Why You Can't Travel Between Hawaii's Islands by Boat

[@dionb5276]

As a regular user of ferries in Europe, the criticism of travel time is missing the point. For longer distances, you want night ferries, not day ferries. You don't want to compete with a one-hour flight, you want to compete with the cost - and time - of a one-hour flight plus a night in a hotel. Night boats get you where you want to be early in the morning, frequently before the first flight of the day lands, allowing a full day's work or pleasure. They also leave in the evening so in the opposite direction they also allow that full day's work or pleasure. To do the same while flying will invariably require a night in a hotel somewhere. Ferries aren't cheaper than plane flights, but they are a lot more affordable than a flight and a hotel. There are perfectly profitable unsubsidized ferrier running on very similar distances across the North Sea, the Baltic and the Adriatic. I use the ones from NL to UK and from SE to FI regularly and find them better value that flying + hotels. There's a good chance that would apply to Hawaiian routes as well.

[@Enlightenuser-n6n]

It’s not really about the ferry but the rich exploitation of the system. Guess who are the biggest land owner in the state. Then you’ll realize the masses have little consequences to the money rain from the top percenyile. FYI: Oprah, and etcs..

[@BoknoyBuhisan]

night ferries are the best type of travel. beats waiting around airports anytime!!!

[@DanBeech-ht7sw]

Exactly. It's the same with sleeper trains in France. I caught the ferry from Dover on a Friday evening snow trains on a Friday evening in calais or cologne, arrived in Moutier by 6, and would be skiing by 9am on Saturday, whereas all the people who flew out on Saturday morning wouldn't actually ski until Sunday. The issue is "does your mode of transport include accommodation?" And your trips across the north sea are across a far rougher sea than the Pacific ocean

[@Enlightenuser-n6n]

@@dionb5276 what happen to the comments. It’s all gone?!

[@fernandomaiasilvadias8199]

The hotels and air travel companies lobbies wouldn't allow this to happen. This is the real face of the US, where public interest and well-being is always behind private interests.

[@daeseongkim93]

I miss the Superferry, as a Hawaii local resident, many believe these lawsuits and anti-ferry movements were mobilized by Hawaiian Airlines to secure its monopoly on inter-island travel. I for one really enjoyed the Oahu to Maui journey when I was in middle school. The concern of being seasick was not one I personally experienced, they offered free ginger ale unlimited refill at the bar through the whole journey and there were places to purchase dramamine if you needed it. There were amazing views I never would have got to see if I took the more expensive airplane service, sea turtles, schools of flying fish, whales breaching, dolphins jumping and so on, but from a safe distance away. Sealife is smarter than the politicians who tried to kill the ferry, they easily avoided the ferry as it was moving one way autonomously giving time for sealife to maneuver away from the ferry. As a local, many of us used the service to visit family and friends, taking our cars, and it was nice to see Hawaiian Airlines scramble to match the Superferry's lowcost prices ($30-50 one-way back in 2008). Hawaiian Airlines nowadays have the monopoly, and can charge $200+ roundtrip for an island less than an hour away, I hope more operators air or even maritime break HA's hold on inter-island travel to reduce these ridiculous prices.

[@FadeintotheShadows]

You get it man. Thank you for such a rational, common sense and this is coming from a Big Island and now O'ahu resident.

[@null1808]

I took the superferry once, drove my car right on and right off; was fun. The rental car agencies, airlines and shipping companies lobbied hard to get it shut down. Stupid Hawaiians bought it hook line and sinker.

[@cat_623]

I also wonder what the environmental cost of flying (pollution, jet fuel, etc.) is compared to the ferries.

[@Chris-q3d3z]

I lived on the Big Island for years and agree. You could have taken your car/truck with you. A boon if your a contractor. But HA and Young Bros. have that part all sewed up.

[@Destroyercon]

Regulatory capture is one hell of a drug. People say it is the fact that Hawaii is so isolated that makes it so expensive, a look at the data shows it is government that makes Hawaii so expensive.

[@FadeintotheShadows]

I live in Hawaii. I remember growing up and seeing the Hawaii Superferry being built then canceled. Now that I'm an adult in my 30s I'm mad that we can't travel by boats between islands. Idiots.

[@wingracer1614]

You can travel by boats between the islands all you want, you just need your own.

[@slimjim2584]

You can't afford your own boat to do so?

[@FadeintotheShadows]

The both of you guys are just ignorant clowns who probably don't live here and don't understand that you can't just buy your own boat and sail 100 to 150 miles between islands. Also think of the costs of the type of suitable boat to purchase along with maintenance and docking fees just to travel in between islands for what; just 1 or even 5 people? Not even the ultra rich would do such a thing because that's irrational.

[@kk4649k]

it's thanks to Haoles and the companies who gained from it. Airlines, Youngbrothers,car rental companies all lobbied against it. They knew locals taking their own cars to other islands and bringing back items would eat into their profits. Look at us now, Youngbrother the ONLY company that does interisland cargo shipping announced a huge increase in price. 30-40% more on dried-refrigerated cargo. Haole transplant surfer kauai ppl came to block the cruise ship too. But meanwhile crickets on cruiseships docking in every other day at nawiliwili. Hawaiian airline for the longest was price gouging the inter island flight until southwest came in. . They purposefully created hawaii to be unaffordable as possible.

[@FadeintotheShadows]

Why was my response comment deleted? Thanks KZbin.

[@lionpaladin]

Born and raised and currently living on Maui, here. Prices are insane and if it weren't for family helping me I would have had to have left Hawaii a long time ago, or would just be homeless. As of the time of this comment, the median price for a single-family home here on Maui is $1.3 million. Given the general pay here and the exorbitant prices of groceries and such here, the dream of owning a home here is pretty much unattainable for many locals while people with deep pockets from out of state snatch up homes and rent them out. Many homes here are shared by family members of different generations all under the same roof. Nowhere else to go for them. Laws and such have to change, such as getting rid of the Jones Act. That alone causes so many problems. Foreign ships from Japan, China, etc have to bypass us, go to Cali, get unloaded and loaded back onto US ships, and then they can be brought here. It's insane.

[@alanbradford3130]

I find after watching this video that 2 issues bother me. First, ALL the cargo has to go by ship to the islands. The idea that only ferries would bring invasive species sounds ridiculous. Also, you can go whale watching and that never seems to harm whales while you are trying to get very close to them. Second, If you decide to move to another island, because there are no ferries, you either have to sell everything you own that won't fit into a suitcase or hire a very expensive shipping company to ship your stuff to the other island. I smell corruption....

[@Tokru86]

Yeah, the smell is very prominent around this topic.

[@florac1995]

I agree. As nice as the story of "humans stopped doing something to protect the environment"...human history has well shown that we don't care about the environment if it significantly hampers convinience.

[@adamgardner9374]

While corruption is very likely a part of it, comparing an enormous ferry to a tiny whale watching boat is a little ridiculous. Also, whale watching boats are out there explicitly to stop and look at whales; imagine how much longer your already-7-hour ferry trip would be if every time a whale was too close you had to stop the ferry and wait for the whales to leave?

[@tuomasronnberg5244]

Exactly. It's ridiculous to claim that ferries operating entirely within the Hawaiian archipelago would spread invasive species (where would they come, exactly?), all the while allowing in cruise ships and cargo vessels from all across the world and that's suddenly not a problem. That stinks to high heavens.

[@somethinglikethat2176]

Both the invasive species and the whale problem were probably manageable but you can't just say "trust me bro" or "narr, it'll be fine". These are legally required documents. Isn't definitely not a good look because the company either knowingly didn't bother to follow the correct procedures; in which case will they bother following the environmental regulations when they are operating?, or didn't know or understand them correctly; in which case how can they follow the law if they don't understand it?.

[@pgriffith808]

Before Hawaii was a state you used to be able to take Cattle Boats between the islands, my great grandmother told me stories about this, so there was a working "ferry service" in the past!

[@levitatingoctahedron922]

your great grandma must have been a big lady to sneak onto those!

[@pr0ntab]

​@@levitatingoctahedron922bruh 💀

[@TheShonuff888]

@@pgriffith808 😂 yes before you could only travel by boat that’s why its BS longshoremen politics. They’ll threaten to strike

[@sashamoore9691]

Ur grandma lied to you.

[@wolfmantroy6601]

I think this happened after statehood as well. For a long time the Parker Ranch on the BI was the largest cattle ranch in the USA. It's still in the top ten.

[@bkailua1224]

Funny how only a superferry can transport invasive species between the islands, when cargo barges go daily between the islands. Funny how the tugs and the barges don't harm whales.

[@timmonk47]

Politicians and lawyers have perfected the art of ripping off the people of Hawaii who are against anything for any reason and don't care about any civic minded improvements

[@viciousoptimist3542]

Funny, ain't it?

[@kaptainkaos1202]

The barges and tugs sail a lot slower than a ferry would thereby reducing effects on cetaceans in the area.

[@averyshaw2142]

Most modern environmentalist organizations are heavily astroturfed and have been for decades. Anyone who actually cares about the environment isn’t involved with them

[@newsgetsold]

They can't take some passengers and private vehicles on those cargo barges?

[@CBatista1234]

I've always wondered about this. There is a daily ferry service that connects Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. That service is very popular between Dominicans and Puerto Ricans. The ship is almost like a cruise, with bedrooms, buffet meals, night shows, etc. It is an overnight trip arriving at the destination early in the morning.

