DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The state is getting ready to raise rental rates at Kewalo Basin to help fund badly needed repairs, but some boat captains are worried. Above, it was busy last week at the harbor where the parasailing boats are located.
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Charter boats at Kewalo fear getting the boot
Second of two parts
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Though the charter boat operators at Kewalo Basin offer everything from sunset cruises to scuba-diving and parasailing, the harbor has a long history with origins in commercial fishing.
The 55-acre Kewalo Basin was first built in the 1920s to ease congestion in Honolulu Harbor and provide docking for lumber schooners, according to the state Department of Transportation. In 1926, the schooners were replaced by commercial fishing.
Sports fishing tours, such as Maggie Joe Sportfishing run by Capt. Mike DeRego, have been at the harbor for more than 50 years, along with commercial longline fishermen that for many years supplied the fish auction that used to also call Kewalo Basin home.
But now they fear that a change in management at Kewalo Basin will change the tide - turning this historical fishing harbor into a more upscale harbor for private yachts.
NINA WU
FULL STORY »
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kewalo Basin is made up of a small community of mariners who are comfortable with the way the basin is run now. But that could change. Above, Capt. Mike DeRego of Maggie Joe Sportfishing, is one of those worried about the harbor's future.
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From sunset cruises to parasailing, whale-watching tours and diving or fishing expeditions out to open sea, Kewalo Basin along Ala Moana is the place to go -- just a short drive from Waikiki.
More than a dozen boat tour operators, mostly small businesses, have been offering these excursions for many years.
Capt. Mike DeRego is a second-generation operator of Maggie Joe Sportfishing, which was started by his father, John, and uncle Edwin.
They first ran Maggie Joe at Ala Wai Harbor in the late 1950s but have been moored at Kewalo Basin at least 50 years, according to DeRego. Maggie Joe offers sportfishing adventure tours on four boats daily for either private or shared charters -- to catch Pacific blue marlin, ahi (yellowfin tuna), mahi mahi, ono (wahoo) and aku.
The company boasts of catching the second-largest fish ever caught out of Kewalo Basin -- a 1,277-pound Pacific blue marlin in October 1993.
Blue Nun Sport Fishing, run by Capt. Bob McCowan, also offers charter fishing and sightseeing tours on a 48-foot custom- built steel-hull fishing boat. Blue Nun has operated out of Kewalo for more than 30 years.
Besides sports fishing, there also are commercial line fishermen, dinner cruises, whale-watching, scuba-diving tours and parasailing.
The Kahala Kai catamaran, a dive charter boat, takes visitors to visit three shipwrecks which have become thriving sea-life gardens, just 15 minutes from the harbor.
They all call Kewalo Basin home.
The basin is made up of a small community of mariners who have known one another for years, and are comfortable with the way the basin is run now.
The history and down-to-earth character of the harbor is what they are afraid of losing now, with the state Hawaii Community Development Authority poised to take over its management.
Under HCDA, developer Alexander & Baldwin in 2005 proposed putting an arched pedestrian bridge over the basin.
The idea was quickly shot down by boaters, who said it might obstruct the passageway.
A&B scaled back its plans, then pulled out altogether when the state Legislature passed a bill prohibiting residential development in Kakaako makai.
It is a harbor not only for out-of-town visitors, but for residents, says Gary Dill, a commer- cial fisherman who also calls Kewalo home.
"We sell our fish to local people," said Dill. "We sell our charter tours to local people."
While none of the boaters would mind improvements, they are concerned mostly about their livelihoods, which they have spent years building.
The harbor hasn't gotten to the point that they are unable to run their businesses, according to DeRego.
Times are tough especially now, he said, not only because of the proposed fee increases, but because visitor numbers are down. On a recent afternoon, only one of his four boats was out on a tour.
Other boats, which usually are out at this time of the year, also were docked.
The 55-acre Kewalo Basin was first constructed in the 1920s to ease congestion in Honolulu Harbor and provide docking for lumber schooners, according to the state DOT's Web site on the history of the harbor.
When the concrete wharf at Kewalo was finished in 1926, the lumber schooners were replaced by commercial fishing. Charter sports fishing tours got their start at Kewalo Basin, according to DeRego.
For 25 years, Kewalo also was home to a commercial fish auction that closed up in the summer of 2004 and moved to Pier 38.
At one time there were about 127 slips at Kewalo Basin.
Today, there are only about 80 slips assigned to tenants, according to the HCDA.
DeRego's numbers differed. He said there were about 53 permanent and 17 temporary boat-slip tenants at Kewalo.
Kakaako, also known as Kewalo, according to archaeological reports, was a place of recreation -- particularly around the shoreline. The waters were used for cleansing, fishing, canoe landings and religious practices.
The state DOT currently manages 10 commercial harbors in all. Besides Kewalo Basin, DOT also manages Honolulu Harbor and Kalaeloa Barbers Point Harbor on Oahu; Port Allen and Nawiliwili Harbors on Kauai; Kahului Harbor on Maui; Hilo and Kawaihae Harbors on the Big Island; Kaunakakai Harbor on Molokai and Kaumalapau Harbor on Lanai.