Superferry to
connect all islands

If things go as planned, 2006 will be a banner year for Hawaii's recreational boaters.

That's because 2006 is when the Hawaii Superferry is scheduled to go into operation and it's my guess it will revolutionize ocean recreation in our island state.

If you've somehow missed all of the media reports, Hawaii Superferry is the aptly named company that plans to begin high-speed passenger and vehicle ferry service among Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island.

That means that in about two years, a fisherman in Kapolei will be able to load up his pickup and camper, hook up his trailer boat, jump in with his wife and kids, and drive to Kailua-Kona for a vacation.

Sound fanciful? Well, it shouldn't because the Superferry -- actually two 340-foot, wave-piercing catamarans currently under construction -- has been designed to not only carry more than 850 passengers, but to carry vehicles ranging from sub-compacts to semi-tractor-trailers.

Hawaii Superferry uses "Interisland H4" for its logo because once in operation, for the first time ever, our island state will be interconnected for vehicular traffic.

Like vacationers on the mainland, Hawaii's residents will have the freedom to conveniently and inexpensively bring their recreational equipment with them, be it a boat, an outrigger canoe, a kayak, a surfboard, or a windsurfer.

Let's use that fisherman from Kapolei for an example. The proposed one-way fare for his truck and trailer boat (less than 8 feet tall and 40 feet long) from Honolulu Harbor to Kawaihae will be about $220, and even less during off-peak seasons.

Add to that, passenger fares of $55 per person (with $5 advanced purchase discount), so he can expect to pay about $880 for his family-of-four's weeklong travel and lodging expenses.

Compare that with the expenses he faces today: about $320 for round-trip airfare, $900 for a hotel room and $175 for the car rental, for a total of $1,395.

That's a difference of $515 and it doesn't take into account the family won't have their boat to use or their camper's kitchen to help cut food costs.

And then there's the whole recreational vehicle concept to consider. Do you suppose anyone is preparing for the new consumer demands it will bring?

When people live on an island, even the size of the Big Island, they haven't much need for the campers and motor homes that have become so much a part of the mainland vacationer's lifestyle.

However, with the help of the Superferry, it would seem altogether possible that not only will there be a demand for such vehicles here, but there will be an associated demand for places where those vehicles can park in comfort.

It doesn't take a great deal of imagination to envision an "Angler's Rest Motor Home Park" just outside of Honokohau or Maalaea harbor, with utility hook-ups, a swimming pool and picnic and barbecue facilities.

With a few such parks scattered around our islands, I'm sure it wouldn't be long before my friend Bob Sargis at Schuman Carriage would be selling 40-foot motor homes instead of Hummers.

It's probably too soon to start packing your camper, but with the Superferry on its way, making plans to tow your boat to another island in 2006 sounds pretty reasonable.