[@rosannalovespanda]

That sounds like fun!

[@ipodzrock1]

Keep in mind that the waters are much shallower and calmer in the Caribbean than out in the middle of the Pacific

[@nickklavdianos5136]

The "rough seas" just isn't an argument. There is a ferry service between mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. There is also Ferry services between the Canary Islands. There's a ferry service from Norway to the Faroe islands. There's a ferry service between the Islands of New Zealand and between Australia and Tasmania. There are Ferry services that run perpendicular to both costs of Japan. There are many other oceanic ferry services. And even in enclosed seas like the Aegean, ships can face pretty bad weather from time to time.

[@JLS639]

Ferries operate in the Tsushima straight, which is notorious. E.g., Japan decided (correctly) they could defend themselves by delaying landing and forcing them to stay out of bays until the straight storms killed the invaders.

[@entropybear5847]

There's a ferry service that operates YEAR ROUND between Denmark and Iceland. Sailing the North Sea and North Atlantic during winter is basically almost as bad as sailing can get. If THAT can operate reliably and safely, Hawaii has no excuses.

[@DrivermanO]

@@entropybear5847 Watych Steve Marsh's video of this - uploaded a few days ago!

[@sophroniel]

As a new zealander I've travelled on the interislander, the ferry between the north and south islands of NZ and the Cook Strait is notoriously rough! It is an average of 420m deep, sure, but there has been at least one signification maritime disaster in living memory, the 1968 sinking of the Wahine, which killed 53 people. I've been on many a rough crossing but only got mildly seasick on the worst (probably because I came of age during all the christchurch earthquakes which were similar haha). But either way, my point stands: I agree with you that "rough seas" is hardly a reason to stop.

[@philipvanzijl2994]

The ferry service between NZs te wai pounamu (south island) and Rakioura (Stewart island) is scary as! You drop so much from the waves you feel it in your stomach

[@SillyMynabird]

Growing up on the Big Island, going to another island was like visiting another state in and of itself. Throughout my entire school experience, I visited Oahu a handful of times, mainly for competitions.

[@saamohod]

What did you compete in?

[@BlueSunHiredGun]

As someone who grew up on Oahu, the experience of heading to the Big Island or Maui for school trips or youth symphony concerts was also a little weird. It was the closest we got to “playing tourist” without a very expensive trip to the Mainland.

[@joylindadichamounix]

I worked on The Pride Of Aloha and sailed between the 4 main islands. What an amazing state!

[@RaveN_EDM]

I found traveling within Hawaii is a lot easier than larger states. Like driving across California is a days long thing for most people while island hopping is quick. I was just blown away with how freaking huge the rest of the country was especially the emptier western half of the country when I used to think hilo and Kona were far apart lol I couldn't understand how people fell asleep while driving until I went to the mainland and realized people can literally drive several hours at a time in a straight line with hardly any traffic.

[@raistlarn]

​@@RaveN_EDM to add onto your comment about traffic and falling asleep while driving. It also doesn't help that on some roads it's just vast stretches of emptiness (I-80 from Reno, NV east.)

[@Andrew-ep4kw]

There is one regularly operating "ferry" in Hawaii, but there is an enormous asterisk: It's a cruise ship, NCL's Pride of America. It's actually a great way for tourists to see the islands as it visits Maui, the Big Island, Kaua'i and Oahu, its home port. Pretty much, you island hop and your resort hotel travels with you. Since it stays overnight on Maui and Kaua'i, you can rent a car and explore the islands. Since it only operates from American ports, it is the only ship in the Norwegian fleet (possibly the entire world) with an all American crew.

[@squirrelnibbler19]

😂 we got a storm, and spent half Of it on the ship. The cruise is okay. Not great unfortunately, but you do get to see all the islands.

[@DragoslavVFovsky]

I worked on it and yes it goes that way It is the only American flagged cruise ship

[@meraj205]

I've done this cruise and it was excellent. But as you said, since it's American flagged, the crew is all American too, which makes the cost about 2-3 times more than most other cruise packages. But still worth it, in my opinion.

[@meraj205]

Also, I think Half as Interesting did a video about that cruise that explains it in detail. It's pretty interesting.

[@daeseongkim93]

it sucks though, as its expensive and genuinely unaffordable for hawaii locals like myself. its meant for tourists. not locals who want to visit family and friends on the other islands. i wouldnt even classify it as a ferry, cruise ships are just luxury boats

[@TomQuiNEstPasLa]

I clicked on this 24 minute long video fully expecting for it to be clickbait and to close out of it within the first five minutes. Instead, I found a host that doesn't waste my time and a remarkably detailed documentary about ferry services, the Jones Act, Hawaii's relative tax base, and historical attempts at establishing regular interisland ferry services between the Hawaiian Islands. This is genuinely the kind of stuff they should show in schools. It almost annoys me just how good this video was.

[@zackftw2748]

4:01 “pooget sound” I still can’t get over that as a Seattle resident 😂😂😂

[@Eduardo89rp]

Was just going to comment the same thing lol

[@TheChamorro0311]

pew pew pew 😂

[@themarcusismael13]

He does this purposefully for engagement baiting. Congrats, we all commented boosting his engagement.

[@reffwe]

I'm from Ireland and have only been that neck of the woods once - how do you folks say it? I looked up a how to pronounce website and he wasn't too far from what that website said?

[@riko0029]

Dude, I'm Australian, and it hurt me. I swear he does it for engagement.

[@leternadia]

I live in Hawaii. Used to work in a middle sizes cruise ship NCL that travels between islands. Not such of thing as sea sick all the time. I also worked in a small dinner cruise, yeah, that one people get sick often. A plane ticket between islands cost about $110 per way, so a family of 3 will spend about $600 to go for the weekend to visit family in the other island. Everything here is expensive because the monopoly between airlines and ship ports.

[@jamesdoggles5365]

I worked on one of the superferries long after they were sold. Only Alakai ever even made it to Hawaii, Huakai was never delivered. The car decks would have been able to carry tons of refrigerated trailers rapidly between islands. Definitely would have been a good thing for the islands, though not for the airlines or Young Brothers.

[@garys2149]

Who do you think paid people to protest. It was all about controlling the shipping, nothing else. Safety for whales was all a lie

[@daeseongkim93]

^^ this, Hawaiian Airlines and Young Brothers aong the other shipping moguls plotted the downfall of the Superferry the moment it started operations in Honolulu Harbor

[@barryreichert]

I would say that Young Brothers and the Airlines would both be in the ferry business if it were profitable.

[@jamesdoggles5365]

@@barryreichert Young Brothers IS the ferry business in Hawaii. They currently have a LITERAL monopoly on it granted by the state government. As for the airlines, operating flights being more profitable than operating ferries is exactly the point I was making?

[@PinkMawile]

@@barryreichertCorporate meddling isn’t about the singular companies, but also the companies around them. The car rentals likely support a private infrastructure of maintenance. Even if it would be profitable for the company alone to go into ferries, it would break the chain of kick backs that typically define these kinds of inter-corporate ecosystems.

[@Dr.Atallah]

I always wondered about this. They have inter-island barges that are used for general freight and equipment, but not for people. This explained it really well - thanks. Having spent 6 months living on Oahu (around 1997), while working on Nextel's statewide cellular network launch, I flew inter-island 2-3 times a week, sometimes going to 3 islands each day. The airfare for residents, (which I qualified for), was 1/2 price, $50 a pop, and the airline, (either Hawaiian or Aloha), had a private resident's lounge at the larger airports, with complimentary beverages. One of the many things I liked was that, every Friday was commonly called "Aloha Friday" - In the office, at about 10am, people started disappearing - by noon it was empty. At first, not realizing what was going on, the boss poked his head into my office with a quizzical look, asking, "What's going on... you gonna work all day?!" (He was serious). Well, it was a tough job, but I guess somebody had to do it.

[@stephencruz885]

I lived in Hawaii for 28 years. So they don't want to burden Hawaii residents with more taxes to subsidize a ferry system, but they had no qualms about taxing residents to build the rail system which a lot of residents for whom the system was designed don't even use. Typical Hawaii.

[@daeseongkim93]

id rather inter-island ferry than a useless east to west, west to east rail system. we already have buses and people could just drive to town or kapolei. we didnt have a very vibrant interisland system aside from that one track monopoly hawaiian airlines has. the super ferry was nice while we had it and offered a real challenge to the shipping and aviation industry to compete and provide lower fairer fares for us locals.

[@CrushingObservations]

As a local i dont know why people keep voting Democrats and expect things to change 🤦🏽

[@amduser86]

because typical an running rail system is cheaper to maintain and operate than to maintain streets. in the long run it actually should reduce the tax burden, even if it only gets used by tourists and military personal.

[@PaulNishimoto-nb5kd]

24 years are youhaole

[@MrDmitriRavenoff]

Typical USA infrastructure. Build stuff somebody wants, not what actually helps the people.

[@oro8854]

Small correction RLL: You state that Alaska has calmer waters, but the gulf of Alaska causes some of the most intense weather systems throughout the world and it's very regular for the routes in the Kodiak area and Aluetians to have to deal with 40 foot waves, 100 mph winds, and the ship to constantly be going sideways. There's all kinds of regulatory things these ships have to do with tying down things that can move on ships including requiring all doors on the vessel to magnetically lock when closed. The south east routes if they travel their alternative route that as we call it "Goes on the outside" (aka not through the channels but facing the open ocean) are also directly comparable with the conditions you state in Hawaii in the video, though the water is still technically shallower in SE Alaska. I only know this because I work for said organization lol.

