West Side boat companies host second annual free tour event for local residents

Tour boat operators at Kekaha’s Kikialoa Small Boat Harbor offered free Na Pali Coast sightseeing tours for 300 Kauaʻi residents over the weekend during their second annual ‘ohana day,’ as eight different companies came together to host the event.

Kauaʻi Now spoke with Candice LeCroix, a captain and manager at boat tour agency Na Pali Experience and lead coordinator of the event, as boats were getting back to the harbor on Sunday, June 16.

“Honestly, it was great. We got so many people out here. I mean, I think it was like over a third of them have never seen the coast before their whole lives,” said LeCroix.

“Born and raised Kauaʻi residents have never seen the coast. So that was unreal. It was magical,” she said. 

LeCroix noted that 300 Kauaʻi residents received free tickets, but there were some cancellations due to predictions that it would rain. The event itself hosted roughly 220 people on Sunday, and the remaining 80 will be scheduled for a free tour by the individual companies on later dates.

Although there were some clouds in the morning, the event continued on with “epic weather” for the entire day, LeCroix added.

“Just watching all of these local people’s faces get off the boat, and they’re just so stoked and they’re so happy and they brought their kids and their relatives and it’s just … This is what it’s about,” she said.

LeCroix is a founder of the Kikiaʻola Boaters Alliance, a nonprofit made out of eight different companies that provide sightseeing tours of the NaPali Coast: Komohana Charters, Na Pali Riders, Explore Kauaʻi Scuba, Blue Ocean Adventure Tours, Na Pali Experience, Na Pali Pirates, Kaulana Pali Kai Charters, and Capt. Andy’s.

The group was formed about a year ago while the companies were concerned about House Bill 1090, which would have allowed the state to cut down on tour operations by reducing the number of commercial use boating permits.

This time last year, LeCroix was worried that the bill would force most of the operators at the harbor out of business. “Most of (the operators) will have to shut down or be downsized to the point where they’re going to have to let go of the majority of their employees,” LeCroix had said in June 2023.  

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) said in a statement at the time that the bill was necessary due to “numerous complaints of the over-commercialization of the state’s nearshore waters and public facilities.”

However, Gov. Josh Green later vetoed HB 1090 on July 26, 2023, saying a more conservative approach was needed to prevent adverse impacts to businesses and the loss of hundreds of local jobs.

In an interview at the event, LeCroix said the tour companies have been working together to address the DLNR’s concerns of overcrowding, including giving recreational users space at the dock and being aware of their surroundings and impact.

“That bill brought the companies together to see how we can improve the harbor and how we can improve the experience for everybody coming in here,” she said.

LeCroix said the different companies have wanted to take local people to see the coast for years but started working together to make it happen following HB 1090’s veto.

“All of a sudden, it was like we could do this together and it would be really effective. Instead of having all the companies kind of just being on their own doing their own little thing and that’s where the Kikiaola Boater’s Alliance came together,” she said.

“We can do more for the community as a united front.”

Kauaʻi Now also spoke with Nick Croft of Explore Kauaʻi Scuba after he got back from taking a group out on a free tour. Last year, Croft was relieved to find out HB 1090 had been vetoed and had described the first giveaway as an appreciation event for those who had spoken out against the bill.

“It’s the second one we’ve done. And everything went smoothly and everyone had a blast,” Croft said on Sunday.

“One of many more to come and we have other stuff in the works, too, that we want to do to give back to the community also,” he added.

Maka Kanahele, a captain with Blue Ocean Adventures, also reflected on the event as guests were leaving, saying that the day provided an opportunity for local people that they don’t normally get to experience.

“I feel like it’s not really touristy. It’s more like sharing our history and the island itself,” he said.

“And when the locals get to see that point of view, it’s more special. So they have to see it firsthand,” he added.

Jamelyn Kuwamura-Bacio, who was born and raised in Kapa’a, was an attendee who took a ride on one of the Blue Ocean Adventures boats. She went on the tour with her sister, Melissa, and young niece, Kailani, and said none of them had ever seen the Na Pali Coast.

“This was the first experience ever,” said Kuwamura-Bacio. “It was amazing. It was awesome. We loved it. We all loved it,” she said.

Ayisha Flores, who is also a born and raised Kauaʻi resident, called the tour an “amazing 10 out of 10 experience.”

“It’s such a fun thing for the residents of Kauaʻi,” she said, adding that she thinks the event is something that should happen more often.

Attendees found the event through flyers in public schools, nonprofits in the community, and on Instagram, including through Kauaʻi Now, which advertised for ten slots.

“It was nice. It was a perfect day,” said Cody Kimura, the owner of Blue Ocean Adventures at the event.

Kimura says the alliance will continue to find different ways to market the giveaway and find local people who don’t usually get the opportunity to experience the Na Pali Coast.

“I know it’s expensive to live in Hawaiʻi, let alone do a tour at $200,” he said, adding that he’s looking forward to continuing it next year.