Moving to Hawaii & can't find much about cat sailing there..

I used to be an active cat sailor, but wound up working too much - longish story. I'm now giving up on getting enough partners to have a life in my current position, and will be moving to Kauai in Jan. I haven't found much on cat sailing in Hawaii, and there doesn't appear to be much on Kauai in particular. I would love to hear from someone there.
I have a '93 Nacra 5.5 Uni and the parts to convert it to an 18Sq, but don't know if that is worth bringing. I don't expect any racing on Kauai, so just pleasure sailing. If I move a boat, I may need a larger containger. It might be possible for someone else to get a boat to go in my container also.... I also hope to hear from some of my old sailing friends before I leave Texas.
If I sell my current boat, I will take out on ad here.

Fair Winds,
Steve Slagle

talk to Hobie1616 about catsailing. (Don't get him started on politics though :P )

What island are you going live on?

Steve, check your PM.

Try Marc Bachman on Oahu for info on the Hobie and NACRA sailing on Kanehoe Bay. Trisailing2001@yahoo.com. He sailed a NACRA 5.0 on Pensacola Beach prior to joining the Air Force.

The chickens are sacred on Kauai. You'll be amazed at how well they fly into the tall branches of trees. ...not much cat sailing due to the mountainous coast line. The surfers and kiteboarders rule the limited, public access parks.

Steve,

The only active cat sailing group in on Oahu. See http://www.catsailor.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=14&page=1 for their infrequent posts. The rest of us are lone wolves. I don't recall any posts from anyone on Kauai. It's a shame as there are plenty of beaches all over the islands.

Good luck on your new life in the islands. Kauai is pretty quiet and should be a great place to decompress. If you need a big city fix you can hop on Island Air and be in Honolulu in a half hour.

Hawaii politics? It would take a long time to discuss all the nuances at the state level and each island has their own deal going.

Buy a board or two and learn to surf

Wind surfing and kiteboarding are pretty big here.

Thanks for the info guys. Ventucky Red - Kauai is the "Garden Isle" and is the most north & west of the Islands. Clayton, replied and thanks for the PM.
The chickens on Kauai are certainly plentiful, beautiful, and noisy.
In my trips for vacation, interview, and house buying, I saw plenty of surfers, and a few kite boarders, But only one windsurfer. There a a few older beach cats at Lihue, but I haven't seen one out.
hobie1616 is right, Kauai is a great place to decompress, and that is a good order for me for the next few months.
I will still appreciate any good input.
Steve

Remember Steve, the only real decision to be made in Hawaii is, beach or pool?

And from us cat sailors in Kaneohe:
Decompress in Kauai and if you start to get the blood pressure up just visit your friendly neighborhood crack house because that and old nudist colony hippies turning 70 are what Kauai is famous for. Oh and if you want to sail cat's in Kauai you had better bring one with you and lot's of spare parts because the shipping costs will make you take up gardening (hence the nickname of the island).

Enough with the negativity. Here's the good news:
best sunsets in the world at Polihale Beach park on the west side.
awesome mt. biking, trail hiking and just plan old chillin out.
Should be super cat sailing in Hanalei in the summer and Nawiliwili Harbor the rest of the year.

If you want to sail at the best kept secret in the world stop in at Kokokahi Sailing Club in Kaneohe on Oahu.
http://kokokahi-sc.org/
We have a variety of beach cats consisting of Hobie Getaways, 16's 17's, 18's, 20's, Prindle 18-2's, NACRA 6.0NA's and Inter20's all adding up to 80 boats.
Someone will be sailing every single weekend of the year!

I just got back from a couple weeks on Kauai (family business), and I saw there were a dozen or so cats on the beach at Hanalei Bay, but most looked like they hadn't been touched in a while. There were three or four Prindle 18's which did look well cared for, and an older Getaway which seemed well used. This time of year the big waves shift to the north side, so even Hanalei had 10 foot breakers at the beach. Poipu might be better through the winter months, but I didn't make it down there this trip. I also saw an AquaCat in a yard by the Kapaa beach park that looked ready to go, but never saw it out. I think you need to be very aware of conditions, currents and reefs around Kauai. Maybe take a few excursion boat rides (or talk to their operators) to scout out the better sailing areas from the water.

In my dreams.

Or, if you have access to the Marine Base at Kaneohe, they have a great recreation center with sail and power boats. Easy to get checked out to rent their boats. Just have to be current or ex military. We also stop in at the Kokokahi Sailing Club, and usually find someone there.

See for more information
http://www.mccshawaii.com/marina.htm

I used to manage a sector of a boating center for the USMC. They're a largely underutilized resource. If you have creds, use it!

And as stated above, Kokokahi is an incredible area to sail. Great group of guys and outstanding conditions. I've sailed there a couple of times. Look up the Hobie Fleet and send a message to Dan.

I'm not ex or military and unfortunately, it looks like the only active pocket of cat sailing in on another island - Oahu. From having looked on Craig's List, and a couple of other places, I know I will need to be bring my own boat. Certainly will need to learn about the reefs and currents before I go out. Hanalei bay and Nawiliwili are the logical places to start sailing, but I may figure out sailing from closer to where I will live on the west side.

