Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Blane Benevedes Students board TheBoat before its 6 a.m. departure from Kalaeloa Harbor.

Media Credit: Blane Benevedes The Aloha Tower Marketplace hosts TheBoat every weekday, six times a day, where communters from Kalaeloa, or Barbers Point, end their ride into town.

On Tuesday, students were given the opportunity to ride TheBoat from Kalaeloa Harbor to the Aloha Tower Marketplace free of charge on a promotional voyage aimed at getting them out of freeway traffic and onto the open ocean. However, many of them yearned to be stuck in their cars when rough conditions led to seasickness.

After pulling out of Kalaeloa, TheBoat encountered an unusual set of heavy seas, as three different swells converged in the waters off the harbor.

"Actually, this is the worst day in a long time," said Captain Mark Fukuda, the skipper of TheBoat, who attributed the poor conditions last Tuesday, to a mixture of north, south, and sea swells that converged outside the mouth of the harbor.

"It was pretty gnarly. My stomach turned. I could feel it. It's different from a charter fishing boat in the way that it hits the swells," said Adam Picadura, a UH Mānoa student who is accustomed to being out on the ocean.

Kaveh Khosroshahi, an engineering major, agreed. "Now I know why fish are so expensive," he joked.

Despite the rough seas, others felt that commuting via TheBoat was a great way to travel. "This (the voyage) is rare. It's not normally like this," said Brian Cottrill, a regular on TheBoat.

For Cottrill, the normal ride on TheBoat is a convenient and comfortable experience. "It's peaceful. There's no traffic. It's not rush hour," he said. And according to Cottrill, while Tuesday's voyage was uncomfortable, it was nothing compared to the average two-hour commute from his home in Leeward O‘ahu to his workplace in Honolulu.

Richelle Celestino, a first-time rider and freshmen from Mā‘ili, agreed. "For me, I can handle. But some people probably won't ever ride it again," she said.

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