Sunday, May 13, 2001

[ LIKE TRY? ]

FL MORRIS / STAR-BULLETIN
Newlyweds LaCresha and Phillip Cook enjoy the water,
snorkeling off the Starlet II, moored near the
Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Snorkel to see,
be part of sea life

---

By C.R. Dudley
Special to the Star-Bulletin

Humans are terrestrial beasts, bipeds with massive heads, opposable thumbs and little else. For hungry creatures of the deep, a human splashing about in the ocean, awkward and gangly, is a slow, defenseless, ready-to-eat meal.

But the draw of the ocean, the lure of water and the unknown can override lifelong -- some would say rational -- fears.

"Until today I was scared to death of the water," Texas train conductor Empress Stevenson said. "I always wanted to come to Hawaii and snorkel but I was scared to death."

Stevenson was one of the first visitors into the waters off Waikiki last Thursday. She was helped along by the gentle encouragement and support of the crew of the Starlet II, a daily snorkeling adventure boat that operates out of Kewalo Basin.

GETTING STARTED What: 312 -hour snorkeling trip, and more, on the Starlet II Where: Ticket booth at Kewalo Basin Cost: $46.95 (kamaaina cost is $35.50 for adults, $21.25 for children), lunch included Reservations: 983-7827

Alisa Smith, a Starlet II crewmember and lifeguard, gave the introductory snorkeling lesson to the 30-plus passengers. She asked to see a show of hands from the people who had never snorkeled before.

Many shot up high.

"Every day, up to a third of the people on the boat have never been in the ocean," Smith said. "We let them know it's going to be cold, that it's going to take a while for them to get used to the water. It's always the people who've never (done it) that stay out the longest."

The crew is dedicated to introducing people to the ocean, even personally escorting frightened passengers into the water.

"We (temporarily) lose a crewmember's services that way because lifeguard rules state that you have to come out of the water with a person if you take them in, but it's worth it," Starlet II skipper Rob Schultz said.

"I've had women in their 70s and 80s who've never been in the water. I put them in a floatation chair with a lifevest, tie a line to 'em. Pretty soon they want me to cut the line, but I can't," said Kimo Fields, first mate and head lifeguard.

Though her fears did not require being tied to the boat, Stevenson was initially reticent.

"I wanted every flotation device they had. I wanted them strapped to my body," she said.

After nearly three hours floating near the boat, Stevenson was ebullient. She watched surfers waiting for waves off the Hilton Hawaiian Village where the Starlet II moors for snorkeling.

"It was worth it. It was fantastic,'' said Stevenson. "We really, really enjoyed going on this trip. It's a dream come true."

According to the crew, first-timers, like Houston-born Stevenson, are usually the ones that end up having to be called back to the boat when it's time to leave.

With a snorkel-stretched mouth and rubber fins flapping the air above water, a human snorkeling for the first time becomes as agile as a newborn foal. New snorkelers look like they're trying to throw wrong-handed with their whole bodies.

FL MORRIS / STAR-BULLETIN
C.R. Dudley snorkels and checks out the fish near the Starlet II.

So why would a human foray into the wilds of the ocean? Into the arena of much bigger, more adept hunters where the Homo sapien is reduced to howz-about-some-ketchup-with-that?

The answer is, of course, to snorkel.

But the Starlet II cruise offers more than snorkeling.

It goes for total immersion, literally and figuratively. There's an introduction to the ocean for the malahini. There's also a kayak, fishing rods, a water trampoline and other toys to try.

Being a bit jaded by the accessibility of the ocean, locals tend to shy away from snorkeling cruises.

"I think we don't get many local people because they don't realize we're here. Before I started working on the boat, I didn't know all of this was out here," Smith said.

Schultz, having moored the boat and attended to all safety requirements, fired up a grill and cooked burgers (both veggie and beef).

Skippered by the Kaimuki-raised Schultz, the crew showed genuine aloha. Schultz's honest, Hawaiian-style, no-worries outlook set the tone for the entire 312 hour trip.

The marine life cooperated as well, with appearances by dolphins, turtles, porcupine fish and triggerfish.