Bareboat chartering in Hawaii, perhaps the best in the world (part two)

June 24, 10:46 PMSF Boating ExaminerLaird Durham

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                 A Honolulu Sailing Co. Benneteau on a bareboat charter

If you read Part One, then you are aware of the difficulties of bareboat chartering in Hawaii. But you believe you have the experience and skill, and a crew to share the charter with, and you want to go. Now what?

The first step, of course, is to charter a boat. As Part One noted, unless you have a friend in Hawaii who will lend you his boat, there is only one choice: The Honolulu Sailing Company. And there are only two boats available for bare boat charter at HonSail, both Benneteaus – a 39 and a 42. If you have done much bareboat chartering, especially in the Caribbean where there are fleets of hundreds, this is a startling revelation. But remember, you are considering joining an incredibly select few.

Mike Mickelwait, the founder of the Honolulu Sailing Company, has been in the bareboat charter and crewed charter business in Hawaii – both power and sail – since 1974, and has an ASA-certified sailing and navigation school. His base is in the Kewalo Basin Marina, next to Waikiki. The rate for the Benneteaus is $4100 for a week. Split provisioning is $20 per day. You can add a skipper for $200 per day. You should seriously consider a skipper for at least the first day. To prepare for your sail, Mike highly recommends reading McHaffeys latest Cruising Guide to the Hawaiian Islands. Mike says it is not only a great read but very informative as well.

For the easiest sailing, you might choose to cruise in the Monokai, Maui, Lanai triangle. But you will still have to make an open channel crossing from Oahu, perhaps taking the first leg from Waikiki to Kaneohe Bay, then crossing the next day to Molokai. The first harbor on Molokai is Hale Lono, where you might find a lobster or two. You might sail around the eastern end of Molokai to Kalaupapa, the former leper colony, where access is only by boat or by donkey down the steep cliffs that isolate it. Depending on the time of year, as you sail in this triangle, you might need to tack to avoid whales. 

One of the most delightful harbors in the islands is Manele Bay Harbor on Lanai. It is a small harbor, charming, laid back, and next door to what many consider the most beautiful beach in Hawaii, Hulopo’e Bay. Although Lanai has lost much of the charm it had when it was owned by the Dole company, and had only a small inn for guests, Manele Bay and Lanai City on the center of the island, still retain much of the old time feel.

For a more adventurous and more spectacularly scenic sail, you could sail down the North Coast of Molokai if the weather and sea state are favorable. The Honolulu Sailing Company maintains approved weather info buoys placed around the islands that make it possible to safely cruise places like the North Shore of Molokai in the winter and has made it much easier to plan adjustments to itineraries.

Manele Bay Harbor on Lanai, left; sailing the Kaui coast, above left.