Hawaii's cheapest cruise sails into sunset

[July 02, 2009]  ABOARD THE MELISSA ANN (AP) -- Crew members hooted and applauded as the last boat in Honolulu's failed city ferry service sailed into another gorgeous Hawaii sunset to end one of the seas' best bargains for tourists and commuters.

TheBoat, for $2 or a public bus transfer, offered flying fish, dolphins and whales against a backdrop of Diamond Head and the Honolulu skyline.

A capacity 149 passengers took the last hourlong trip late Tuesday -- more than five times as many as normal. Crew members crowded onto the bow as the catamaran sailed into Kalaeloa harbor and the captain blasted the horn for the last time.

Scuttled by low ridership and costs estimated at $120 per round-trip passenger, Hawaii's short-lived version of the Staten Island Ferry has now gone the way of the interisland Hawaii Superferry and two giant island-hopping cruise liners that have abandoned Hawaii waters.

Two of the island's three boats were being lifted aboard a barge for return to Washington state Wednesday, and the third, still named Catalina Adventure from a previous assignment, was to return to California.

It's one more sign these islands settled by Polynesian voyagers centuries ago are now more friendly to planes, trains and automobiles.

"It's horrible. I don't think they gave it a chance," said regular rider Shari Kimokeo, who rode TheBoat for the peace and quiet it offered on her daily commute to a job at a downtown brokerage firm.

"We have water, but we can't enjoy it," said Lieu Morimoto, as she and her husband, Dale, basked in a glimmering sunrise on one of TheBoat's last voyages.

For nearly two years, TheBoat has been a little-used leg of Oahu's TheBus system, three 75-foot double-hulled vessels running six round trips daily, sailing between the Aloha Tower Marketplace and the growing communities of West Oahu.

The City Council ended the service, which had been subsidized by city and federal funds.

Passengers cite the lack of parking at both ends, early mechanical problems that led to cancellation of many trips, choppy seas during parts of the year that make for a bouncy ride, and military restrictions that prevented use of a much shorter route across the mouth of Pearl Harbor.

TheBoat's departure follows the loss of the far more ambitious Hawaii Superferry system, forced by environmental legal challenges to scuttle and send back one 800-passenger, 200-vehicle vessel even before a second one could be delivered. The Superferry was Hawaii's first passenger-car service, with plans to serve Oahu, Maui, the Big Island and Kauai.

Now, the only interisland passenger service is by air.

Two giant NCL America cruise ships built especially for the Hawaiian Islands -- Pride of Aloha and Pride of Hawaii -- have also left in the face of heavy losses. Only Pride of America remains.

Oahu voters narrowly approved another transportation alternative -- a rail transit system that will link Waikiki with West Oahu. The first leg is to be running by 2012.

Buses are being added to make up for the loss of the water commute, but many boat passengers say they'd rather drive than go back to the bus. The drive ordinarily takes less time than the boat, but a single traffic accident can lead to long delays on an island with only one major transportation corridor.

Besides the spectacular shoreline vistas, the hourlong voyage on TheBoat offered amenities not found on Honolulu's often-crowded bus system: a snack bar, free newspapers, tables for creating a traveling office, high-backed seats, wireless Internet and an attentive crew.

"I feel for the regular riders," said ship's mate Diane Harrison. "They're the ones who have to go back to the bus when this could have been a viable means of ridership." Harrison and other crew members will be looking for new jobs in a tough market.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said he still supports the idea of a city ferry and it could come back when it becomes more viable.

A poster aboard the last voyage had a smiling Hannemann saying, "Aloha! Thanks for trying TheBoat."

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On the Net:

Web site for preserving TheBoat: http://www.malamatheboat.com/

Honolulu's bus system:
http://www.thebus.org/

[Associated Press; By DAVID BRISCOE]

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