Boat beached in Hanama’ulu

A sea drama of a sort very different from “Donovan’s Reef” or “Pagan Love Song” played out Saturday at Hanama’ulu Beach Park.

A 35-foot yacht believed to have been moored in Hanama’ulu Bay for up to two weeks slipped its anchorage in the middle of the bay Saturday, the result of high surf combined with high winds, and ran aground on the beach where the John Wayne classic movie “Donovan’s Reef” was filmed nearly 40 years ago.

“Pagan Love Song” used the beach as a location for one of the first movies ever filmed on Kaua’i, in the fifties.

The yacht, named either “Karen” or “Kaien” out of Port Townsend, Wash., was still there yesterday, partially buried in sand and not moving when the shorebreak hit it. The owner was nowhere to be found, though he was believed to be camping at the county beach park.

Frequent visitors to the beach park said the yacht had been moored in the bay for at least two weeks, while others said it had been there around a week.

When the boat first ran argound Saturday morning, onlookers including many people camping at the park over the long Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday weekend, offered to push the boat so its bow was facing the oncoming breakers, so that the next high tide might allow it to float back to sea.

It was not known if the unidentified owner, believed to have a European accent, accepted the offer of help, but by late afternoon yesterday the boat was still there, and didn’t move when the waves hit it, as it had sunk partially into the sand.

It was secured to trees along the beach with lines attached to its mast, bow and stern.

U.S. Coast Guard personnel stationed at the Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor responded to the situation, according to a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

There were no injuries, no damage estimate available, and no clear information on whether the craft as it presently sits poses navigational, recreational or environmental concerns.

Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).