missed an eruption by about 12 hours. So all we saw was smoke and steam but still really cool. Next we walked through the Nahuku Lava Tube before heading back down to Hilo.

The following day, we again packed in the car with the Ka’Sala crew and drove across the island to Kona. We did a tour of the Greenwell Farms coffee plantation. This free tour is really informative and well worth the time. Of course we had to buy some of their premium coffee. Then we met up with Meghan, Ben and Tripp from Kelea, another boat who completed the crossing just ahead of us. They had arrived several days earlier and were settled in nicely in Kona. We met them at Kona Brewing for delicious beer and lunch. We then headed back to Hilo as Shelly and I took off that evening for Maui.

Check-in and anchorage information: Since we departed from Mexico we had to check-in with customs. We flew our Q-flag and checked in with customs on the CBP-ROAM app. We had been told to use cell phone service rather than Starlink because it gives a better location for the app to work off. Otherwise, with Starlink it can look like you’re in California or Texas based on where the satellite signal routes to the ground station. Whether this is the case or not, we were still unable to submit our entry document until we were inside the breakwater for Hilo. Then it worked flawlessly and we were checked in almost immediately. They sent an email confirming our clearance which we needed later when checking-in with the state (see below). We anchored off the breakwall in 20 feet with sand and mud bottom at N19*44′ W155*04′. There are no fuel docks. We were able to get propane tanks refilled easily in town.

Once checked into customs, you are supposed to check-in with the Department of Land and Natural Resources/Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DLNR/DBOR). After so much time in Mexico, this level of bureaucracy was surprising. Although we had heard of other cruisers having issues, we took the tact of being proactive and friendly. Although pretty much like a trip to the DMV, we had no issues and the process was pretty straightforward after we figured out what was required.

As of this writing in June 2025, the contact person is Monica at monica.m.oliva@hawaii.gov. It is my understanding you can use any approved anchorage in Hawaii for free for 72 hours. In Hilo, if you stay for less than 72 hours, there is no charge and you need only submit a visiting vessel form and a copy of your customs clearance verification email. If more than 72 hours, you have to check in and pay the anchoring fees. The requirements are:

1. Application for mooring ($10)
2. copy of everyone’s ID
3. Vessel documentation/registration
4. A current vessel inspection. Either coast guard inspection or vessel survey within 24 months. If not, you have to get an inspection done by DLNR ($40). In Hilo, you bring your boat into the Wailea river marina and Monica does the inspection. It is pretty much identical to a coast guard safety inspection. The entry to the marina basin is tight. We went in close to high tide (+1.6 ft) and saw 8.7 feet at the waterline.
5. Insurance certificate of liability with DLNR listed as an additional insured.
6. Customs clearance email.

From what I can gather, these requirements are standard for any DLNR facility you use in Hawaii so getting it done in Hilo should (no promises here) cover you for all the other state marinas.

It cost $4.89 per day for our vessel and $10/per person/per day for anchoring in the harbor. We used the Wailea river marina basin to tie up (and lock) our dinghy when we went to shore and had no problems.

Maui

Sailing between islands in Hawaii requires crossing some fairly notorious channels. Hawaii sits almost 3000 miles off the mainland coast and there is no land between the two. This allows the trade winds to blow uninterrupted from east to west. When they hit Hawaii, they are forced to squeeze through channels between the islands which accelerate the winds significantly and causes potentially large, steep, dangerous waves. Therefore, we waited for calmer conditions to cross the most notorious channel of them all, the Alenuihaha Channel, between Hawaii and Maui. Our plan paid off as we left Hilo in the evening and arrived to the channel at daybreak where we had 15-20G25 kts of wind on a broad reach with reasonable seas all the way to Maui.

We arrived at the La Perouse anchorage in Maui where we spent two days and nights. It was very isolated and we didn’t get off the boat. By the second night the winds picked up and there was some uncomfortable wave action so we moved further along the coast of Maui the next day. We anchored off Makena for three days where we enjoyed crystal clear water and great snorkeling. No good shore access though so we stayed on the boat or in the water the whole time. We also met some really friendly locals who gave us great information about the local area. Unfortunately we didn’t make it to Lahaina as they are still recovering from the fire that destroyed the town two years ago.

By the third night in Makena however, the winds picked up out of the north making the anchorage really unpleasant and we departed the following morning for Lanai.

Wind and wave forecasts for the channels are notoriously innacurate with winds and seas routinely stronger and bigger than forecast. We found the Predict Wind models to be unreliable around the islands. The best forecasts we found were from the US National Weather Service (NWS) at www.weather.gov/marine/hfomz.

La Perouse is a good stop after crossing the Alenuihaha channel but it still has crazy winds and waves can still wrap around and hit the anchorage. It would be great in calm conditions. We anchored in 45 feet over sand (have to search out sand as there are a lot of rocks and reef in the area) at N20*35.357′ W156*24.969′.