[@ektran4205]

anti tourism thing

[@chrisoconnor9521]

Are you surprises it got it wrong? It always makes mistakes!

[@stellarwind1946]

Indeed it is, the Bering Sea as well as the Gulf of Alaska are well-known for their ferocious conditions, particularly during the winter months.

[@djsnowman06]

As a Newf... Those pronunciations were cringe lol

[@jamielancaster01]

Before 9/11 there was a cruse line in Hawaii. You would fly to Hawaii and then board the cruise ship and sail between the three large destinations there. But a month after 9/11 they filed for bankruptcy due to numerous cancellations. My wife and I were booked a week long cruise on it & paid it in full. Two months later they filed for bankruptcy, we lost the entire amount that we paid (the cruise only not the airfare).

[@thecookiemonstergaming3089]

There still is one run by Norewegian cruise lines on a cruise ship called pride of america it does a weekly cruise between the islands. One thing to note is it’s the most expensive norewegian cruise per day by day pricing and the most lackluster when it comes to on ship amenities. Most people on board including crew and passengers see it as a island hopper and not much more. I know this because I worked on the ship as a dishwasher 112 hour work weeks not a very nice company to work for. But hawaii was amazing nonetheless.

[@TAP7a]

​@@thecookiemonstergaming3089it's also the _only_ cruise ship with permission to do that, so there's absolutely zero competition

[@thecookiemonstergaming3089]

@ its not really so much permission as it is cost. Other cruise lines dont get into that market because the ship has to be flagged in america and run by a majority American crew. Along with other restrictions like no gambling in hawaii it makes it harder to make that venture plausible. On pride of america they make the money with excursions and push it so hard to the point its the top seller of excursions out of any ship in the fleet.

[@HakkyPrints]

Another tragic 9/11 story.

[@SaskatchewaneseMapper]

Why would 9/11 make PLANES more popular and SHIPS less?

[@BruTheThreat]

I live on the Big Island, when the Maui fires kicked off, a lot of our communities would load up their boats with food, water, blankets, etc. and casually go to Maui. It’s super cool how an hour long flight is what keeps up from our cousins and aunties but fisherman make their own work around. I saw a post from one of our family friends called “Gate Keepa’s”. If I remember correctly, they took the liberty of closing down roads to people who didn’t live there so pricks wouldn’t loot anything from people who lost everything.

[@hi-ougidemonfang]

Wouldn’t that just trap the tourists near the fire? During an emergency closing down roads seems like one of the most dangerous things a person could do. You already have a life and death situation, where you’re having to make quick decisions, now the information you have to make that decision is poisoned by people only looking out for themselves, closing gates. Seems like a recipe for involuntary man slaughter honestly.

[@hi-ougidemonfang]

Wouldn’t that just trap tourists near the fire? Seems like one of the most dangerous things you could do in an emergency is to block off ways to escape.

[@wombatnation1709]

A lot of people died because of blocked roads. The fire forcing people from their cars and into the ocean…

[@iammaxhammer]

Did you know Terence McKenna?

[@nwalk33]

Why doesn’t the big island have a unique name like the others?

[@antoniocruz8083]

I've taken the ferry between Spain and the Canary Islands, 1800km. I clocked its speed at 40km/h on the gps. Just about everyone who was on it had a car, the main reason for taking it. But the most amazing ferries are the ones between the Canary Islands. I clocked them at 60km/h covering a distance of up to 200km and we went through waves of over 2m in height just like going over small bumps on a bus on a highway. They are very stable due to stabilisers. They can carry over 300 cars and 1.000 passengers in a luxurious all glass open cabin. Given the strong northerly trade winds between the islands if you add its speed to the boat speed you can get over 100km/h winds over the deck. They are only cancelled because of bad weather a couple of times a year. Some were catamarans and some trimarans, amazing technology.

[@katfayegarrett3872]

Wow, super cool!⛵️

[@antoniocruz8083]

@katfayegarrett3872 But that's not all, these craft unload everyone and all cars in 15 minutes so their stopover is only 30 minutes. They twist 180° in a tiny harbour barely touching the dock and under extremely strong winds. The main cabin is about 50meters long and 20meters wide, that's 1000 square meters. Inside there are various types of seating arrangements, airplane style seats, coffee tables and large eating tables with internet and televisions. One can sit anywhere. There's also a vip separate cabin which I wasn't able to visit. They accelerate to top speed in a 1-2 minutes, you can feel the acceleration. They offer a a comfortable trip between the islands covering large distances in a short time. It's a memorable experience to arrive on a new island under huge cliffs and mountains where the spanish spoke, in some instances, has a completely different accent from the previous island. Besides tourists and locals they also transport trucks and small vans with local produce. Locals have a huge discount so they can move freely to go shopping or for a doctor's appointment. They'd be much more isolated if only had airplanes.

[@shriekingbushpigshrieking]

you sir are clearly a man who enjoys an efficient ferry service as much as myself

[@christopherwellman2364]

Good to learn what a trimaran is. I have seen them on TV, but didn't know what they were called.

[@SamCyanide]

You should ride some of the jetfoil ferries like In Boston USA and Japan, They are super fast and smooth because the main hull is not in the water

[@Killdozer667]

Cadiz (mainland Spain) to Tenerife (Canary islands) 1300 km / 800+ miles. Yes, it takes 36 hours, but the ticket for 1 person in a small car costs 116€ (125$).

[@markbollinger1343]

How much to fly?

[@alexsis1778]

@@markbollinger1343 Absolute cheapest looks to be about 50€ which doesn't include bags etc but more typical is 90-140. It also takes about 2.5 hours

[@GntlTch]

@@alexsis1778 And then you have to rent a car once you get there! More $$$$!

[@ulliausleverkusen]

But only when you are resident on the canarys. Normal price is more around 300 and 500-700 when you take a cabin.

[@irou95]

@@ulliausleverkusen That's more like it. From Helsinki to Germany is about 600€ with a car and a cabin and it takes 30 hours.

[@JaneNewAuthor]

Bass Strait, between Tasmania and mainland Australia, is one of the roughest stretches of water in the world. Tasmania has a billion dollar agriculture industry, so all travellers and their cars are monitored for fruit fly. There's been a regular ferry service for decades. America seems to hate public transport.

[@rorykeegan1895]

The Americans think public transport is a communist plot.

[@myne00]

It was private though...

[@ShelleyinBoston]

The Tasmanian ferry is expensive and apparently profitable -- it likely is heavily subsidized! Lets face it - two ferries going back snd forth between MEL and Davanport is a simpler operation than what is being proposed in Hawaii. Bass Straight is merely 200 feet + in depth. Big difference between 200 feet and 6000 feet ocean depths. In otherwise no comparison

[@Will0398]

Not all of us hate mass transit. It’s just wealthy progressive people who claim to care about the “undesirables” as long as you don’t come near their mansions.

[@Magnus-qr7lj]

@@ShelleyinBoston Your an expert in sea states? not!

[@efrieder100]

My family of 3 loaded up our car and took the ferry from Oahu to Maui and it was great! We rented a hotel and stayed for over a week. It was affordable since we were three people and did not have to rent a car. I think it was the car rental and airline industry that stopped it forcing us onto airplanes that gets very expensive for anything more than one or two individuals.

[@RogerWKnight]

Seattle-Bainbridge Island, 3 miles and 30 minutes. Seattle-Bremerton 7 miles and 1 hour. Most other Washington State Ferry trips are less than 7 miles and 1 hour. You spend more time waiting for the next ferry than riding the ferry. Puget Sound has the virtue of being too wide and too deep, over 100 fathoms, for a bridge, but narrow enough for ferries, with enough economy in the state to subsidize them. Riding the ferry provides spectacular views.

[@xander1052]

As a brit, may I interest you in a hovercraft? they're used in the solent for the 4.5 mile journey to the isle of wight in 15 minutes.

[@jrstf]

@@xander1052 - Hovercrafts fly...

[@PSYCHOBEVO]

I lived in that area for a while. I loved the ferries, I took them all the time.

[@dukedub]

I use to see some incredible sunsets from the ferry after work. Cost about $14 each way to ride the ferry i used, it saved 45 miles on my car each way compared to “driving around”. The main issue was waiting in line, sometimes you wait and the ferry fills up without you, then you wait another hour for the next boat. Next issue is the ferry system is understaffed and the boats are getting older needing to be taken out of rotation maintenance more often

[@enjoystraveling]

I used to ride the ferry from Seattle as a foot passenger, and I love drinking a steamer coffee looking out at the beautiful scenery.

[@edmo-l4d]

There are many different ferry operators in Japan (50 to 60) of all different sizes. Many of them are huge ships that can take many large trucks and their cargo. The ferries have many lines and service all over Japan. Many of the routes run at night and you can book a capsule, room, or shared accommodation. They have restaurants on board. To top it off they are a very inexpensive and convenient option for getting around Japan. Get on the ferry in the evening, and wake up in the morning at your destination all for less than it would cost for a flight or train.

