Hawaii - Day 2 (Sail & Snorkel)

Even though we had a scheduled 5:30 wake up call we all found ourselves wide awake set 4am. After a quick leftover pizza breakfast we all got ourselves showered and dressed for our morning Sail and Snorkle.

At 6:00 we headed down to Don Ho lane to meet our driver to Ko'Olina. After our pickup we had a few more guests to round up before making the 30 minute ride to the leeward side of the island.

When we arrived at Ko'Olina (M) we headed towards their 43 acre marina where we would find our boat ready and waiting. After a quick check in we purchased a few last minute supplies (namely towels which we forgot) and had a quick snack we boarded the 53-foot Holole'a kai catamaran. It's name means "to sail freely and with adventure on the ocean"

Before heading out into the Pacific we meet our crew. Todd would be our captain, Daniel his first mate, and Asia would be our photographer for the day. Once underway we traveled by sail 5.22 miles up the coast zig zagging a little bit before stopping at our first snorkel spot.

Map on Google Maps

Not expecting any additional costs other then drinks we each only brought $40 bucks with us. I wish I had brought more, since I would learn that we could have scuba dived to the bottom for an extra $69.

When we got to the first snorkle spot (1) they handed out all the snorkel gear which included masks, snorkel, flippers, and a life jacket. After a quick explanation of what we would see we were off the boat swimming in the warm pacific waters watching the fish and two green sea turtles enjoying a symbiotic relationship. The fish clean the turtle shells for them by eating all the algae they collected. We spent roughly a hour here and were amazed by the shear volume of fish we encountered.

Chris had stayed on board and met a pair of travelers. Wanda and Chuck Heath who were a delightful pair from Arizona who travel here often and shared some insight with us.

Next we traveled half a mile farther up the coast to our next dive spot (2) where we hunted for an elusive shark that called that reef home. Sadly we didn't get a good glimpse of him but we saw hundreds more fish and some of the coolest coral reefs around. We also got to hold a large piece of sea cucumber which first Mate Daniel joked was a piece of whale poop. Asia the photographer joined us this time in the water and captured some amazing pictures of us. Again, I wish I had brought more money with me since she would later offer the hi-res pictures to us for $60 bucks.

After another hour in the water we all got back on board for a nice early lunch of pulled pork, grilled chicken, and all the fixings made by the crew. Lunch hit the spot and we chatted some more with Chuck and Wanda. They suggested we check out a few good restaurant spots one being Jimmy Buffets for the Nachos.

After a quick cleanup by the crew we motored back to the marina at about 11:30. While sailing back the water was really choppy and we struck up our conversation with Chuck and Wanda again. I offered to e-mail some of the great shots I got of her feeding the fish and she kindly offered to send us all the pictures Asia took since she had bought the CD.

Our ride back to the hotel was fast and after a quick shower we ventured down onto the main drag to do some shopping and try out those Nachos. I picked up a nice pair of sea turtle sterling silver earrings for my mother and a jade fishing hook necklace for myself, and Chris bought a few keychains for his roommates.

Our nachos and drinks at Jimmy Buffets was a disappointment but satisfied our hunger. Still not yet adjusted to the time we went back to our room and were all out cold by 9pm.