The ship came in for Hawai’i in more ways than one when the Patriot arrived yesterday at its home port of Honolulu. The United States Lines cruise ship, at 1,212 passengers, is the largest and newest vessel sailing among the
The ship came in for Hawai’i in more ways than one when the Patriot arrived yesterday at its home port of Honolulu.
The United States Lines cruise ship, at 1,212 passengers, is the largest and newest vessel sailing among the Hawaiian Islands year-round. It was christened yesterday in a ceremony in which Maggie Inouye, wife of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, was to officially dedicate the ship amid the sounds of a blowing conch shell, a Hawaiian chant and other activities heavy in local culture. Then the Patriot set sail this morning on the first of its seven-day cruises to three other islands – Kaua’i, where it will dock in Nawiliwili, Maui and Big Island – and back to Oahu.
The Patriot is a potential boon to the tourism industry ala cruise ships. It also, through proceeds from a gala inaugural voyage last night around Oahu featuring a performance by the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, will benefit five Hawaiian charities: ?
The symphony, which is the oldest symphonic orchestra west of the Rocky Mountains.
• The USS Missouri Association, an organization preserving the historical battleship as a memorial and museum in Pearl Harbor.
• The Arizona National Park Foundation, which honors the 1,177 American sailors and Marines who died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 59 years and one day before the Patriot’s first sailing here.
• America’s Promise Hawai’i, a Sen. Inouye-led drive with the state Department of Education to organize corporate resources for public schools.
• And Ready to Learn, which provides school supplies for underprivilieged schoolchildren.
The Patriot, with its demonstrated interest in the affairs of Hawaiians who are opening their islands to the big ship’s passengers, is welcome to drop anchor at Kaua’i any time.