[@pfranks75]

I lived in Rhode Island growing up, we have ferry service to Block Island. The ferry’s schedule changes during the year depending on the season.

[@thomasbeirne8213]

I've seen some videos of those in Japan. I haven't done any ferries but the Staten Island one, which is really short. I've traveled SF to NYC by bus, years ago, 5 days in purgatory :). Amtrak, NYC to Topeka, KS, fantastic trip. Rail trips, I guess like ferries, are an experience. Flying, after the first time, is just a chore.

[@slc.images]

As a life long resident I'll admit I was one of those people that thought cancelling the super ferry was just another retarded decision of the state. Between the shockingly long travel time in comparison to flying, and the complete lack of subsidies, it should have been obvious that it was doomed to failed. Its still a shame though. Aa a local being able to bring your own vehicle to other islands can't be understated.

[@linus8247]

let me guess, Hawaiian airlines have been holding a successful monopoly, and are politically well connected... I mean, I understand some of the arguments against ferry services but all those short haul flights are still vastly more harmful to the environment and residents...

[@ceu160193]

@@linus8247 It's just how things in US are, I suppose, since people prefer to fly, rather than use trains, which in rest of the world are much cheaper means of travel.

[@somethinglikethat2176]

​@@linus8247 the ferries would be better for the global environment, however if the risks weren't correctly managed their impact on the local environment could be worse. They sound manageable, of course that's why companies are forced to do environmental impact studies... still not sure why this company thought it was optional.

[@thomasward4505]

Flying doesn't work if you need to bring heavy or bulky items on your trip

[@su_shadow9326]

As a resident of Maui, I knew alot of locals that were concerned that Oahu residents would use the ferries to get to our best camping grounds, making it difficult for us to get to use them. For that and similar reasons, we saw little personal benefit to it.

[@jimwhiting8144]

Many years ago I went on a three hour tour. There was an older wealthy couple, a movie star, and a farm girl also on the tour. The captain was experienced, but the first mate was a goof. We had many adventures together

[@PBurns-ng3gw]

Why didn't you just patch the damned hole in the boat, professor?

[@feijoatree]

I flew to Vegas from Sydney and on my way back stopped in Hawaii for diving and inter island travel. Oahu to Maui to Big Island back to Oahu cost more than the one way trip to Vegas from Australia. Prices were nuts.

[@thomasbeirne8213]

Macadamia?

[@WhitePonytail]

Funny that hellofresh isn’t available in Hawaii Sincerely, - resident of Hawaii

[@randalthor741]

Hellofresh planned to expand to Hawaii, but they were going to deliver to the different islands by ferry and, well...

[@joylindadichamounix]

There were a lot of stores that are not there. I had my Mom mail me stuff from Trader Joe's when I worked on the ship there!

[@ieuanhunt552]

You're not missing much

[@jljordan1]

I always got rotten food from them.

[@johnwolf2829]

From this and other vids, it is obviuos; Hawaii does NOT want your business.... no matter what it is. If you own ANYTHING there, sell out and run for it, before they burn you out and then refuse to let you rebuild. Looking at you, Maui.

[@gomimaninoakland]

When i was a little kid me and mom were traveling around the Hawaiian islands and we took a hydrofoil from Maui to Kona it was a blast and smooth but others said it was a sea sick experience. the line was called sea flight. It started in 1975 and folded in 1979.

[@peterweicker77]

Best knowledge packaging I've seen for a long time. You've made something I would never have thought about interesting. The subject matter is clearly and objectively explained.

[@Keepitfiction]

Born and raised in the islands, there used to be ferries briefly untill Young Brothers got involved. Money and greed is the real reason that we don’t have ferries. Every local family who was alive during that time know about it.

[@csnide6702]

exactly ... There were plenty of ferry services back in early 1980s while I was there.

[@MaGiCMushroomClouds]

Well, fairies still aren't widely accepted by the black youth community.

[@Keepitfiction]

@ guy what 💀💀

[@deebsmigs]

Thank you! I'm born and raised from Hawaii. Really impressed by this video, as well as your other videos about Hawaii! The ferry is a topic that create a lot of conflict because of strong opinions on both sides. I appreciate your objective, balanced view in presenting both perspectives. And thank you for how well-researched and informative your content is. Thank you for explaining the currents in the channels between the islands. I knew about them, but I didn't realize they influenced the types of ships that could be used. Also, I hadn’t considered the long-term economics of running a ferry. I didn’t know that Alaska and Washington state subsidize their services. Thanks for the great insights!

[@deebsmigs]

I just want to add, personally I was in favor of the ferry. I grew up on Maui but lived on Oahu. When the ferry was started, I was a few years out of college, but my brothers were just starting college. It made it much easier for us to visit home for summer and holidays, and we could even bring our cars.

[@TamagoHead]

@@deebsmigsShipping a car via ferry is way cheaper than Young Brother’s Jones Act Monopoly. But, I can see both sides.

[@Gizathecat2]

The Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean are volcanic like Hawaii and are major tourist destinations. There is inter island air service as well as a ferry. It works there.

[@billdurham8477]

Most ferries are subsidized. I am from RI where there are 2 islands in the Bay served by the same ferry. It ran twice a day. Until someone got the bright idea to stop the subsidy. Then the ferry stopped. Basically they broke even with fares, the subsidy paid 2 captain salaries. And yeah that's short money for a captain. The nearest shore town fire department wound up ferries folks for doctor's appointments and meds until the state paid a ton to another company to make a run on Saturday. The real fun is that the ferry was only way a firetruck was going to get there.

[@Myrmekes]

My son was stationed in Hawaii. He called me one day and said he was board. I told him to take a ferry, boat or plane and do some island hopping. He said he couldnt. I never really believed him until now. What a shame.

[@Myrmekes]

@ thanks

[@hebneh]

Why couldn't he have flown on an interisland plane?

[@LikeSpee]

@@netwrench6570missed opportunity to ask, why wooden she/he believe her/his son..?

[@daeseongkim93]

@@hebneh probably how expensive it was compared to when the superferry was around. superferry use to go as cheap as $5 to as expensive as $50 oneway, because of this hawaiian airlines had to compete and provide fair fares to try and relatively match the superferry. most locals in hawaii believe the anti-ferry movement and lawsuits were nudged on by hawaiian airlines and the shipping moguls who wanted to retain the monopoly

[@hebneh]

@@daeseongkim93 I don't believe the Superferry ever sold tickets for just $5.

[@gracefullyyours6508]

I used to travel to Lani and Moloka’i from Maui by ferry. Never smooth but always beautiful.

[@UsernamesAreHard44]

I grew up on Maui and very briefly remember the Superferry. It was supposed to be this big thing initially. Then throughout the time it was operational, it was pretty much never spoken about from what I heard, then became just nothing more than a passing mention Fun anecdote about inter-island flights in Hawaii. A lot of people are using flights as their way to make money. Take products from one island and sell it at another. My favorite example is Krispy Kreme Donuts. The only Krispy Kreme location in Hawaii is on Maui. (conveniently enough right next to the airport too) So people would buy several hundred donuts at a time, fly over to Oahu or other islands, and sell the donuts there for profit.

[@taln0reich]

this feels so dumb. Like, one million people on the island and none of them can bake donuts and run the donut shop themselves?

[@prst99]

@@taln0reichit’s true. So sad.

[@Dorgpoop]

That's so wasteful. Hawaii seems beautiful, but from the sounds of it it's ran as a kind of ultra capitalist hell. Having 98% of the sixth largest island privately owned by a billionaire and having almost all of the food imported by a single shipping company are pretty shocking.

[@pr0ntab]

​@@taln0reichthere are donut shops on the other islands it's just that some people like the novelty of getting krispie kream... Replace this with any brand and you can make some money

[@handyvan3422]

$20buks a box as of yesterday lol

[@karlstruck5297]

I sailed on the Army LSV 1 vessel. Our main mission was transporting the Army and Marine equipment. Back and forth between Oahu and the big island. The channels between the islands were rougher but not too bad. We would sail at about 10 knots. Usually leaving at about 3 pm and arriving at sunrise. Unload and then load up other equipment. Turn around and do the same thing over and over. That's mostly what we did for 3 years.

[@davidkneubuhl]

LSV7 right here

[@Ps5prolite]

US is trash compared to China. Horrible place to live in the US

[@Choward6969]

I rode on one from Oahu to pta!

[@BillMitchell-lm8dg]

Having grown up in Hawaii, I well know about the sea sickness caused by the rough seas - which are legendary between Oahu and Molokai. The cause is not only the huge waves that were generated in the Aleutian Islands, but that they reflect back and forth between the Hawaiian islands.

[@bullschitt3666]

Kaiwi is rough but I think Pailolo is nastier more frequently, and everyone fears the 'aha

[@topherthe11th23]

2:35 - An acquaintance in New York City has an interesting commute home. A flight to Athens that's I suppose about 12 hours, and then 24 hours in a hotel-like stateroom on a ferry that makes numerous stops before it gets to the Greek island where his family lives.

[@wk8219]

As someone who lives in Washington state and is intimately aware of how challenging it is to pronounce just about any geographical location in our state’s borders; I would highly recommend to any KZbinr to look up how to pronounce any city or region that you might wish to say in a video. There are dozens of names that anyone who did not grow up here would have absolutely no idea how to pronounce. It gives us locals a good natured giggle every time we hear someone try.

