Sailing the Na Pali Coast

“There are three things that amaze me—no, four things that I don’t understand: how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman.” (Proverbs 30:18-19)

Water so clear you can see 30 feet down to the bottom, and so blue you can’t believe it. The constant crashing of north shore waves against high sea cliffs, sending salt spray up into the air to catch the sunlight, suspended like a smoke veil across the entrance of hanging emerald valleys. Tiny white birds floating on the updraft—no, it’s a tourist helicopter…how tall are these mountains?!

These isolated valleys are difficult to hike into from the rest of the island, especially now that the road out to the north side of the island is closed after Hanalei except to local traffic (since the spring’s damaging floods). That isolation was a huge benefit to ancient Hawaiians looking for protection from vicious enemies. Once your family gets big enough, scope out an ahupua’a (natural and political division of land from the mountain to the sea, which includes farmland, fishing rights, and a water source), settle in, and all you have to do is fend off beach invaders. Some of the valleys housed towns of up to 5,000 people!

I did not know this, but Kaua’i is the only major Hawaiian island that King Kamehameha never conquered in battle. Apparently, after soundly defeating the other islands in bloody battles, the Kamehameha twice sent warriors to subdue Kaua’i, and both times the warriors were thwarted by natural forces, then defeated by the Kauaians. Finally, they signed a treaty that Kaua’i would join the other islands after their ali’i’s death, and then Kamahameha’s men tried to lure him to a feast to kill him and failed, so they killed the guy who warned the Kaua’i chief about the plot instead. Such bloodshed! Such intrigue! Ah, what a time to be alive.

“What was your favorite part of Kaua’i?” we asked the kids.

“I liked everything! But probably the boat was my favorite,” said Isaac. “I really liked going over those bumps at the end. That was fun.” (We sat at the bow and held on for dear life as we zoomed over the swells in a Hawaiian roller coaster ride. Eloise liked that part too, except when we got drenched by the biggest waves)

For more info: Captain Andy’s Snorkel Picnic Sail