Makena anchorage was good tucked in on the north side of Pu’u Olai Cinder point. We anchored in 32 feet over sand at N20*37.795 W156*27.004′ until the strong north winds blew in across the low point of the island near Maalaea harbor during stronger trade conditions bringing wind chop with them. We moved around to the south side of the point (N20*38.494 W156*26.970) which was a little better but exposed to the winds wrapping around from the Alenuihaha channel to the south. So no great spots during these conditions with lee shore conditions. Not ideal for sleeping.

We spoke with the Lahaina Yacht Club Rear Commodore and he would have been happy to host us but said the state won’t let them use their moorings quite yet. Hopefully that improves soon.

Lanai

We departed Maui at daybreak and passed Molokini crater as all the morning charter boats were arriving with their guests. We then headed around Lanai, passing the Four Seasons Resort along the way. Our chosen anchorage was at the Needles, named for the towering rock pinnacles in the anchorage. We spent three days exploring the waters around the anchorage. The water was clear and the isolation of the island was relaxing. We didn’t see any other boats until the last day we were there when fellow cruisers on Mayona II joined us. We left for Oahu at 11 pm after three nice days in Lanai.

We anchored in position N20*49.617 W156*59.595 on the north side of the pinnacles as there was a long period south swell forecast. We anchored in 35 feet over sand in water so clear we could see the anchor hit the bottom. Although the winds whipped across the island and into the anchorage in the afternoon, the seas were completely flat calm and we had a great time there.

Oahu

Leaving Lanai we encountered 25 kt winds along the coast of the island that moderated as we cleared the island. We crossed the Kalohi Channel between Lanai and Molokai and the Kaiwi Channel between Molokai and Oahu without incident. The winds were steady and we had a great sail along Oahu with Diamond Head and Waikiki off our starboard rail. We entered the Ala Wai basin and anchored on the Hawaii Yacht Club’s Aloha Dock. It was the first dock we had been tied up at since leaving La Paz in April. We immediately found the Harbor Pub where we had breakfast and Guinness on tap to celebrate.

We have been really enjoying our time in Waikiki. The bigger city with all its amenities within walking distance has been a nice change. We spent a few nights in a hotel to enjoy the luxury of a huge bed and unrestricted hot water showers. We met up with old friends Kat and Nate for a Father’s Day Brunch. Of course we had to go to West Marine for boat supplies but we made a day of it with the crew from Ka’Sala and went to the La Mariana Tiki Bar which is one of our favorite stops in Honolulu.

Otherwise we have been enjoying the area and it’s great restaurants, albeit probably too much. We’ve met up with other sailors from Mayona II, Casita, Andromeda, Detour, Ka’sala, and Sea Dream of Clyde. The Hawaii Yacht Club has been amazing!!! It is a really chill vibe with a good restaurant and bar in a fantastic location. There is an active youth sailing program and it’s fun to watch the kids out sailing daily. The club is super welcoming to cruising boats and tries to accommodate as many boats as they can. If that wasn’t enough, they let us use their commercial kitchen and host a pot-luck BBQ every Monday. And we can receive mail here. Finally access to Amazon.

We are currently rafted up with two other boats on the Aloha dock. Colin on Andromeda is just next to us, having sailed solo from Bellingham, WA to Oahu. On the outside is Sea Dream of Clyde who also sailed across from the La Paz area a few weeks behind us. It’s been nice to meet them in person and trade stories of our passages.

We have been here in Honolulu for ten days now, how the time flies. We’re starting to get back into prep mode. I’m working on boat maintenance projects and Shelly is re-stocking our food supplies. We have a friend coming in to visit later this week for a few days. Then we’ll be planning and prepping for the next leg of our Pacific adventure.

Cruising in Hawaii can be challenging, no more so than in Honolulu. Slips are hard to come by and the state marinas are not necessarily bastions of Aloha. We know two others who are staying at the state marina in Ala Wai. The crew of one checked-in with DLNR in Hilo and has had an easier time checking in here as they have done pretty much all the requirements. Another boat we know, did not check-in in Hilo and are starting from scratch here including the vessel safety check and insurance requirements. The safety check here in Ala Wai includes the infamous “buoy run” where you have to motor your boat out of the marina and back while they observe you. No matter you arrived from thousands of miles away and made it to the marina in the first place. This level of bureaucracy can be hard to wrap your head around. The advantage to Ala Wai is that it is cheap, first come/first serve and they usually have spots available. The procedure is to come in and take an empty spot along the row of transient slips which involves med mooring. Then when you check in it seems they try to move you to a regular slip. That said, the Hawaii Yacht Club has been amazing! We also have friends staying at the Waikiki Yacht Club that have good things to say about that club as well. We reached out to the HYC Port Captain in February and periodically kept in touch with our updates. He was able to get us in for the month of June. It pays to be persistent. Of note, the Transpac race from Los Angeles to Oahu takes place in July and slips are nearly impossible to get then. So keep that in mind when planning a trip to Oahu.