Red Dolphin a new breed of water fun

Bob Norton, 65, has owned and operated a number of successful businesses during his lengthy career, which has included stints as a tax accountant, banker, investor and one-time owner of the nation’s largest inland archival records management company.

While none of Norton’s vast business experience (his profile is listed on Forbes.com’s world business leaders page) has included water activities, he leaped at the chance to relaunch the failed KanDoo! Island catamaran under a new business model called Red Dolphin.

"What’s the last new activity that you can think of in Waikiki? Nothing has changed there for about 20 years," Norton said. "This is a chance to do something on the water that hasn’t been done before."

That vision kept Norton in the game even after Roberts Hawaii, one of the state’s largest activity providers, took him on in a bidding war at the courthouse steps for the former KanDoo.

"We hadn’t expected that, but we stayed in there. We thought it was worth it," said Norton, who plans to spend an additional $300,000 upgrading the 150-foot-by-50-foot floating recreation island.

Red Dolphin, which has been anchoring about 200 yards past the surf break in front of the Sheraton Waikiki since its soft opening (its permit was approved in early July), received its liquor license Thursday and is expected to be fully operational well before the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference comes to Honolulu in November, Norton said.

Norton, who learned of the boat through a meeting with its designer, Steve Martin, said he sees the same potential that former KanDoo owners Robert J. Maynard Jr. and Dale R. Smith identified for a large, fun craft anchored beyond Waikiki’s world-famous surf breaks. But the comparison between Red Dolphin and KanDoo, which closed after two weeks, stops there, he said.

Norton said he is mindful that the previous owners failed even after spending more than $9 million to get KanDoo afloat.

"They got off to a bad start," he said, adding that KanDoo’s owners scrimped on community relations and over-hired.

When KanDoo launched, complaints were made to and by some members of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board regarding how the new business would change the view planes from the neighborhood’s beaches, said Jeff Merz, an urban planner and member of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board. Questions were raised regarding how the city and state would monitor the business and how it would interact with other water users such as surfers and outrigger canoe paddlers, Merz said.

Some people worried that if the business took off it could cause an over-proliferation of similar businesses in a small, well-used space, he said. No complaints have been made about Red Dolphin, Merz said.

"We’ve had zero push-back," Norton said.

However, Waikiki Neighborhood Board member Les Among expressed disappointment that Norton has not presented his business plan to the board.

"He has a right to be out there, but I don’t understand why they haven’t contacted the board," Among said. "We need to make sure that Waikiki doesn’t become just a dock and that everything happening out there is safe and regulated. It’s already really crowded out there."

Given KanDoo’s short-lived history in Waikiki, Norton’s wife of 27 years, Rita, said some friends questioned the purchase.

"They said he was crazy," she said. "But, you know, I’ve seen him do a lot of things that people said wouldn’t work and he has always succeeded. He’s entirely self-made. He came up the hard way. He went in the U.S. Navy, it turned his life around and he came up like gangbusters."

Rita Norton and Norton’s mother-in-law, Ollie, have temporarily relocated from their Riverside, Calif., home to support him, she said. Previously, the family split their time between California and Oahu.

"We’re behind it 100 percent," she said. "All of our life, we’ve wanted to own a fun business. He was a tax accountant by trade and I had an audiology practice. Nobody wants to come see a tax account or get fitted for a hearing aid.

"This is the kind of business where people want to come see you and it’s very rewarding for us to watch people enjoying themselves."

Business for the upcoming Labor Day weekend is brisk, Rita Norton said.

Under the company’s current business plan, Red Dolphin leaves the dock daily at 9 a.m. and returns at 4:30 p.m. However, private charters are available and evening hours are coming soon, Norton said.

A $49 boarding pass includes bus transportation from seven Waikiki locations to the dock, a 30-minute boat ride to the Red Dolphin and, once there, unlimited use of the floating trampoline and three diving boards. Norton has ordered additional water toys such as a slide, rock-climbing wall and a floating mat that will allow participants to "walk on water."

Snorkeling equipment can be rented for $5 per day. Kayaking equipment can be rented for $17 an hour and paddleboards for $10 an hour. Parasailing, Jet Skis and helmet diving are $50 add-ons. Shuttle service takes passengers on and off hourly. Lunch on the boat runs from $5 to $9.

Partnerships with Times Supermarkets and Polynesian Adventure Tours/Gray Line Hawaii’s Aloha Bus have drastically reduced fees for kamaaina and tourists during Red Dolphin’s launch, Norton said.

Kamaaina can get four free passes to Red Dolphin through Dec. 30 when they buy $35 worth of groceries at Times Supermarkets. Additionally, Aloha Bus is offering free three-day Red Dolphin passes to customers who buy a three-day Aloha Bus pass for $49. Because kids ride free with an adult on the Aloha Bus, their Red Dolphin passes are completely complimentary.

"It’s kind of like a gift from Bob to the community," said Rita Norton, who has been manning Red Dolphin’s reservation line during its early days. "We know that money is tight here and we wanted people to have a chance to check us out. So far, the feedback has been really good and we’ve taken all suggestions to heart."

Don Macon, a Kailua resident who went on the cruise Aug. 12, said he left satisfied.

"I used the free pass, but I would pay to go again," Macon said. "I think it adds something for locals to do that is different — but certainly tourists will enjoy it. I really hope this business succeeds."