The 75-foot Hawaii Aloha sailboat, grounded Friday night off of Hawaii island, was just one of at least six vessels that were grounded or cast adrift during the first storm of the new year.
A search continued Monday for a crew member who disappeared after the 84-ton Hawaii Aloha, which ran aground in the wave zone fronting the Four Seasons Hualalai Resort during "a short, but severe winter storm" that hit Friday and Saturday, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said.
The captain and three other crew members made it off the Hawaii Aloha before it ran aground.
DLNR’s divisions of Aquatic Resources and Boating and Ocean Recreation were working with salvage and insurance companies on a removal plan for the Hawaii Aloha.
"We want to exercise great care in removing this boat, as it still contains more than 500 gallons of diesel fuel and is resting in a position that could cause environmental damage," interim DLNR Director Carty Chang said in a statement. "The plans we’re working on currently will take into consideration all factors to minimize any further damage to fragile natural resources."
The other vessels that were reported adrift or grounded beginning Friday included:
» The 45-foot sailboat Kanua Kai, which ran aground on the reef fronting the Cheeseburger in Paradise Restaurant on Front Street in Lahaina. The Kanua Kai has since been removed, DLNR said.
» The 780-foot container ship Horizon Pacific ran aground in the channel as it exited Honolulu Harbor on Friday night, but the crew extracted the ship and returned to port Saturday afternoon.
» A 13-foot Boston Whaler with an outboard engine capsized off Swanzy Beach Park on Oahu’s North Shore on Friday night. The owner reportedly swam ashore.
» A 36- to 38-foot-long sailing vessel was reported loose off of Windward Oahu and heading toward Mokolii Island. While unsuccessfully searching for that sailboat, a crew from the Marine Corps’ waterfront operations instead found a different sailboat, the 26-foot Kailea, adrift in Kaneohe Bay.
The Kailea had a broken anchor line and came aground atop the sandbar in Kaneohe Bay. The boat was removed late Saturday, according to DLNR.
