Coconut Isle has
By Mike Barker
lost its alohaFOR the past 30 years, I have been a resident of the Windward side of Oahu. As the father of two sons, I have always been concerned about the need for places of recreation especially for children, places where families can enjoy doing things together.
About 25 years ago I was invited out on a boat to spend the day on Kaneohe Bay. It was wonderful. I was hooked.
Nineteen years ago I took my oldest son out for a day on the water with my wife, her brother and his wife. We spent the day water skiing and picnicking on Coconut Island.
After I got my own boat I became a regular on Kaneohe Bay. I also worked at Windward Marine in Kaneohe for years and was fortunate to spend a lot of time on the bay. Our favorite spot to relax was Coconut Island; my kids called it Gilligan's Island.
Unfortunately I had to sell my boat when we built our first home in Kahaluu many years ago, and later the marine store where I worked closed. I no longer had access to a boat.
After missing it for many years I bought another boat, worked on it for a couple years with my sons, and finally -- this past Fourth of July -- we were once again back on the bay.
The first place my sons wanted to go was Coconut Island. But what a terrible experience it was.
As we pulled up to Maile Point, we had not even tied up when a small runabout approached us and the driver started laying down the law: no anchors, no alcohol, don't go past the fence...
I shrugged it off and made a comment on how much things had changed since the University of Hawaii took over the island for scientific research. All we got was stink eye and, from then on, someone was watching our every move from the other side of the cove. They came and harassed us twice that afternoon.
Since that day, I have been out on the bay three more times. Returning to Coconut Island, I have gotten harassed every time.
Our last trip out, after sitting at the sandbar for a while, my son wanted to go to Coconut Island. I was hesitant because of the harassment but decided it would not deter me.
That day, however, was the final blow. People from the island first came and harassed us about where we were tied up. We were told if we had beer on board, we would have to leave because we are tied to the island, therefore we are part of the island and no beer is allowed on the island.
We were not drinking and the man who said this had no reason to think we were. He then started harassing other people in the water, admonishing them for swimming past an imaginary boundary they were not supposed to cross.
AS a taxpayer, resident and a frequent user of Kaneohe Bay, I find this treatment outrageous. When the island was privately owned, we had wide access to this island and were never once harassed.
The island looks terrible. They have erected a construction type fence to keep people off all but one small portion of the island called Maile Point. There is a landing craft permanently moored in the cove which obviously rests on the bottom at low tide, destroying whatever coral is there.
Constructed pens for dolphins are in another cove, a commercial operation in yet another cove, disabled boats littering the island, and people working on personal craft and construction going on everywhere.
Don't get me wrong -- I think it's great that there is an area where our youth can study marine life. But the total disregard for the beauty of this island, and the lack of access and continued harassment of the people of Hawaii, is totally outrageous and completely unacceptable.
I hope something can be done about the continued harassment, better access in the future and a little more control of construction and destruction of the natural beauty of this island. I have talked with many other boaters in Kaneohe Bay with these exact same concerns.
Mike Barker is a car salesman and avid boater who lives in Kailua.