• Inter-island ferry
Inter-island ferry
Prior to World War II Kaua‘i residents commonly traveled to Honolulu aboard inter-island steamers. The trips were social events — if the seas weren’t too rough — and experiences no one from that era will ever forget. Kaua‘i novelist David Penhallow captures the flavor of the cross-Kaua‘i Channel trips in his novel “After the Ball.”
Security crack downs on traveling by sea during World War II led to a major boost in the popularity of flying between islands aboard Inter-Island Airways, the company now known as Hawaiian Airlines. Following the war Trans Pacific Airlines started up and eventually became Aloha Airlines.
In the post-war era there have been schemes proposed to bring back affordable ocean travel between the Islands for local residents and visitors. Miniature versions of inter-island ferries have been hauled out over the years in attempts to raise investment funds.
The closest operating inter-island ocean system was the SeaFlite hydrofoils that zipped from Aloha Tower in Honolulu to the Club Jetty area at Nawiliwili in the mid-1970s. Inter-island tickets were a bit costlier than air flights, and the hydrofoils were limited in passenger capacity and cargo space, plus experienced mechanical problems at times while making the cross-channel trips.
While the cruise ship industry now transports hundreds of visitors to Kaua‘i each week, the luxury cruiseliners they travel on are way out of the price range that the average Kaua‘i resident can afford.
A new firm named the Hawaii Superferry is apparently well on the way to bringing an inter-island ferry system to the main Hawaiian Islands. They are looking at putting two 300-plus foot long catamaran ferries in service sometime between 2006 and 2008. Fares would be reasonable compared to the cost of inter-island airfares, plus cars, vans and trucks could be brought with families between islands.
Helping to underwrite the system might be federal dollars aimed at providing a reasonable cost for sending soldiers to the Big Island from O‘ahu for training at the Pohakuloa military training grounds located along the saddle road between Kailua-Kona and Hilo.
This federal seed money would help guarantee that what’s being called the “H-4” waterway would become a reality.
The backers of the project are sending to Nawiliwili Harbor early next month a ferry similar to the one that they are planning to build.
The cross channel trip would also give local residents a taste of mainland travel, with restaurants and entertainment on board. Sports teams now unable to travel to other islands for sports competitions might again be able to go if the price for inter-island ocean passages is set right.
Another benefit would be new opportunities for small business people. For instance, growers of exotic tropical fruits could bring their produce and their own truck to another island for a sales or marketing visit without the delays necessitated by how existing cross-channel freight is handled.
The Hawaii Superferry is a great concept, and one that would add variety to life for Kaua‘i residents. The main concern is the long-term viability of such a transportation system. Would local residents and visitors continue to travel in big numbers aboard the ferry once the novelty wears off? And would they mind taking hours to cross over to Kaua‘i rather than the short half-hour trip aboard a jet?
