Atlantis Submarine Adventures’ 55-foot-long “Holokai” is seen on Monday. The boat was scorched but still had a working engine. Photos courtesy DLNR
The Maui News
Thirteen boat owners were granted access to check on their largely undamaged vessels at the Lahaina Small Boat Harbor on Monday, just over a month after the deadly Aug. 8 wildfires.
After receiving permission from Maui County and the U.S. Coast Guard, officers from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement escorted the owners in two groups to the harbor.
Most of the 13 boats, as well as the pier they’re tied to, appear to be largely untouched by the flames, DLNR said in a news release Tuesday.
Kelli Lundgren, owner of the “Lazy Daze” sailboat, called the remaining boats “the lucky 13.”
Kelli Lundgren stands aboard her sailboat, “Lazy Daze,” at the Lahaina Small Boat Harbor on Monday. Photos courtesy DLNR
“We’re still trying to analyze how that firestorm missed these boats,” Lundgren said. “It’s just incredible. As you can see there’s a lot of soot on them. We’ve been anxious for four weeks to get here. We’re happy our vessels survived, as so many of our friends lost their boats here. It’s quite tragic.”
The owners were permitted to board their vessels, do light maintenance and retrieve personal items. DLNR said there is no immediate timeline as to when the boats might be able to leave the harbor.
With 99 moorings in the harbor prior to the fire, most boats either burned or sank, and the water is filled with their hulls and other debris obstructing passage, according to DLNR.
A Unified Command with the Coast Guard, state Department of Health and DLNR is working in close cooperation with the county to prepare plans for salvage operations to restore the harbor and provide safe passage.
In the middle of the inner harbor, away from the line of 13 boats, Jim Walsh, the general manager of Atlantis Submarine Adventures, was thrilled when the engines on the company’s scorched passenger ferry started right up.
The stern of the 55-foot-long “Holokai” was scorched, but Walsh said, “We’re happy to see her. When I saw the condition the engine room was in, it was perfect, nothing the matter with it at all. Once I saw that I said, ‘Man we’ve got a good chance here.’ Sure enough she fired up just like that.” He snapped his fingers and thrust his fist into the air and exclaimed, “Yeah!”
Off-shore and in view from the “Holokai” is the company’s 48-passenger, bright blue Atlantis submarine. Walsh expects it is a total loss.
But for the other vessels, Lundgren says it was gratifying to confirm what she and the other owners saw the day after the smoke cleared.
“Aerial shots showed the harbor with smoke coming out over it, and there’s this line of white at this end of the harbor,” she said. “I just couldn’t believe it. It was amazing.”
Atlantis Submarine Adventures’ 55-foot-long “Holokai” is seen on Monday. The boat was scorched but still had a working engine. Photos courtesy DLNR 
Kelli Lundgren stands aboard her sailboat, “Lazy Daze,” at the Lahaina Small Boat Harbor on Monday. Photos courtesy DLNRToday's breaking news and more in your inbox
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