Yet another early start today as were on the 7:30 am snorkel cruise from Lahaina Harbour to the partially submerged volcanic island Molokini. All that is left of the volcanic cone is one edge of the caldera -the rest has been lost to the sea, which is fortunate because the shallow waters of the former crater are an ideal habitat for coral to grow in, and where there is coral there are ravenous fish feeding on the plentiful and diverse organisms that live there.Our vessel today is the Lahaina Princess, captained by Darrell and ably assisted by crewmates Emily and Gabe. We pull out of the narrow harbour and start the hour long trip out to Molokini. Captain Darrell has a well scripted witty repertoire, developed over the years of these daily
sailings. Our favourite quip is during the safety drill when he says “should the boat lose buoyancy during our trip snorkels and masks will drop down from over head”. We had not had time for breakfast at home so we were grateful for the muffins and fruit selection offered on-board – although it was not a patch on the meal we had had the day before at the luau. It is a gorgeous sunny day (as it seems to be most days here) and the Lahaina Princess cuts through the blue ocean waters. All of a sudden we come upon two adult humpback whales and a calf; they pass within 50 feet of the boat. As the rules of this sanctuary dictate we have to disengage engines when within 100 feet of whales so we simply have to wait and watch the animals gently go by. As soon as they are gone we power back up to full speed, by this time we have left the protective shelter of the West Maui Mountains and entered an area which is exposed to the blustery effects of the Trade Winds. The choppy waves deflect off our bow throwing spray upwards and gently down on to those of us on the upper deck. Fortunately we are dressed for swimming so no problems here – the light droplets and wind are keeping us cool on this hot day.We reach the more sheltered and shallow waters of Molokini where we find another dozen vessels hauled up – all there for the same purpose as us. Gabe dives down to tie the boat to the underwater mooring. It is then masks, snorkels and fins on and into the water. Whilst the waters here are not as warm as those around Florida they are quite pleasant so there is no need for wetsuits. The best way in was to simply jump off the back of the boat so that is what we did. From the boat it was about 50 yards to the inner rim of the crater where the waters beat onto the rocky shoreline, this is where the coral reef is at its best and the fish most abundant. Laura is not really keen on the snorkelling but the rest of us head out. There are some interesting fish here but they are not as abundant and the coral is not as impressive as other places we have snorkelled in recent weeks so it is a little disappointing. Our best discovery is after Jack and Emily have returned to the boat, when the grown-up Hoblets see a 5 foot long eel swimming in the ocean. This is a rare sighting as they spend a lot of time holed up in caves poking their heads out to catch passing prey.
We jump back onto the boat where a BBQ lunch is awaiting freshly cooked by Emily (not our Emily) – although not very exciting the burgers, sausages and chicken are very welcome after the exertions of snorkelling. The Lahaina Princess gets underway again aiming back towards Lahaina. By this time our Emily and “Big Emily” have become friends. It turns out the elder of the two is actually a boat skipper and takes out the dinner cruise boat most nights. We talked about England and learned the fact she had been on a boat into Felixstowe, a large container port on the East Coast of England, and hardly a jewel in the crown of the country. Unfortunately that was her only experience of the country and, as we explained, it was not the best example of our homeland. As we crossed the open waters again we entered the straits again and by this time the Trade Winds were in full motion, and we were heading more or less across them. Consequently the spray was less light droplets - more of a soaking effect. Jack and Emily loved this of course, to them this was the equivalent of a theme park log flume ride, and they sat in the seats for maximum soaking. “Big” Emily kindly bought Jack and Emily their snorkels and masks to them and sat down to enjoy the dowsing. It all looked a bit crazy.Eventually we reach the safe haven of leeward side of the West Maui Mountains and the waters settle down to more of a gentle swell. We pass Lahaina harbour and moor up about a mile or so North. The purpose of coming here is to find sea turtles. With more space available the crew are able to put out the water trampoline, a 10 foot diameter inflatable toy – of course the children on board gravitate to this, leaving the parents some time to look for the giant chelonians of the sea. The Hawaiian green turtles reach up to 250 pounds and their carapace is about 2 ½ feet in length, so finding them is not so difficult. Fortunately the turtles were not playing hard to get and in the short time we were there we saw 7 or 8 turtles not more than 100 feet from our boat. They seemed unperturbed by us snorkelling around or the children jumping on the trampoline.Laura too saw the turtles but was more impressed with the play!
After 5 hours of fun it was time to return to Lahaina harbour. We had a wonderful time on board the Lahaina Princess and disembarked relaxed and just a bit sun burnt.
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