The Fair Wind II was built in Vancouver, Washington, to replace the original Fair Wind that was damaged during Hurricane Iniki in 1992. It is a 60-foot aluminum catamaran with a covered deck and a boldly striped colored sail. Guests can enter the water, from the boat, via a high-jump platform, 15-foot water slide or a staircase that leads down to the waterline.
Inner tubes, boogie boards with view windows and specially made view boxes make it easy for even the youngest guests and the most anxious swimmers to see what is below the surface. The Fair Wind II also has a collapsible play pen available for families bringing infants or toddlers. Snorkels, masks and fins are provided.
The Fair Wind II offers three cruises to Kealakekua Bay Marine Sanctuary. Two snorkel and barbeque cruises, one in the morning and a second in the afternoon, include continental breakfast and a barbeque lunch featuring cheeseburgers and garden burgers. A third snorkel and snack cruise operates in the afternoons only.
All three cruises moor near the Captain Cook Monument, dedicated to the British explorer that charted the Hawaiian Islands and then later died at this site. The protected reef harbors schools of tropical fish, white, pink and purple corals and sometimes visiting sea turtles or spinner dolphins. If you're lucky, you may even see a breaching whale or two on your cruise from Keauhou Bay to the sanctuary.
Fair Wind II
Keauhou Bay Office
78-7130 Kaleiopapa St.
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
808-322-2788
fair-wind.com
Fair Wind's newest vessel, the Hula Kai offers snorkeling and SCUBA dive tours to secluded spots along the Kona Coast. The Hula Kai is a 55-foot hydrofoil catamaran offering comfortable theater-like seating arranged to provide the best views. There are two on board restrooms, two freshwater showers and an over sized Wolf Grill used to prepare gourmet barbecue lunches. A tropical breakfast buffet is also included.
Guests can opt to snorkel or take a one tank dive (additional fee). The Hula Kai supplies all snorkeling and diving gear, including Sea Rockets. These are underwater propulsion devices that lets advanced snorkelers rapidly move through the water at high speed. It makes free-diving easier and gives snorkelers more opportunity for studying the underwater reefs and their inhabitants.
The Hula Kai tours operate in the morning only and are five hours in duration. The minimum age for this excursion is five years.
Hula Kai
Fair Wind II
Keauhou Bay Office
78-7130 Kaleiopapa St.
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
808-322-2788
fair-wind.com
Get up close and personal with one of the gentle giants of the Kona Coast and enjoy a romantic Kona sunset at the same time. The Hula Kai offers night dives to watch the manta rays as they feed on plankton near the surface of the ocean. Plankton is a rich marine soup of microscopic organisms and is their sole diet. By using bright dive lights, the Hula Kai attracts the plankton, which in turn attracts the manta rays.
These gentle creatures do not have barbs like the more familiar Sting Rays and are quite safe to be around. Touching mantas can scare them off, so it's best to just observe. Chances are they will get curious and come to check you out.
The Hawaiian name for the manta ray is "hahalua." There are around 150 manta rays living along the Kona Coast and can grow to be 20 feet wide. Most mantas seen in the dives are between six and 10 feet wide. Like whales, scientists can identify individuals by their markings.
Hula Kai
Fair Wind II
Keauhou Bay Office
78-7130 Kaleiopapa St.
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
808-322-2788
fair-wind.com
