Welcome!In Hawaii, the state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) within the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) manages and maintains the state's small boat harbors and launch ramps. There are very few private harbors. Today, for any number of reasons the state harbor facilities are crumbling while the state fiddles. In 2003, nearly 150 slips were abandoned at Ala Wai & Keehi. DLNR, DOBOR, Harbor News...owes $100k to DOBORKauai tour operator won't budge headlines Star-Bulletin article. As of Mar 25, he owed $108,000. As of Apr. 16, he was still in business. DOBOR rents vacant lot for ~$1,000/dayWhat Ever Happened To The State's Lease of Land at Maalaea Harbor in January 2004 issue of Environment Hawai‘i "increased number of berths/moorings available","reduced vacancies", "reduced number of applications on file" DLNR reports to 2004 Legislature about State boating facilities compared to prior year. Really? Where? ".. boating program's mismanagement and neglecthave deteriorated facilities to the point where their continued use threatens public safety." Writes the Office of the Auditor for Hawai'i State in 2001 Report No. 01-09. 76 slips of 'F' Dock razed, 37 more condemnedat Ala Wai Harbor. "New... slips not expected for a year" blares Star-Bulletin headline. '100' & '600' docks razed. Most of '200' dock closedat Keehi Lagoon. No repairs scheduled! More details... "...illegal activities that have left two dead in as many years."reads first sentence of "Keehi residents push for safer harbor" headlines Honolulu Advertiser story. More Keehi details... Lack of police monitoring attracts homeless, partiers, & drug activity to harbor parking lots "...on a 20-year waiting list for a slip in the state's disgraceful harbors."writes Pam Baughman of Maui in Letter to Latitude 38 (Feb. 04). (scroll down to letter titled Maui Boating Stinks!) Hawai'i ranks 50th in number of boat registrations(according to 2002 statistics reported by NMMA ... full report)- Non-tropical Wyoming with 40% of Hawaii's population and no ocean access has 84% more registered boats than Hawaii! New on the website07/11/04A lot has happened over the past couple of weeks while I've neglected the website. It's been reported that Richard Rice is the new skipper of DOBOR. Photos from Keauhou show another mismanaged harbor. In the July 11th Honolulu Advertiser, Dan Weyant of Ka‘a‘awa pens letter to the editor: Ala Wai, golf courses need private operators. On July 8, in a follow-up to the July 1 story, the Maui News writes County harbors makes sense On 07/02, reporting for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin Diana Leone wrote Counties consider control of harbors On 07/01, the Maui News reported State offers boat harbors to counties On 06/27, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported Kauai river boat operator gets state’s case dismissed According to the story, "Waialeale Boat Tours... has not paid the $3,500 monthly rent since November 2000." This is money owed DOBOR. 06/20/04Honokohau harbor - Clean after yourself writes Judy Burger in Letter to the Editor of 06/19/04 West Hawaii Today. Skipper questions state over Honokohau Harbor junk pile headlines 05/23/04 article in West Hawaii Today. Why does the state keep a junk pile in the harbor? 06/19/04Bad publicity for isle sailing headlines Water Ways column in today's Star-Bulletin. Referring to Sail magazine's "10 most sail-friendly towns and harbors in the nation," Pendleton writes "there's no mention of Honolulu, with one of the finest sailing venues in the world, because when its boating infra-structure is assessed, it cannot compete." Honokohau - added some photos and comments about the bathrooms and the harbor. The comments tell a very sad story. Sail Magazine - Best Places to Sail - Try to find Hawaii in this report! Mahalo to Phil Mislinski for pointing out this survey. 06/12/04Dock disrepair solved by fees, privatization writes Ray Pendleton in Star-Bulletin Water Ways column. "...the government monopoly has continued to undercharge for its slips -- even those that have been recently rebuilt -- while allowing the facilities to generally deteriorate." writes Pendleton. 06/03/04
