Pride of America

October 20, 2018July 23, 2020 By admin

The Pride of America is a cruise ship that travels the Hawaiian Islands only, as opposed to the other cruise ships visiting Hilo that travel the world. She, comes in once a week every Tuesday making it the cruise ship most likely to be encountered in Hilo harbor.

THE KILAUEA ERUPTION

In early May 2018, when the volcanic eruption geared up, the Pride of America, like other cruise ships, suspended her stops on the Big Island for security reasons. No cruise ship was to be seen in Hilo harbor for well over a month.

Mid June she was back, much to the relief of the people in Hilo, many of whose livelihood depended on a steady stream of tourists. It was generally taken as a sign that the worst was over now and things were getting back to normal.

AMERICA THEMED

The interior of the Pride of America is impressive and, of course, American themed. There are 15 bars and restaurants, shops, a library, three swimming pools, a theatre, a wedding chapel. You can watch movies, listen to lectures or take part in dance classes, amongst others. If you’d like to see for yourself, there are video clips by former passengers that filmed a tour of the ship and posted it online.

REGISTERED IN THE USA

The Pride of America is the only major cruise ship that is registered in the United States. The vast majority of other commercial ships calling American ports fly so-called convenience flags, such as the Bahamas, Panama or Malta. That means American law does not apply to these ships. The nations whose open registries are the most popular also tend to be those who possess the most lax labor, safety and environmental codes. In short, it allows them to cut their costs.

ALL AMERICAN CREW

There are 900 crew on board of the Pride of America. That’s one crew for every two or three passengers. All crew members are American citizens or legal residents. Again this is very unusual. Normally crews are multinational and cruise ships pay wages according the country the crew is from. So, an American crew would be paid more than, say, a Malaysian.

NO DUTY FREE AND NO CASINO

Sailing the Hawaiian islands means you’re never out in international waters, hence there is no duty free and no casino on board. Which is unusual as these are standard features on the vast majority of other cruise ships as it’s a good opportunity to generate income.

FIRST AMERICAN CRUISE SHIP IN NEARLY 50 YEARS

The Pride of America was the first American cruise ship to be launched in nearly 50 years. She was built with heavy federal subsidies in an attempt to improve the competitiveness of American shipyards by building commercial, non-military vessels.

ROCKY START

The ship had a rocky start. Work started in 2000, but the company that were to operate these ships, filed for bankruptcy in 2001, citing a low demand after the 9/11 terror attacks, among other reasons. The current operator, Norwegian Cruise Lines acquired the unfinished ship and had it towed to Germany. In 2004, just before completion, a major storm hit the shipyard and caused considerable damage to the ship which sank at the berth. This caused the shipyard, Lloyd Werft, to file for bankruptcy as well. After much negotiation she was eventually completed by Lloyd in 2005 and cruises the Hawaiian islands since.

She can easily be recognized by the stars and stripes artwork on her hull.

Should I write or should I not?

June 11, 2018June 21, 2018 By admin

Green Turtle and Manini — A huge, old Green Turtle who was a regular at Champagne Pond with Manini fish grazing algae off its back. It loved to rest in the warm waters of the geothermically heated pond. I do not have a waterproof camera, so I can only take shots like this when it comes right up to the shore – and it often did.

On 2 June 2018 a lava flow from the recent Kilauea eruption reached Green Lake Crater. The fresh water lake in the crater evaporated within an hour. The area south of the crater was untouched by the 1958 flow in the west and 1960 flow in the east. It looked like the crater would save the area from any lava flow. It was pretty much gone the same day. Two days later Vacationland and Kapoho Beach Lots were destroyed and with them the the Waiopae tide pools with their coral reefs and the Champagne Pond. Kapoho bay was filled with lava and the shoreline has been extended one mile out into the ocean.

Farms, gardens, vacation homes – everything gone, burned and melted into the lava. Completely destroyed forever. With the neighborhood went the people. Often I don’t know where they are. Sometimes I see photos or read about them in local papers like the Herald Tribune Hawaii or the Honululu Star-Advertiser.

No parties, no potlucks, no jam sessions, no yoga, no fruit stands, no art. I have so many pictures and memories about this place and planned to gradually write about it. Now, my blog is not chronological. I post whatever I find interesting on the day. It does not necessarily reflect, what I do that day or where I am.

I always had the idea that my blog is about places that people can visit. But what about places that ceased to exist? Would anybody want to read about those? Would it upset people to read about them?

If you have got any thoughts about that, please, let me know.

This is where the lava stopped …

May 28, 2018June 21, 2018 By admin

… in 2014, just before Pahoa at the local dump (or transfer station as it’s officially called). This is a reminder that outbreaks in that area are frequent and temporary. The Kilauea has been continuously erupting since 1983.

I’ll take this as an opportunity for me to let everyone know, I’m safe. Only a small part of Big Island is critically affected. At the moment it’s mostly the area around Leilani Estate.

Living on Big Island means, living on top of a massive shield volcano – taller than Mount Everest from the sea floor up. Generally speaking, areas in the southeast are younger and more active than in the northwest. This is because the tectonic plate Hawaii is situated on, slides slowly in northwesterly direction over a volcanic hotspot, producing a chain of islands on the go. As the trade winds blow from the northeast, it’s mostly the regions southwest of the Kilauea that battle volcanic smog and occasionally ash.

It’s also an opportunity to explain, why there are no pictures of active fissures and lava flows on my blog. Apart from the fact that it’s dangerous and illegal to go there, I respect the privacy of people who have lost everything or are still battling for their livelihood.

However, for anyone that’s interested, there are still residents that resisted a mandatory evacuation and post regular updates on on Facebook and Youtube. This is about as close as I will ever get to the fissures, too.