[@AggroPhene]

He also pronounced 'debacle' with a short 'a'.

[@boatsc8639]

I was a machinist and made a ton of different parts for the hawaii super ferry. It is an awesome ship. Jet drive and fast.

[@merrywalsh2809]

I took the Superferry once, and yes, I got seasick, despite not being prone to seasickness. The channels can be very, very rough. I once owned a cabin cruiser berthed in Seattle on Lake Union. We took that little vessel all over the calm waters of the Puget Sound. So fun. As for the Alenuihaha Channel, during the filming of Water World off the Big Island, the production had a difficult time there filming on the waves. Also, they hired local watermen, my friends on Maui, for the jet ski scenes. A couple of the guys decided to ride their jet skies from Maui, across the channel to get to the Big Island, something that had never been done before. Laird Hamilton was one of them. Due to the size and number of the waves making the crossing way longer than the distance, they ran out of gas and had to be rescued.

[@accountname7738]

At 1:38 ... "There isn't a SINGLE regularly schedruled transportation service between ANY of the islands!" At 1:50 (12 seconds later) ... "The only regularly schedruled farry service is between Maui and Lanai..."

[@nitrofox1354]

I’ve actually been on that ferry. It takes like a hour and 15 minutes lol. But I was thinking the same thing

[@grnphroggy]

I think he meant between any of the four major islands, which doesn't include Lanai. (I've been on that ferry too!)

[@bigmike4254]

Moron idiot, Lanai is off-limits to you and resupplied this way because it has different rules. It’s off limits to the general public.

[@anthonyreyna8350]

@@grnphroggyYup, pretty sure he was saying there’s no ferries between the four major islands, not that there wasn’t any at all. Lanai is a small and lightly populated island that is the only exception in Hawaii with a ferry service

[@dappergander]

"Environmental assessment" is a nice way of saying "Not-in-MY-backyard!"

[@somethinglikethat2176]

For the most part that seems to be most of what's going on, however the ferry company decided to shoot themselves in both feet by not even bothering to do one. Company shocked to discover law applies to them too.

[@johnstuartsmith]

It's a polite way of the courts telling the citizenry we don't care if you don't like our decision. Only lawyers specializing in environmental law were considered qualified to have had an opinion worth listening to, and the people you'd argue against already had all the high-priced environmental lawyers, state and local politicians, the local newspapers and TV stations on retainer, along with the judges..

[@tmayorca8770]

Nimbys. But in the other hand aren't there more whales there between Maui and Big Island where they like to go?

[@Just_A_Guy_Here.]

Oh a classic when it comes to corporations using environmentalism as a means to sound good and reasonable, when in reality it doesn't change anything about them. Especially in these days where the people are more aware to protect the environment than to destroy it.

[@SonnyDarvish]

Ferries are bad for our whales, but burn kerosene that pollutes the whole planet. Same as you said, pollution NIMBY.

[@afanofdieselengines675]

I traveled to 5 of Hawaai's islands by boat just last month. (Oct. 2024). In fact I traveled with over 4000 people. Guests and staff on a cruise, round trip, Vancouver BC to Hawaii and back to Vancouver BC. 17 days of bliss. On one of our stops we took a ride on a real submarine. 48 passengers down to 105 ft below the surface.

[@afanofdieselengines675]

Please for give my misspelling of Hawaii.

[@JohnBurkhertJr]

We're doing the San Francisco round trip departing December 2nd with 5 ports over 16 days. The Ruby Princess sleeps about 3000 passengers.

[@afanofdieselengines675]

We did 17 nights on Koningsdam, Holland America. Had a blast. Make sure you do the submarine thing. It is the real deal. One on Maui and one on Kona. Have a great time!

[@JAYFEATHERBOONDOCKS]

How do I find the submarine trip? Going this February.

[@afanofdieselengines675]

@JAYFEATHERBOONDOCKS It is wellbadvertised in the little magazines that are distributed in the ABC stores around the islands. The name of the company is "Atlantis Submarine Tours". The tour is available in Maui and Kona. You will have a blast!

[@jlminks9800]

Went this year. Spent 3 days in Oahu.... then took Norwegian Cruise on the "Pride of America" which visits Maui, Kauai, and the big island, too (basically 2 days on each island). Then we spent another 3 days on Oahu. Great way to see them all without having to fly to each island. I highly recommend this.

[@Tokamak3.1415]

Unfortunately those cruise ships use about 10x as much fuel per passenger as a jet does. I know they're moving other cargo as well at times, but it's still a big price to pay with bunker fuel.

[@keithfreitas2983]

And no whales were hurt during the trip and no invasive species invaded the islands you visited.

[@jlminks9800]

@Tokamak3.1415 but they can carry 2000+ passengers, many more than jets. So, that is not a fair comparison unless you factor in all of the jets needed to transport all of them and factor in it would take 4 flights each passenger to stop at all 4 islands.

[@Tokamak3.1415]

@@jlminks9800 I was comparing the 2 on a per passenger basis. While there have been advances with ship hull designs and more efficient engines in ships, planes have increased their efficiency by almost 6x since the early jet age. There is less of a carbon footprint by 8 people flying in a twinjet for 500 miles than those same 8 driving in a large minivan or SUV assuming the vehicle is using gasoline. Those same 8 people moving on a ship burn even more fuel than a land vehicle. I don't want to get into the physics of it, but dragging a body through water creates a lot more drag than dragging it through air - hence why boats are inherently inefficient - for moving anyways. It's not until you get into the massive international shipping conglomerates like Maersk that transporting 10K to 25K TEU becomes efficient. The only thing that beats twinjets for mass modality is rail.

[@DannySettle-yi2ef]

Love and Respect 🙏 Thank's for the information 👏 Bless you and your Community 🙏 ❤️

[@Abacos27]

It is nice to see one of your videos that is both short (under 30 minutes) and not about a strategic/military subject. About your sponsor: Americans, if you can, move to Europe. Food here is healthier and more affordable, and lunch breaks are typically at least 1 hour long.

[@georgemonnatjr.172]

Thank you. I was a resident and still visit family there every year. I've been mad about it being canceled for years, but your excellent explanations made me feel better.

[@lmnatez5099]

It's hilarious that Hawaii has interstate highways.

[@doujinflip]

It comes from the name of the infrastructure program, not the function. Similarly separated Alaska and Puerto Rico also have Interstate routes.

[@sinchill5424]

Only on Oahu though.

[@TamagoHead]

@@sinchill5424Yep. It’s to support military Logistics.

[@prst99]

It is funny.

[@sinchill5424]

@ I know, I really utilized those highways during my stint on Oahu lol

[@hiddenloaf2302]

I grew up on Oahu, one year we sailed from Pearl Harbor to Moloka'i on our boat. The waterway between the Islands was referred to as "the Washing Machine Sea" if I remember right. The swells were absolutely massive and consistent. 3/10. Definitely just fly, it's worth it.

[@olligesd9343]

What size boat?

[@wolfmantroy6601]

Between Maui and the BI can get real rough too. Looks close but it would've been a hella ride in a canoe.

[@hiddenloaf2302]

@@olligesd9343 I want to say it was a 36 or 42 foot sailboat.

[@nickklavdianos5136]

In such small boat you're definitely going to feel the sea. Meanwhile most ferries here in Greece that operate between islands are usually more than 100 meters long, with the largest ones reaching over 200 meters long. Those ships really don't have much to be afraid of. And if the weather is really bad, then they simply don't sail.

[@hiddenloaf2302]

@@nickklavdianos5136 I guarantee you'd still feel it significantly in a vessel that big

[@doorhanger9317]

So, hawaiians can't afford a ferry service but they somehow can afford expensive airline tickets between the islands...

[@mikeh2520]

There was a ferry in the '90's that took commuters from SW Oahu into Honolulu and then back again. The idea was to ease the terrible traffic on the H1 highway. It was a nice idea in concept but the ride was often so rough the people would get seasick and then stop using it. It didn't last long.

[@prst99]

I remember that. The secretary at the office did it but got seasick so often it wasn’t worth the time saved.

[@kilogulf1164]

I used to ride it to work on Bishop St. I rode a bus from Waianae to Kalaeloa, then hopped on the ferry from Kalaeloa to Aloha tower. My employer at the time provided us with free bus passes. I loved it compared to the city bus. Always had seats, free wifi, a bathroom, and snacks.

[@TheHaloRed]

Wasn't it called "TheBoat"? Like TheBus.

[@Canleaf08]

13:22 One of the superferries (HST-2) bought by the Navy was leased to Northunderland Ferry Limited in Canada to conduct service between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Bar Harbor, ME. This service is also called "THE CAT" and it's journey takes 3 hours.

[@jrstf]

The navy does commercial leasing? I hope they at least have in the agreement that they can retrieve their boat in case of war.

[@whale605]

Hearing Poo-jet sound gave me psychic damage. It's pronounced Pyu-jet

[@CapnJack1]

eheheh he said poo

[@loganpatricksnell]

he has to be fking with us and it worked i physically recoiled

[@phyzzip]

This is the second KZbin video to mispronounce so painfully. Can't remember if it was RLL or another creator.

[@JJ-jf4ox]

There are so many tricky names in the PNW that I couldn’t blame people messing up, but Puget Sound is nonnegotiable. If he messes it up a third time we’re going to make him pronounce Puyallup and show him what real pain is.

