MAUI VACATION DAY 2 :: LANAI ISLAND, HI :: Taking advantage of the three hour jet lag, we scheduled an early, sunrise sail with Trilogy Excursions from Lahaina Harbor to Lānaʻi Island (where Bill Gates was married). We generally avoid tours like this, but nearly every guide book and online review said Trilogy was the best. For the most part, we have to agree. Captain Mike and his crew were very friendly, helpful and entertaining through the entire trip, which included snorkeling in Hulopoe Bay and a side trip along the coast on a high-speed raft to view dozens of dolphins.

There was hardly any wind today, so for most of the trip we used the motor to make our way across the channel. We were quickly greeted by a bottlenose dolphin - only a hundred exist around Maui, so it was a nice treat, especially for Kristie. Most of the dolphins around Maui are spinner dolphins, which are slightly smaller, but just as playful. For breakfast, we were served Kaanapali coffee, gooey cinnamon roles and fruit.

Near Lanai Harbor, we were told the legend of Pu'u Pehe, or Sweetheart Rock. At the harbor, we were bussed a short distance to Hulopoe Bay, where I went snorkeling for the very first time. Trilogy provides all of the gear you would need, but we brought our own, including my prescription mask made in an Edmonds dive shop and our Elph camera in a waterproof case. I'm not a very good swimmer, so it took me a few minutes to get used to the sensation of breathing with the snorkel underwater. With Kristie's help and a flotation belt, I soon felt very comfortable. It was actually a lot of fun - perhaps a little too fun, as we would soon discover with our painful sunburns.

Hulopoe Bay is very pretty, but it is probably not the best area for snorkeling. The water is fairly clear, but we saw many more fish along Maui's beaches. After snorkeling for an hour, we headed back to the harbor for our high-speed rafting trip (photos), which was probably the highlight of the day. On our return, we swam around the bay and relaxed on the beach before a decent BBQ lunch. I thought it was interesting that they spiked the stir-fry noodles with a heavy dose of ginger to help with seasickness.

The ginger wasn't needed for the "sail" back, because the winds and waters were still very calm. As we motored through the ʻAuʻau Channel between Maui and Lanai, we were told the water is among the purest in the world, rivaling the water around Iceland. The blueness was unbelievable and the visibility is more than 250' feet! During the winter, humpback whales concentrate in this area, and the wide underwater shots for the Pacific Life commercials are filmed here. The boat stopped to allow people to dive in. I stayed onboard while Kristie, a champion high school swimmer, was the first to jump in. When she surfaced, she squinted her eyes and remarked, "It's salty!" which generated a smart remark from the captain and laughs from the deck.