Maui Dive Shop boat sink[ing]

[Shaka Doug]

It doesn't make sense to me to sink the boat if it was partially afloat. The damage to the reef in a marine preserve should have been considered more. The additional damage to the vessel too! I don't get it. I know I wasn't there but it sounds foolish to me. I got a call from MDS yesterday. They were ordered to call all the vessel owners that go to Molokini to warn them about the stranded boat!??? It all seems pretty weird. What if the MDS boat shifts and slides down deeper? It gets very deep off of Enenue! I can see we haven't heard the last of this one yet!

 

[MAUI DIVER]

aloha all,

I dove today at molokini and checked on the Kai Anela....
check out the footage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6iW-n_UFTs
let me know if you have any questions....

aloha

 

[Ben_ca]

This is a private video.

 

[MAUI DIVER]

oops sorry...now try
aloha

 

[LonghornDiver]

Great video. It doesn't look like it's very deep at all.

I didn't notice a giant blast hole in the hull, so I guess the CG didn't torpedo it.

 

[KrisB]

Doug -- I agreed with that concept to start with, too... then I realized what would happen if it broke the mooring and started floating away.

How do you think a waterskier off Kamaole would feel if it drifted into his path, with just three feet of the bow sticking up? Or potentially worse: another dive boat on its way to Molokini at full-throttle?

I do understand the environmental concerns -- I, too, do not understand why they didn't at least tow it out of the primary protected zone (yet still inside the crater) and drop it into some sand...

I imagine the reason they were informing everyone was due to potential hazmat leakage... I would hate to see what the coral will become right around the new wreck dive.

 

[KrisB]

Seeing that video made me cry... I couldn't believe it was dropped on coral that looked that good!

At least there were fish swimming around it.

After the damage that has been done, I hope that the CG/DLNR forces them to leave the boat there, and simply do a hazmat cleanup... then it can become a new artificial reef, and add to Molokini's allure as a wreck dive.

 

[MAUI DIVER]

no wreck diving in molo...sorry. the boat will be salvaged and will return to its normal self in a few years. Mother nature has done worse. for example the train of NE swells that hit us in 2002-03. now that was serious damage and that nearly made me cry but almost 3 years later, its seems fine.
anyways, glad you checked out the vid.
aloha & mahalo.

 

[KrisB]

no wreck diving in molo...sorry. the boat will be salvaged and will return to its normal self in a few years. Mother nature has done worse. for example the train of NE swells that hit us in 2002-03. now that was serious damage and that nearly made me cry but almost 3 years later, its seems fine.
anyways, glad you checked out the vid.
aloha & mahalo.

That's too bad. I imagine MDS will only get a slap on the rist for this one, too... which is also unfortunate.

One thing you'll note is that whatever the weather does is unavoidable... this incident would have been avoided if the captain was better trained on that particular ship, or if he had some problem-solving skills ("hmm... there's water coming in as I'm loosening this plate -- maybe I should tighten it down again rather than take it right off!).

That boat is probably worth a pretty penny, and I think it would serve the marine conservation district much better on the bottom, rather than ferrying more people out there.

 

[MAUI DIVER]

not sure really, never seen it happen before. will wait and see.
definitely, new captain, new crew did not help but the captain did as he was told which didn't make any better. the leader of the pack was out of town which was the main reason for this whole mess. if he was there nothing would've happened.
anyways....take care.
aloha