[@acmejia]

@@JJ-jf4ox Puyallup, lol! "Pooget Sound" almost killed me. I don't think it's a human, it's an AI voice.

[@AngieDirk]

FYI - It's Pew-jit Sound, not Poo-jit Sound. Made me giggle every time you said it.

[@gregurie2381]

You forgot BC Ferries. It’s the biggest vehicle ferry fleet in the world.

[@kenelder9615]

and the legend of the fast ferries is a good story

[@mr.fuscles]

He took the easy way out. Lol!

[@jamesizatt5170]

fuck bc ferries

[@Michael-io6db]

Damn rlly? Ive been on it all my life and didnt know that

[@markxfarmer6830]

Japan and New Zealand ferries too.

[@alexanderx33]

Depth is almost completely irrelevant to ocean roughness. The problem with hawaii is that it has inadiquate wind breaks. The distance to the neareast land directly upwind on portions of these routes would exceed 100 miles, which means the swell is at equilibrium instead of building in those locations.

[@michaelbarnard8529]

There is a substantial difference between the physics of shallow and deep water waves, with shallow water dampening long wavelengths.

[@alexanderx33]

@michaelbarnard8529 He was talking about a continental shelf though. Continental shelves are about 500ft deep before the start of the steeper slope. He also gave puget sound as an example which is often 500ft deep. Even very tall prevailing wind swell doesn't get over like 30ft. The water just isnt moving for swell like that under 100-120ft...

[@bubbabigmin]

@@alexanderx33 Yes it is, it depends on the interval of the swell. A deepwater long period swell over about 18 seconds will feel the bottom in over a thousand feet of water.

[@Weathernerd27]

@@michaelbarnard8529 If the water is really shallow like less than 100 feet then it does dampen the waves but most of the Alaska/Puget Sound ferry routes are deeper than 100 feet so you can still get big waves. What's more important than ocean depth is are there any islands/reefs to break the waves. Alaska's inside passage is like a lake because most of the swell breaks on the outer islands/reefs. The Puget Sound is like a lake because it is very long and swell has lots of time to spread out and dissipate before it reaches the interior sound.

[@alexanderx33]

@@bubbabigmin Longer period is not rough though. Basically anything over 10 seconds period and under 5ft is calm water. which coresponds to an acceleration of about 0.6ft/s/s. Approx 16ft at 18 seconds would be about the same acceleration. The greater the period the tighter that ratio can get and not exceed that acceleration. 30ft at 18 seconds would be pretty rough but I cant say i've ever seen swell that tall on a forecast that I remember.

[@dr.woozie7500]

Rough seas and currents shouldn't be an excuse to not have ferry service. Indonesia has a vast ferry service and the seas east of Java have extreme depths of 6,000+ feet as well.

[@wingracer1614]

Depth is not a concern

[@Palanibert]

Didn't you listen to the whole video? Waves between Oahu and Molokai are regularly 30 to 40 feet high. In the late 70s there was a hydrofoil ferry service between the islands. Because of the wave action it had to stay in port a lot. Customers could never know when their trip would be canceled until almost the last minute.

[@scottbullock3045]

Indonesia also has a vastly larger population than Hawaii does. Indonesia also has the relative shelter of continental land masses nearby, Hawaii does not.😊

[@ltdees2362]

@@Palanibert Wow...a "didn't you listen" asshole, and you probably get seasick in your swimming pool 😎

[@JeanPierreWhite]

It's just a bunch of excuses.

[@shaenni9122]

Another option.. using a current day equivalent of the ekranoplan. It travels above the water. Travels very fast.

[@DecodeFascinatingMysteries]

As a tourist, I’ve always thought about experiencing boat trips between Hawaii’s islands, but now I understand why it’s not feasible. It’s a bit disappointing but makes perfect sense

[@koriw1701]

The Bellingham~Ketchikan ferry has gotten longer and far more expensive than even flying. It now takes 41 hours from Bellingham to Ketchikan. It only runs once a week. The price starts at around $342 for a single passenger (walk-on), but increases substantially if you're traveling with a vehicle, with total fares reaching $1,280 for a car and passenger.

[@Dan_Neely]

at that point is there any reason to take a car other than not being allowed into Canada.

[@jorymil]

Is there much point in bringing a car to Ketchikan? Southeast Alaska is all boats and float planes.

[@sfmc98]

When you say a flight is only an hour, you're not taking into account the real time a plane journey takes with all the preliminaries. Granted it doesn't take 8 hours but it's not as stark as a difference. And 8 hours or longer overnight is a great ferry ride. Go to bed in a cabin and wake up when you get there. It's actually a bit more efficient.

[@DonVideoGuy007]

That is how it is done in Japan, as far as the "inter island ferries" is concerned = leave just before the sun sets, and arrive the next morning.

[@daeseongkim93]

it wouldnt take that long realistically. i took the oahu to maui route and it was about 4-5 hours, you could set sail in the morning and be on the other island by lunch

[@ConernicusRex]

Longest inter Hawaii flight is 41 minutes from boarding to deplaning.

[@Triple_J.1]

@@ConernicusRex Time it from airport arrival, parking, bus to the terminal, TSA check points. Wall to gate. Wait to board. Takes 30 mins to board, you are supposed to be there before the door opens. Unless you splurge on first class, You have a cramped seat. Wheels up to getting into your rental car at the destination is unlikely to be less than an hour. This is at minimum a 2hr ordeal. Also, the practicality is severely limited. Extra luggage is $80/ea. So, You're not going to be able to travel to the bigger island to save money on groceries, home, tools, or building supplies. Because the cost of transporting them back will exceed the price difference of buying it locally. The issue here is not even the available options. Is is that THERE IS A LAW that PREVENTS ANYONE FROM OPERATING this business. Which OTHERWISE WOULD BE IN DEMAND. This is an wct of government AGAINST its own people in order to trap them and funnel them into paying very high prices directly to government lobbyists who would otherwise be incapable of providing a quality service at a competitive price due to their own incompetence.

[@ConernicusRex]

@@Triple_J.1 But no one on a commuter flight times it that way. Also, it's a commuter flight; you don't need to be hours early. There's also no drive time on any island that covers an hour distance. The *whole process* from leaving your home to checking into wherever your destination is is less than 2.5 hours.

[@msdaphne]

Just a point of accuracy. You drew the ferry line between Lanai and Maui to Lahaina. The ferry stopped operating out of Lahaina after the fires. They moved to Maalaea harbor. You actually have video footage of the ferry at Maalaea within this video.

[@DaveMiller2]

Washington state has the nations largest ferry system. Not only Puget Sound but the rivers too. And it's pronounced "Pyou' jet" not "Poo' get"

[@paal8193]

iN ANY CIRCUMSTANCe - they should rename the company name 🙂

[@DonaldMcKay3768]

This is a pretty good "official" history of Hawaii's most recent effort at establishing interisland ferry service. However, as some of the comments show, Hawaii's political climate is corrupt, the natural result of one party rule over a long time. The principle of using a ferry is that it's inherently cheaper than air transportation if customers can accept lower speeds, yet local authorities did everything you could imagine to put obstacles in the way of the Superferry. I worked on the engineering of the landings for the ferry and state management required a barge to intervene between the ferry and the dock at some of the terminals. There were ecological justifications for this but Hawaii has very minor tidal range and most ferry terminals don't require this extra step with an extra ramp. Then once the ferry started running, angry locals blockaded one of the harbors, preventing the ferry from docking. The right of way rules state that a deep draft vessel with restricted maneuverability in a channel has the right of way. Did local authorities or the Coast Guard shoo the small craft and surfboards out of the way? Nooo. Eventually the ferry operators gave up the unequal struggle and that ended another ferry experiment gone bad. In 1975, Boeing's Jetfoil hydrofoil was introduced to Hawaii for service between Oahu and Maui. The idea seemed good, with the hydrofoil's top speed of 40 knots reducing the advantage of air travel in time required for this relatively short passage. Unfortunately the waves in the Molokai Channel were high enough that they contacted the boat's bottom now and then even at the normal ride height above the submerged foils. This added enough drag that the engines were overtorqued and they tripped a shutdown safety device and the boat settled onto the waves, resulting in a lot of seasick passengers in addition to a long delay. Modifications to the controls eliminated the overtorque problem but at the cost of reduced performance, and the word got around so it was hard to sell tickets. The operator went bankrupt. The demonstrator boats were sold to Hong Kong and a total of 28 were ultimately built. They were successful as ferries between Hong Kong and Macao, also serving in Japan and Indonesia. There was nothing wrong with their design, it was mostly the tough conditions in the Molokai Channel that caused this earlier failure of ferries in Hawaii. Any future attempt to introduce ferries to Hawaii will have a high hill to climb.

[@dirkdisco2316]

It will have to be introduced by the Government.

[@raineob4996]

4:20 Leaving out the Canadian BC Ferries, which has the largest car ferry fleet in the world and handles the most passengers in North America.

[@dukedub]

Correct. Video about the United States ferries would normally not mention Canada.

[@williamashcroft7152]

@@dukedub Except it does mention Canada.

[@CatTheDogLady]

I love hearing how non-Newfoundlers pronounce our town names. The attempts here weren't terribly off but they were different than the other attempts I've heard before

[@schubajo]

Same here in Washington. It's fun hearing people try to pronounce Puyallup (pyoo-AL-up) and apparently Puget (PYOO-jit).

