One of America's biggest tourist attractions just happens to be the island paradise of Hawaii. As a frequent vacationer there, Cruise Diva has done the island-hopping thing through the state by air and it's a real pain in the neck. Unless we planned to stay put on one island, we'd settle in and in a couple days have to pack up for a flight to the next island destination...and so on and so on. That's why a cruise is a great way to see the islands. Unfortunately, there are few cruise options, but the best are those that cruise within the islands. However, to offer that itinerary, a cruise line's ships must be U.S.-flagged and there aren't many of those these days. So we cheered when adventure cruise tour operator American Safari Cruises announced it would launch its inaugural season in Hawaii and on Oct 26, 2011 the 36-guest Safari Explorer began its first inter-island voyage. The upscale yacht is scheduled to sail 24 voyages between Maui/Lana’i and the Big Island through May 2012.To kick the season off, a Hawaiian blessing for the yacht and crew took place on Oct 25 on Molokai. Hawaiian cultural advisers from Maui, Lanai, Molokai and the Big Island were invited to attend the blessing to celebrate the beginning of operations in Hawaii. Traditional Hawaiian protocols were also arranged at each island to ask permission for entry at that time.
Subsequently, something apparently went wrong on Molokai. Last Sunday, after two previous port calls, the small ship was met in the island's Kaunakakai Harbor by 14 protesters on boats and surf boards. The protesters claimed they blocked Safari Explorer's entry because the cruise line "never asked the community for their support."
The ship's two prior port visits were also greeted on land by protesters, which the protest organizers felt were ineffective. Taking a cue from the successful blockade of the Superferry on Kauai in August 2007, Molokai protesters took to the water and American Safari departed after a two-hour stand-off.
As reported by local news station KITV (there is a video of the blockade at that link), "Dan Blanchard, the owner of American Safari Cruises which operates the cruises around Maui, the Big Island, and Lanai, says the boat will simply continue on without the stops and services from Molokai, leaving Molokai's small businesses at a loss." Blanchard told KITV, "It's those vendors that really get hurt. Unfortunately that's where it lies, so it isn't as great to the small businesses of Molokai."
Blanchard also told reporters that American Safari had gone through the proper channels to coordinate arrivals, met with community members, and was even in attendance at one of the prior protests. He said, "They (the protesters) feel that they weren't brought into the loop. We had one community meeting already in addition to all the one-on-one meetings we had over the years. It appears to us that the large majority of the island is in favor of this." Blanchard hopes to discuss the protesters' concerns at a meeting with them tomorrow evening and it's hoped that cooler heads prevail.
Cruise Diva says, c'mon, folks. Be reasonable. It's a really small cruise ship with only three dozen passengers on board. American Safari advertises "flexible yacht itineraries" in order to alter the schedule when wildlife spottings are reported in the areas they sail, but this is ridiculous.
Image courtesy of American Safari Cruises
Aloha from the pu'uwai of Kaunakakai! The twenty or so protestors do NOT represent the majority of the community of Molokai. The protestors are passionate in their aloha of our island as is most of us who live here. And the real beauty of this place is how we can find the aloha even in difficult times and how we eventually come to understand that Unity is inclusive of Diversity. But that never makes the news. So, please understand that there is a much deeper story here. Mahalo!
ReplyDeleteTeri Waros · American International College
ReplyDeleteAloha from the pu'uwai of Kaunakakai! The twenty or so protestors do NOT represent the majority of the community of Molokai. The protestors are passionate in their aloha of our island as is most of us who live here. And the real beauty of this place is how we can find the aloha even in difficult times and how we eventually come to understand that Unity is inclusive of Diversity. But that never makes the news. So, please understand that there is a much deeper story here. Mahalo!
Teri Waros · American International College
ReplyDeleteAloha from the pu'uwai of Kaunakakai! The twenty or so protestors do NOT represent the majority of the community of Molokai. The protestors are passionate in their aloha of our island as is most of us who live here. And the real beauty of this place is how we can find the aloha even in difficult times and how we eventually come to understand that Unity is inclusive of Diversity. But that never makes the news. So, please understand that there is a much deeper story here. Mahalo!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I'm sure those aboard Safari Explorer were saddened by what happened last week and I hope future passengers will be welcomed.
ReplyDeleteAloha, Linda