Thanks for all the information.
Steve

My wife and I took a Na Pali coast excursion on the Kauai Sea Tours "Lucky Lady" boat out of Port Allen, about 5 years back. It was more like a motor catamaran with a decorative sail. Even it had a tough time plowing through some of the waves on the south and west sides in August. But then again, there are tours that go out all the time in RIB's. That's why I thought those people might be a good source of info on where is good and where to avoid. (Whenever I talk about quitting work, I say I'm going to move to Kauai and be the guy who holds the barf bucket for the tourists on the Lucky Lady.)

Aloha Steve! (and anyone else who thinks there are no beach cats on Kauai...)

I have a cat I bought a couple years ago and finally got around to fixing up last summer and fall. It's a 1982 Prindle 16, and I think somewhere along the way I got addicted to buying parts for it--I'm still doing upgrades. Has many new components already and should probably sail, well... like the wind. If I knew what I was doing, that is.

Some rental cats and a few private ones are pulled up on Kalapaki Beach in front of the Marriott just about year-round, and more are kept on the beach at Hanalei Bay during the summer half of the year. I ran into a couple guys up at Hanalei last fall who seemed excited to see my Prindle and said I need to come up and join their "North Shore Yacht Club" this summer. Sounds like just an informal group of people who sail together.

I talked to another guy up there when I saw he had a set of Cat Trax sticking out of his pickup bed. Same story--lots of cats up there in the summer, people sail together, etc.

Also, boats do come up for sale around here, sometimes fixer-uppers, sometimes ready to sail. Mine was the former, is now the latter. Might want to sell it later, but not yet.

For fixer-uppers, I've found plenty of parts online, and if you can get stuff sent USPS priority mail, parts shipping to Kauai isn't too expensive. Also probably a bunch of spare parts available among the local cat sailors, maybe swapped or sold word-of-mouth. I have a pile of them I just need to take pictures of and post to Craigslist.

Sounds like you know what you're doing sailing-wise. I am a real novice and might be willing to trade some sailing for some hands-on lessons. I think my mind is still pretty young, but my body is not. It's been beaten up and broken, bloated from too many years (and beers, no doubt) as well as too much work in front of a computer. I look just like my avatar, so I'll need to pace myself as I work my way back into reasonable shape.

What was that you said about no racing on Kauai? A friend who lives on Grand Traverse Bay in Michigan once told me that the definition of a sailboat race is whenever more than one boat is on the water. As I start my learning-to-sail adventure, that's the theory I'm going with. (Maybe I should quote Geoff instead of Steve Dallas...)

Aloha & Out,
Dave, Owner of "Bill the (1982 Prindle 16) Cat"

PS: Did you bring your Nacra?

Aloha Beach Tracks, or "Bill the Cat",

Yes I did bring my Nacra 5.5U (convertible to 11' wide 18Sq meter) along with a reacher and a slightly smaller monohull "blade jib" for a higher wind reacher. I did not bring a trailer, and will be looking for one. I will also be updating my mainsail, if I enjoy sailing here as much as I expect to.

I started sailing on a P16 in 1982, and the majority of my sailing happened in the 7 yrs I had that boat. I probably remember some about the Prindle 16, and maybe several P16 sailing lies, errr, stories that sailors like to tell.

I live in Kekaha, so I'm as far for Hanalei as you can be on Kauai. I've seen the cats on the beach at the Marriot, but never anyone out sailing one. Someone has just started sailing a Hobie Wave off Kekaha in the last 3 weeks. I guess I will need to touch base with the North Shore Yacht Club this summer.

Glad you responded to my old thread with the first sign of hope for some interaction with another cat sailor. Let me know where you are sailing and maybe I will get my old cat up and running to join you.
Mahalo!

Aloha Steve,

Great to hear back from you! Also left you a PM with more detail the other day.

Don't let the distance to Hanalei stop you. That's a great bay and very forgiving, especially for a novice like me. I expect this summer the choicest offshore waters will be all along the north shore.

I actually bought my boat in Kekaha from a guy who had collected parts for it but not done the work. His wife made him get it out of the driveway. Came with a homemade but nice trailer that I had to wire and make legal, register, etc.

The official yacht club on the island is Nawiliwili Yacht Club, or NYC: http://www.nawiliwiliyachtclub.org/. Roger, the guy on the left in the 2nd photo is a friend who also used to own a P16 and told me he'd give me a lesson or two, but he's pretty busy most of the time. Owns a quarter share in a larger boat and does the weekly races out of Nawiliwili. I think he told me they used to have a fleet of Prindles and would race them from Nawiliwili to Hanalei once a year or so. I can see a circumnavigation in the future--around the island, not the world...

So let's stay in touch (my email is in the PM I left you). There's always a chance of sailing in the Port Allen to Kikiaola area--both have launch ramps. Not exactly pristine waters, though. Murky due to outflow from Waimea River. Also, if I can help with trailer support before you find one, I will. Don't think mine would hold anything 11 feet wide, though. Hull cradles are pretty much permanently set for the Prindle, more like 8 feet wide. A couple of well-placed 12' 2x4s and enough tie down straps might do it, though...

Dave, a.k.a BeachTracks