[@HarryWessex]

We all find joy from these.

[@silmarian]

​@@schubajoPuget Sound is the one that always surprises me when people get it wrong. It's not exactly an unknown place! Fun fact, my grandmother-in-law refused to say Puyallup because saying "pyoo" was too close to "poo" for her. She only ever called it South Hill.

[@denelson83]

Newfoundl&ers.

[@levitatingoctahedron922]

yeah he said puget wrong too. I don't blame people too much though, lots of native american place names around here. spokayne, lol.

[@zachsurette5050]

I like how you showed the ferries in my hometown of Halifax. Didn't expect that!

[@deniskhafizov6827]

Hawaii: struggle to make a ferry line Faroe: dig a $3.5bn tunnel network Denmark strong

[@jimbo92107]

The Hawaiian Islands are underwater mountain ranges pushed up by volcanic activity. You want to build tunnels through that?

[@deniskhafizov6827]

@jimbo92107 all the lands are former underwater mountain ranges pushed up by tectonic activity

[@alopam]

Different kind of corruption?

[@GengoSenmon]

Easy to save money when the taxpayers of another country pay for your security

[@deniskhafizov6827]

@GengoSenmon Easy to pay for Denmark's security when Maersk alone serves a fifth of your container shipment.

[@LeperKhanz]

A ferry is already being planned for a Maui Molokai route. But you should look at the crazy economics of the Honolulu rail. That makes all this unaffordability of ANY ferry look ludicrous.

[@vivianriver6450]

I remember the Honolulu rail before I moved away. I remember Mayor Mufi had said, "I will always ask Do we need? Can we afford it? Can we maintain it?" Of course, the answers were yes, no, and no, and probably still are, and I haven't looked into it in years now.

[@sinchill5424]

I lived on Oahu for 3 years (just left in Feb of this year), it looked like the damn thing was nearly done when my wife and I arrived on island, and they only opened half of the rail by the time we were leaving 😂. That project is a dumpster fire

[@brucenakamura1180]

IT'S DEMOCRAT POLITICAL ECONOMIC CORRUPTION OF MONOPLY BY INSIDER CRONY DOMINANCE BY MATSON AND YOUNG BROTHERS WHO BOTH ARE TIED TOGETHER ALSO WITH THE CORRUPTION CONTROL OF THE LONGSHOREMAN UNIONS WHICH IS THE DEMOCRATS IN POWER AND CONTROL. IT IS ALL DESIGNED, CREATED CONTROL ORCHESTRATION TO DOMINATE IN MONOPLY TO INCREASE PRICES AND PROFITS TIED TO SALES TAX AND INCOME TAX AS THE BARONS AND THE STATE AND COUNTIES ARE THE ONLY WINNERS THAT REAP THE CROOKED HARVEST. THE PROPOSED NEW FERRY IS SMALL MICKEY MOUSE HALF ASS, GOING TO BE EXPENSIVE BUT BETTER THAN NOTHING. YOUNG BROTHERS APPLIED TO HAVE A 20% INCREASE IN FEES. IF GRANTED EVERYTHING CONSUMED IN CLUDING GAS WILL INCREASE FOR ALL ISLANDS. FOR RACERS TO SHIP TO ANOTHER ISLAND WOULD BE PROHIBITED AND INSANE IMPOSSIBLE. IT'S ALL DEMOCRAT UNION CORRUPTED GREED. THE SUPER FERRY WAS A FREE OPEN MARKET OF CONSTITUTIONAL CAPITALISM OF FREEDOM RIGHTS, DEMOCRAT SOCIALISTIC COMMUNIST DEMOCRATS DON'T WANT IT. THEY ARE ANTICAPITALIST AND BUSINESS ENTERPRISE. IT'S PURE COMMUMISTIC MONOPLY GREED SELFISH CONTROL.

[@stevereimer5254]

I rode the Maui to Molokai ferry the month before it stopped operating. They recommended Dramamine prior to boarding as trade winds created a heavy beam sea for much of the trip. Those on the top deck had showers of spray. Still, it made for a good day trip.

[@dirkdisco2316]

People should be jailed over the that Honolulu Rail Art project. It's the most expensive piece of art I have ever seen.

[@Draconatus24]

7:35 Me carrying suitcases full of fireants to the rest of the islands to single-handedly mess up the Hawaiian governmental plans.

[@maxinefreeman8858]

We landlocked Americans are criticized because we love our vehicles. In the rural county I live in doesn't have public transit. We depend on our trucks to cars. The two little towns don't have public transport either.

[@briangasser973]

US Pacific Fleet is based in Pearl Harbor with carrier battle groups. But the state is concerned with the environmental impact of 2 ferries hitting whales. Lol Then the Hawaiian govt wonders why citizens leave due to its high costs of operating businesses and cost of living.

[@geralddegraaf6148]

I think the major benefit of the ferry is goods transportation. In Newfoundland many logistics companies have drivers that bring a trailer to the ferry terminal and another pick it up at Port Aux Basque. Those are rough waters too. Also deal with ice.

[@TanyaOfMars]

3:44 There's also a ferry to Newfoundland from Quebec that only takes a couple of hours to cross, although both terminals are in the relative middle of nowhere (St. Barbe / Blanc-Sablon).

[@trstn8882]

It goes to Quebec, but to get into the remainder of Quebec, you either have to take several ferries from Blanc Sablon to Kegashka, or drive through Labrador and then a mostly unpaved road from Fermont to Baie Commeau to get to a road where you could drive to the rest of Canada. Like I takes like 6 ferries and 18 hours, or 28 hours of straight driving, so middle no where is an understatement 😅😂

[@ianpatterson3471]

Fascinating informative video. Thank you, RLL. 🙂

[@walterfletcher]

Puget is pronounced "pew jet". Not pug-ette nor poo-get.

[@anthonyhardt1994]

However, Puget Sound, named after Peter Puget of the Vancouver expedition, has been renamed Salish Sea, which is what indigenous people called it. They were/are the Coast Salish people who cared for these waterways and lands for thousands of years.

[@richardhill194]

the Salish Sea covers a slighly different area than Puget Sound. Most people around here use both names. Get off your high horse

[@rodtim2857]

Thank you

[@lucksku]

I think a comparison with the Canary Islands would have been much more apropiarte. Both archipielagos of similar size, similar economies (not as wealthy, but also highly reliant in tourists from richer parts of the world), far away from their respective mainland, somewhat similar population size, similar distribution of larger and heavely populated islands and less populated ones, in the open ocean with strong currents, protected enviroments, etc. Yet the Canaries is able to operate a cheap and reliable service with fast-ferries in between all of the islands, some times even every 2 hours for trips in between the larger islands, and with competing companies (and also while competing against airlines offering quicker and cheap flights between all of the islands)

[@dirkdisco2316]

Also between Italy and Greece.

[@garybroadhurst3548]

@@dirkdisco2316 Yes, but that's not really comparable to the point the poster was making though. The Canaries are very similar, in many ways to the situation in Hawaii. The Italy-Greece routes are there primarily for cargo. Indeed there are many ships that carry ONLY cargo. There is a road route from mainland Europe to Greece but it is slow and requires many border crossings. Passengers on that route are an add-on to boost revenue. That's true of many of the domestic Greek routes, to be honest - outside the tourist season, of course. Most islands have EVERYTHING they consume delivered by ferry so the service is essential and thus heavily subsidised. Where I live we still have two ferries per day to the mainland, even in winter, each capable of carrying around 3000 pax. and we only have a winter population of about 8000.

[@Oivaras]

Environmental concern is obviously a factor, but ocean-rated vessel stuff is not. There are regular ferries between Tenerife and mainland Spain, it's 800 miles, and locals can purchase tickets for like 100 eur (approx. the same in USD).

[@nicstroud]

16:04 "A ferry operating at a speed of 40 knots per hour." I'm pretty certain that it's just *knots* as opposed to *knots* *per* *hour.* A knot is a unit of speed equivalent to one nautical mile per hour, so to say knots per hour is tautologous. Therefore the ferry operates at 40 knots. Someone correct me if I am wrong please.

[@DoubtfireClubWGPowers]

large distances between islands, rough ocean conditions, environmental concerns, legal challenges, and the cost-ineffectiveness of operating such a service; most inter-island travel is done by plane instead

[@romankovalov9015]

Thank you for saving me from 24 minutes of yapping

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

And also corruption, lobbying, and sheer incompetence as well.

[@dzonikg]

LOl large distance ,i been to Canary Islands in Atlantic Ocean with Ferry ,i thing is like 2500 km from Barcelona where i boarded

[@dirkdisco2316]

These lies are simply not true. You just need a bigger ship for open ocean. No more environmental concerns than there are for the cargo container ships that go between the islands. Stop spreading stupid lies. A Ferry run by the state would be more cost effective and CHEAPER than that STUPID Monorail on Oahu.

[@autumn671]

You most definitely can travel between the Islands by boat. The island of the lanai has a ferry that goes between Maui and Lanai. All the fishermans go between the Islands by boat people from Molokai travel to Maui at times by boat. A lot of boats drydock on Oahu.

