First Hawaii SuperFerry Launched!

Will Walter Ritte be a passenger?

On Tue, 23 Jan 2007, MTI wrote:

> Will Walter Ritte be a passenger?

You mean to saboutage the ship? ;)

On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 08:45:02 -0000, "MTI" <mark@mc-carter.com> wrote:

>
> Will Walter Ritte be a passenger?
>
Boondoggle comes to mind.

Do you realise the port for the superferry when it comes to this
enormous island of Hawaii is Kawaihae? The middle of nowhere. I think
this whole thing is ridiculous. No EIS!!

I do remember Seaflite--lots of hype there too.

Someone has too much money and has tricked the powers that be to spend
our tax money. IMHO, improving school bathrooms would be a far better
expenditure.

aloha
beans
beansatsmithfarms.com
roast beans to Kona to reply
Farmers of pure Kona Coffee:)

On Thu, 25 Jan 2007 06:00:03 -0000, Nai`a <mjwise@lava.net> wrote:

>> Do you realise the port for the superferry when it comes to this
>> enormous island of Hawaii is Kawaihae?
>
> Just north of the Hilton Waikoloa, yes?
Not exactly! I can't seem to figure the mileage but you may be
thinking of the Mauna Kea Hotel which is closer to Kawaihae, past
Hapuna Beach.

Kailua-Kona, the population center for this side of the island is at
least an hour away on a speedy highway. Kawaihae is closer to Waimea.
>
>> The middle of nowhere.
>
> Absolutely excellent location, for any number of reasons.
> Were you expecting it to be outside your door?
> Trust me, you don't want it there.
No I was not, thank you. You sound so defensive.

FWIW I live on a 4 wheel drive road in the mountains above City of
Refuge.
>
> You want it as close to the place it came from as possible, in deep
> water,
> and close to major roads that can split up people who want to go in
> different directions as quickly as possible to avoid traffic jams.
>
>> I think this whole thing is ridiculous.
>
> Give it time.
Do you remember Seaflite?
>
> Have you considered that you'll be able to ship a truckload of coffee
> from
> your doorstep to a farmer's market in Honolulu, for instance.... For
> $100?
> (ok, $200 to get the truck back as well, but) The same day?
>
> It's gonna revolutionize inter-island commerce, to put it mildly.

Oh no it is not. I think that is part of the hype! Why would I use the
Ferry which will be about 2.5 hours away from me-one way, when I can
go 4 miles to my Post Office. That shipping cargo nonsense may be
good for flower farmers in Waimea but it won't matter to most of us.

I wonder how the Ferry thinks it is going to make money coming to
Kawaihae.

And who will be the passengers who want to land in Kawaihae?
>
>> No EIS!!
>
> ... Environmental Impact Statement? Quite frankly, I don't see the

> Ocean-Going Ferries are something we need. I'm certainly gonna be
> hanging
> out on the neighbor islands a lot more when these things come on line.

BTW Matson and Young Brothers are barges with tugboats! They kind of
bob along on the ocean surface. The super ferry is waaaaaaaaay
different.

People who have jobs want to get to and from business asap. When I
want to visit family on the other islands, I personally, want to spend
the time with the fmaily, not on a lengthy Ferry ride.

People who want to "hang out" will indeed have that extra time to
just make the trip. But it is not for most people.
>
>> IMHO, improving school bathrooms would be a far better expenditure.
Well we aren't scheduled to have a Ferry stop until a year or two and
I have a bet with the Universe, a small bet, that it never makes it
here at all. Perhaps wishful thinking? I don't know. I look out the
airplane window often and those seas between here and Maui can be so
nasty.

aloha,
beans
beansatsmithfarms.com
roast beans to Kona to reply
Farmers of pure Kona Coffee:)

On Thu, 25 Jan 2007, beans@smithfarms.com wrote:

> On Thu, 25 Jan 2007 06:00:03 -0000, Nai`a <mjwise@lava.net> wrote:

>> Have you considered that you'll be able to ship a
>> truckload of coffee from your doorstep to a farmer's
>> market in Honolulu, for instance.... For $100? (ok,
>> $200 to get the truck back as well, but) The same
>> day?
>>
>> It's gonna revolutionize inter-island commerce, to
>> put it mildly.
>
> Oh no it is not. I think that is part of the hype!
> Why would I use the Ferry which will be about 2.5
> hours away from me-one way, when I can go 4 miles to
> my Post Office. That shipping cargo nonsense may be
> good for flower farmers in Waimea but it won't matter
> to most of us.

Actually, maybe it might benefit any small producer or
merchant. They just have to drive their stuff to the
customer on another island without having to pay Young
Brothers to haul it over. I think that we might see a
lot of visitors informally trucking stuff over and back
for the free fare.

>> Ocean-Going Ferries are something we need. I'm
>> certainly gonna be hanging out on the neighbor
>> islands a lot more when these things come on line.
>
> BTW Matson and Young Brothers are barges with
> tugboats! They kind of bob along on the ocean
> surface. The super ferry is waaaaaaaaay different.
>
> People who have jobs want to get to and from business
> asap. When I want to visit family on the other
> islands, I personally, want to spend the time with
> the fmaily, not on a lengthy Ferry ride.
>
> People who want to "hang out" will indeed have that
> extra time to just make the trip. But it is not for
> most people.

But there are a lot of families that couldn't afford
the higher airfare. I suspect that the ferry will
trasport a lot of the hoi poloi from Honolulu and
elsewhere. And the availability of the ferry will make
it a lot easier for those out of work to just pack up
their things in the car and try another island. IIRC
the Big Island in Kona is reported to have a labor
shortage, but travelers on the ferry may supply that
need.