Mark had a dawn patrol surf session at the Hanalei bowl this morning while the rest of us were trying to wake up. After he returned we got the fleet ready for sea and pulled up our anchors at 8AM.
The trade winds were nonexistent last night, and quite light this morning so we powered three miles to the keyhole anchorage in the Haena reef, dropping our anchors there just after 9AM.
The DLNR regulations allow day anchoring only in Haena, so it was our plan to spend a few hours there and then sail down the Napali coast to Nualolo Kai. Clay, Bo and I got our swims in and at about 1030AM an irate local showed up on the beach and screamed at us to "Get the f*** out of here! The anchorage is closed!"
He continued yelling and acting aggressively for about half an hour. Every sentence included at least one F word and he was extremely aggressive and emotional, so I don't believe he was a government official. I have studied the anchoring regulations carefully for almost forty years, and have anchored in Haena four times previously without problems. Perhaps this is a Covid thing, and the locals are taking the law into their own hands. In any case, based on the way this guy was acting, we were afraid that he would go home and come back with a gun, so we departed Haena a bit ahead of schedule.
The light trade winds died completely just west of Haena, so we motor sailed slowly down the coast as close in as possible. The Napali coast cliffs, waterfalls, and caves were stunning. Bo and I even managed to land a two pound reef fish, which we tossed back because neither of us knew what it was. We dropped our anchors off of Nualolo about 1PM.
Nualollo Kai State Park is a real gem. Located at the western end of Kauai's Napali coast, the anchorage is protected from the trade wind swell by the only coral reef on this part of the island. The snorkeling is excellent, and Bo and I saw a huge school of convict tang as soon as we got into the water. We snorkeled ashore, where the remains of an ancient Hawaiian village can be found. Rock walls, terraces, house and animal pen remnants, and brackish water wells can be seen. I believe the village is in such good condition because it is so isolated. It is only accessible from the sea, so not many people visit. At the far end of the beach we found five huge turtles and a monk seal resting on the beach.
After returning to Maka'oi'oi, we started the process of turning Bo into a cribbage player. Now that he is retired, he needs to take up more of these leisurely pastimes.
Yikes to the “F” man!! Glad you guys got out of there safe.
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