Reinvest in small-boat harbors writes William J. Aila Jr. 05/25/04Private enterprise won't do better job writes Greg Prindle of Honolulu in letter to the editor of Honolulu Advertiser. Mr. Prindle rebuts earlier op-ed piece by Stuart Hayashi. (see 05/20 below). In his last sentence he asks, "what's better: a government monopoly, or a private one at twice the price?" Privatization doesn't mean signing all of the harbors over to one corporation. And if the "private one at twice the price" offers twice the value - what is the problem? 05/22/04Mismanaged harbors need to be privatized states letter to the Editor of today's Honolulu Advertiser. Scroll down to second letter. 05/20/04Privatize our state harbors suggests Stuart Hayashi, an analyst at The Grassroots Institute of Hawaii, in today's Honolulu Advertiser. 05/15/04Legislature moving on privatization writes Ray Pendleton in Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Pendleton discusses failure of bond measure and www.HawaiiBoaters.org 05/14/04HAWAII'S HARBORS ARE WORSE THAN DESCRIBED Scroll down a bit to see letter to the Editor in Latitude 38. 05/12/04Last week, Roxanne called from Keauhou wondering why the new pier was built on Oahu and why it was delivered on Sunday? See DLNR to replace pier catwalk at Keauhou Harbor 05/08/04Bonds to fix harbors come at a high price reports Star-Bulletin 05/06/04Hawaii harbors need to be privatized now - letter to editor of Star-Bulletin 05/05/04Paradise Lost? reports May 2004 BoatU.S. Magazine 05/03/04"99 conservation enforcement officers to watch over 2 million acres of conservation land, 410,000 acres of coral reef, 3 million acres of ocean waters under state jurisdiction and other resources." reports Honolulu Advertiser - Land stewards losing ground 05/01/04Does your harbor hold customer-appreciation days? Read Star-Bulletin Water Ways review of Marina of the Year. Hint - it's not in Hawaii. 04/30/04Haleiwa, on Oahu's North Shore, photos added. 04/29/30"11th-hour plea to the Legislature for $9 million in harbor upgrades" reports Star-Bulletin's Diana Leone. 04/26/0404/22/04Ala Wai Harbor Boating Special Fund contributions added. 04/21/04Waianae, on Oahu's leeward coast, photos added. 46 slips have been abandoned. Like Maui's Maalaea harbor, tourists are forced to use atrocious restrooms. 04/18/04"No pumpouts forces daily dumping of 1000 gallons of sewage off Maui" testifies Pacific Whale Foundation's Anne Rillero to DLNR Chairman Peter Young on 02/15/04 04/18/04DOBOR is desperate for money, yet fails to collect rent???? See Star-Bulletin Kauai tour operator won't budge 04/17/04Maalaea photos added. More neglect on Maui. 04/17/04Lahaina photos added. See what decades of neglect can do to a harbor 04/15/04Heeia Kea aerial photo added. Still need more photos of all harbors. 04/10/04Hawaii needs to be more like Mexico "Bring our marinas up to Mexico's standards, charge boaters commensurate rates, and if it takes privatization to do it, so be it." suggests Ray Pendleton in today's Water Ways column. 04/02/04Ala Wai Boat Harbor piers are terrible writes Susan Scott in today's Ocean Watch 03/31/04Boating Special Fund Summary added. 03/29/0403/23/0403/21/04Hawaii Freedom of Information Act instructions added. 03/19/04Environment Hawai‘i Jan. 2004 article on rent at Maalaea. 03/18/04DLNR Report to 2004 State Legislature added. 03/17/04State Auditor reports on small boat harbors added. 03/12/04Site launch, see the Keehi Lagoon page for an example of what's to come. 03/10/04Yahoo! Groups -> HawaiiBoaters created. Click to subscribe to HawaiiBoaters 03/06/04Honolulu Star-Bulletin columnist, Ray Pendleton Still waiting for our own Marina del Rey 02/14/04Isle marinas in a state of dysfunction writes Honolulu Star-Bulletin columnist, Ray Pendleton - 02/07/04New Ala Wai boat slips not expected for a year writes Star-Bulletin's Diana Leone. Feb. 04'Berthless in Ala Wai' pens letter The Awful Ala Wai Yacht Harbor to Latitude 38 Feb. 04MAUI BOATING STINKS! letter to Latitude 38 (scroll down to letter.) 12/15/03'Lectronic Latitude (Latitude 38 online) Photo of the Day shows pictures of the abandoned 'F' dock and the condemned slips on the '700 Dock' of Ala Wai. MoreRay Pendleton is a free-lance writer based in Honolulu. His column runs Saturdays in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. See Ray's page for a long list of columns dealing with Hawai'i Boat Harbors. |
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