[@daeseongkim93]

he did mention that but i think the focus was on a robust inter-island system which the superferry had plans of providing

[@kevingallagher8973]

There are valid reasons why inter-island ferries aren't allowed in Hawaii. Locals know, however, that there are unlicensed services available. Those in the know will board the boats that pretend to offer a "three hour tour".

[@thomasbeirne8213]

@@kevingallagher8973 Compared to my current life, Gilligan's Island is looking awful good right now :).

[@AlohaBlockchain]

Hawaiian Airlines immediately jacked up fares void of competition.

[@erniemartinez3075]

Gilligan’s Islands 3 hour tour was fun in Hawaii but Airports are so easy to enjoy with airplanes and rental cars to hotels are great in an hour Enjoy all Hawaiian islands❤

[@AaronGeo]

An underwater volcano might pop up and swallow your boat whole, and jokes aside, that's a danger regarding submarine volcanoes

[@confusedwhale]

It's highly unlikely that an underwater volcano would suddenly cause a problem with a boat without that boat knowing something was going on. At that point, it really is just human negligence if anything were to happen. Also, the eventually new island/underwater volcano that is presently forming is south east of the big island; so, there is no reason for an inter-island transportation boat to travel there to experience a danger anyways.

[@kingkemaniLaBorde1691]

It has a underwater volcano in the southern caribbean and boats still travel between island they just avoid where the volcano is located.

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

It’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. Loa’ihi is unlikely to form for another 250,000 years.

[@kirbyculp3449]

And crab people.

[@timothymattson3680]

I used to work for a Seattle Alum boat builder and remember when another builder was on vacation in Hawaii and rode on a ferry he noticed had repairs on the alum hull . The deckhand told my friend that the hull had corrosion issues on a fairly new “Swath” hull built by Nichols Brothers on Whidbey Island . A twin hull , surface piercing hull designed for smooth ride and economy . Turned out a local alum supplier made a mistake with non marine grade material. This probably was the smaller part of that Ferry fleet that needed the ocean type hulls you described. Going fast on saltwater never ends well . One vacation by a guy who builds boats led to several boat companies having to replace hulls as they let people know .

[@MK007-YT]

Super Info, But pragmatically certainly makes $en$e ! Thanks for the Insight & Enlightenment !! ❤ 👍👍

[@CRM394]

I ive on an island in WA so I was super interested in this video! Washington State has a robust ferry system that the islands all rely on. Admittedly I was naive to the distances at play within the Hawaiian Islands which explains a lot, and my initial instinct at the start of the video was to be skeptical about the open ocean aspect, which we don't have to contend with in the Puget Sound. The other factor that makes our ferries so affordable and accessible, of course, is that they are operated by the State, so they aren't private companies. Fares are affordable and the state/Feds cover a lot of the costs. As soon as you said it was a private venture, my red flags started flashing. I knew that meant likely higher prices for consumers and not a lot of taxpayer support to offset operational costs. Finally I am also skeptical about the overstated environmental disruptions. Was that a ruse to prevent the free market because freight companies didn't like competition?

[@dirkdisco2316]

Airlines and Car Rental Companies did not like the competition.

[@thelastofyou]

They crushed their heads thinking the name of Big Island

[@bill648]

I took SeaFlite sp. from Oahu to Maui once before it went out of business. It was awesome 😊

[@soennecken8]

Honolulu to Hilo is 195 nautical miles, which would take about 5 hours at 40 knots, not 7 hours. But if we use your units (knots per hour), we would eventually accelerate to a quite exciting 120 knots and reach Hilo in 3 hours and 10 minutes

[@tomgarrett9232]

There’s no such thing as ‘knots per hour’.

[@JeremyMcLeod]

I was thinking the same thing. He gave us an acceleration rate, not a velocity.

[@walterbushell6624]

@@tomgarrett9232 Knots/hr would be an acceleration not a speed.

[@soennecken8]

@@tomgarrett9232 When I heard him say "knots per hour" at 16:04, I thought the same. But think again: it is not a unit of speed, but it is a unit of acceleration. That is the gist of my reply.

[@rodneymoss227]

I came to this video not expecting much, but maybe there would be nice scenery. I heard "knots per hour" and now i don't even know if the scenery is Hawaii.

[@nerdynerdynoob3733]

Slightly unrelated, but it’s worth noting that Honolulu has the newest metro system in the US (the smallest metropolitan area to have one), and is the only one in the US to have fully automated trains. It’s also being extended to the airport and downtown.

[@AKiwi]

it's useful but useless i don't know how to really describe it

[@3ReJuv]

The rail is so bad. It goes from no where to no where and most of the stops toward the west side require a bus ride to get anywhere from them. I rode it all day for about 3 months ago and and I saw like 4 other people in the car that I was in throughout the whole day. For very specific group of workers I can see some functionality but I dont know if I would call it a metro system unless you are counting the Bus.

[@ihateregistrationbul]

To move the workers around. That's all. Transit is for moving workers from their boxes to their jobs.

[@LeperKhanz]

Absolutely useless and a HUGE waste of money. Before service even started they were having to replace corroded components just from the beginning of construction. The Honolulu rail is an ABSOLUTE fiasco.

[@TheNewGreenIsBlue]

@@LeperKhanz Yeah... most rail that doesn't go where people want to go is... HART is handicapped by 1. Not going to the airport (yet) and 2. Not going anywhere near Waikiki Beach (yet). Once it does these things, (and stops running asinine hours) it will be extremely popular. Congestion between HNL and Waikiki is ridiculous.

[@sli-fox]

I remember seeing locals carrying their groceries on the plane.

[@glockmat]

How about a ferry service that only sails at night? Have the ferries take 7-9 hrs to complete their services but have them leave port at like 10 or 11pm, this way people get on the ferry to sleep and arrive in the other island basically at the crack of dawn, so effectively losing no time on the ferry, since you cant do anything while you sleep anyway, sleep on the move

[@C0lon0]

You have some ferries in Brazil that travel the Amazon that do things like this, it is also cheaper to book a ferry during the day due to people looking more for night trips, only the days longs ferries don't have this problem. We have same system with busses, lot of people look for busses with "beds" or "semi-beds" and night travel between larger cities.

[@Senthiuz]

Rough seas. Imagine now not just arriving seasick, but also sleep deprived.

[@glockmat]

@@C0lon0 To ligado, e a ideia seria so copiar o modelo, sempre q tem algo q precisa de cerca de 8hrs pra pessoas, quase sempre a opção de fazer de madrugada funciona

[@glockmat]

@@Senthiuz Depends, most days the seas are decent, and some measures can be implemented like stabilizers or roll keels, the seas aren't perfectly still, yes, but they can also be still enough for you to sleep, and once you do, you are basically immune to sea sickness, while carrying a truck full of supplies. So businesses have a big opportunity here. There is also the good old sleeping tablets, or alcohol, both can be served on the ship, and charged, there are options, and if the journey takes 2 hours linger but goes through calmer seas few passengers will complain

[@victoriaeads6126]

Some train lines do this, too.

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

As someone who has been out on the ocean both in the Caribbean and in the Pacific around Hawaii, the Pacific ocean is way rougher. I love boats and I wouldn't want to take a boat between the islands!

[@ltdees2362]

Dude...your a wuss...move to South Dakota, you want have to worry about getting "seasick."

[@aidankeller1717]

I think coral reefs help to negate the choppy water for the most part, but maybe that's just near each island.

[@MukiBlalock]

I took the Super Ferry from O'ahu to Maui- you could drink beer!😂😂😂 The ride was extremely choppy even though the Ferry was a catamaran.

[@stevecooper7883]

Realifelore could've just said "Jones Act" in 5 seconds and ended the video 😅

[@MrAttagon]

It goes to show the a specific airline is dominating the flights with no competition.

[@warmike]

Or, rather, two: Hawaiian and Southwest.

[@TheBackwardsCinema]

PYOO-JIT 4:02

[@LC-qp7pr]

💩 jit

[@tylernorby4939]

He's done it wrong twice in a few months now, it's like nails on a chalkboard..

[@ElJibaro718]

So?

[@Gwenneth.idfk.]

Yeah ikr as a Seattleite that actually made me nauseous lmfao

[@Joyyyyful]

Hilarious 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@shygorilla8082]

I was able to travel from Oahu to Maui on the Superferry. It was nice to see my state from a different perspective. Traveling to Maui took us over the north side of Molokai. Traveling to Oahu took us south of Molokai through the humpback whale territory. The Superferry would slow down and had lookouts to avoid humpback whales. The bad part was the micro-corrections they used to optimize the route. The ship's bow was constantly wiggling port/starboard. I'm used to traveling on boats and ships. I don't get seasick. Superferry was the only vessel that made me uncomfortable.

[@geoffmarshall6925]

Here before this video gets demonetized

[@anthonymullen6300]

Why would it get demonetized

[@Praisethesunson]

Because the owner of the Hawaiian boat monopoly reported it​@@anthonymullen6300

[@sephikong8323]

​@anthonymullen6300 He has posted several community posts about the fact all of the last few videos he uploaded have been demonetized

[@tomsmithok]

@@anthonymullen6300 because this is KZbin

[@victoriaeads6126]

It is getting ridiculous how many of his videos are getting demonetized.

[@marioschmitz180]

I was at Oahu and Kauai last year. I will never forget it! Especially Kauai is awesome, one day I wanna go back there again.

[@cloudzrest]

Ok