LAHAINA, Hawaii—Gone were the usual tourists and snorkel divers waiting to board the Lani Kai II, a 53-foot commercial boat moored at Slip 64 at Buzz’s Wharf on the tiny Hawaiian island of Maui.
On today’s mission, there would be no casual sightseeing on deck, no carefree basking in the white-hot Hawaiian sun on the way to resort paradise up the blue coastline on the western side of Maui.
Today’s mission was all about mercy and support for the desperate survivors of last week’s Lahaina wildfire disaster that claimed 99 lives, with more fatalities expected to come.
On Aug. 12, the volunteer pickup trucks arrived almost nonstop on that bright Saturday morning to deliver piles of donated supplies to be loaded onto the Lani Kai II.
The word Lani Kai means “heavenly waters” in Hawaiian. But on today’s 20-mile voyage, the devastation in Lahaina would appear hellish from miles offshore.
The 15 volunteers who would make this mission possible were as diverse as they were ready to help: young and old, men and women, seasoned seafarers, and everyday folk.
Various media members were also on hand to lend a strong back in exchange for passage and a rare chance to witness community devotion to a selfless cause: helping others.
The Lani Kai II was one of the dozens of private vessels that joined in the volunteer relief effort since the devastating Aug. 8 fire, said lead captain Spencer Erwin, who goes by the informal title “Captain Spence.”
Mr. Erwin said the sheer volume of donated items pouring in from the community has been overwhelming.
In support of the relief effort, the Lani Kai II’s corporate owner, Maui Snorkeling, raised $10,280 in donations for the Maui Food Bank to provide 40,000 meals. The company immediately suspended tours following a charity trip on Aug. 11 to raise funds for the relief effort, according to Maui Snorkeling spokesman Dave Oates.
“Our intent from the start was to charter an excursion with people who already paid for the trip and donate 100 percent of the proceeds to the Maui Food Bank,” Mr. Oates told The Epoch Times.
“We also offered our vessel throughout the week to authorities to deliver supplies and rescue people, but its design wasn’t appropriate for the task.”
Mr. Oates said Maui Snorkeling used paid staff to help stock the incoming boats. The company also donated supplies, which were trucked into Lahaina by employees when the roads opened.
The ground rules for the volunteers aboard the Lani Kai II on Aug. 12 were simple: work hard, work fast, and always keep both feet on deck and a hand on the rail while in transit.
Like a machine, the volunteers worked eagerly, grabbing heavy plastic bags filled with supplies—food, water, diapers, clothing, and other essentials—off trucks and passed them in fire brigade fashion onto the Lani Kai II.
Brent Iovino of Maui, originally from Chicago, gave up a day of base jumping to assist in the effort since there was no time for “selfish” pursuits while the need was so great in Lahaina.
“This is catastrophic. I think the first responders have done everything they could,” Mr. Iovino said.
“The key right now is we need to get supplies and information to people on the west side [of Lahaina]. It’s amazing but expected for this community. Anything that’s required, we step up.”
At about noon, the Lani Kai II was laden with supplies and ready to embark on the two-hour journey and rendezvous with the Sea Maui, a 65-foot catamaran capable of landing on shore.
The journey would take the Lani Kai II past thousands of burned acres in Lahaina, past the hotels, bars, and restaurants—once bustling with tourists but now eerie and silent.
Many Boats, Much Work
Molly Gaughan, captain of the Sea Maui, said the company that owns the vessel permitted the use of the boat “in any way we needed.”The twin-pontoon catamaran can hold 49 passengers and “triple the amount” of goods of the Lani Kai II.
“We still have the entire cabin going,” Ms. Gaughan said.
“There’s a lot of small private boats. I’m not exactly sure of the number. All the big beach cats [catamarans] can get onto the beach. Everybody has been helping.”
Power outages and lack of cellphone and internet service make coordinating relief efforts “absolutely crazy,” Ms. Gaughan said.
“It’s a lot of word of mouth and coordinating with someone on the other side that does have service. It’s all about perfect timing,” she said. “We lost power before the fires even started.”
Ms. Gaughan said the grim aftermath of the Lahaina wildfire also isn’t for the squeamish.
“I’ve seen some stuff—yeah,” she said. “It’s terrible. You can’t unsee it. From my understanding, there wasn’t enough warning. It was faster than people could get out. It was terrible.
“I wouldn’t recommend it [seeing the carnage]. You can’t get into the town anymore. [The police] are arresting people now. They’re coming in and looting. They’re doing dumb stuff to put it on the internet.
“Everybody’s got more security—it’s scary. It’s scary times over here.”
With volunteers working continuously for days, Ms. Gaughan said she’s nearly exhausted, “but we’re here, and we’re helping.”
“I can’t leave my people—my community—this place means so much to me,” she said.
What about sleep?
“Oh, a few hours here and there in the night,” Ms. Gaughan said, mindful of the mounting death toll and growing need for volunteers and material assistance.
“It’s hard to get any news. It’s going to take a while to rebuild our city. We'll see how long everybody can last until everybody has to leave.”
Finding enough fuel to power the flotilla remains a challenge, with gasoline in short supply. Occasionally, a private boat would pass the Sea Maui, offering gas to continue its mission if needed.
“We have no gas over here,” Ms. Gaughan said. “There are cars on the side of the road with no gas. It’s craziness. But it looks like we need to get this party started.”
The Sea Maui slid onto the beach like a canoe as volunteers onshore finished offloading supplies from the Ocean Spirit, a sister catamaran.
“Let’s just spread this out—we got this!” Ms. Gaughan shouted.
Hand over hand, the precious cargo left the Sea Maui and made its way up the line of volunteers to a staging area. From there, volunteers loaded the supplies onto pickup trucks for distribution to shelters for displaced fire victims.
“It’s just the community getting together, trying to make everything happen,” said Lani Kai II relief captain Larry Doty.
“Everybody is heartbroken. It’s a lot to lose. There’s a lot of people in need—I know that.”
