New rules for Ala Why?

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Boating and Recreation's (DoBAR) recent, heavy-handed steps to ban paddlers from using their official starting lines in the Ala Wai Harbor for racing were generated, per DoBAR, "out of concerns for the safety and welfare of all boaters and other recreational, water-based activities in the area." However, efforts to get a clearer understanding of the problem and find a plausible explanation seem to point to the efforts of Governor Linda Lingle's Administration to privatize the State's harbors and waterways for the benefit of private businesses wanting unobstructed access to public waterways and facilities. These actions were taken at the expense of local culture and values.
To accomplish Lingle's plans, it seems DLNR's chairperson, Laura Thielen, is not being forthright with the public regarding their real intentions and how their plans will affect the paddlers. Thielen is robbing the paddlers in increments, as she has done with the fishermen, boaters, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts.
It is suspect that Thielen's actions to close the harbor to competitive paddling events has a lot to do with her push to allow parasail companies and other commercial activities to operate out of the Ala Wai Harbor. Keep in mind that the parasail companies stand to benefit financially if they can recruit customers in Waikiki and operate directly out of the Ala Wai. They, along with the dive boats, party boat fishermen, and others, would no longer need to shuttle their customers to Kewalo. It has become evident that Thielen is using current Senate Bill 2582 to clear the way and take control of the Ala Wai, and other harbors, in order to hand them over to commercial operators.
Why did DLNR erroneously claim the Coast Guard was behind the decision to shut down competitive paddling events in the harbors and channels? First, Kevin Yim of DoBAR told me that the Coast Guard did not make the decision to prohibit paddlers from using the harbor or channels, as stated by DLNR. Yim advised me that it has been illegal for many years to conduct races in the Ala Wai or channels, but no one has ever enforced it. Now, the DLNR will be enforcing it.
In contrast to Yim's story, Wesley Choi of DoBAR told me that DLNR's claim that the Coast Guard gave the order to stop the paddlers is, in fact, true. Although nothing was done in the past, current Coast Guard personnel are concerned about safety so they are the ones who are now ordering a ban on paddlers. Several years ago, Coast Guard personnel stationed in Hawaii did make a request to ban activity, but they never took action because they did not have the manpower to enforce it. Since then, the Coast Guard personnel issuing that order have left Hawaii.
Choi also told me DLNR has always had requirements to have permits for competitive events. A DoBAR employee observed a competitive paddling event taking place inside the harbor. He alerted the DoBAR office that the event was occurring. Then DoBAR, not the Coast Guard, initiated the ban on paddling. DoBAR says their concern for conflicts between paddlers, other vessels and watercraft is the main thrust behind their recent actions.
The average person understands that concerns for safety should be given strict attention to prevent conflicts which could result in critical injury to paddlers or other users who may end up paying the ultimate price with their life. But DLNR's explanation of concerns for safety simply isn't plausible. DLNR is talking out of both sides of their mouth and giving conflicting statements about who is instigating the ban on racing. Why are they proposing increasing the commercial use of the harbors by commercial enterprises, and allowing individual paddling with no limits or new rules, while banning paddling events? One would think that commercialism and paddlers at any and all points in the harbor would present a greater potential for accidents than what they had hoped to reduce or avoid by banning the paddlers from "racing" in the harbor. Like the paddlers, the State workers are also confused about the factors influencing DLNR's policy changes. Thielen should be providing clear and honest directions that the workers can follow and enforce.
This supposed conflict is nothing more than a ruse. The bottom line is that Thielen is privatizing the harbors and increasing the commercial users to get more money for DLNR's poorly managed programs. Robbing the citizens of the right to hold competitive paddling events is a shameful act and contradicts the mission of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to protect and preserve the Hawaiian culture.
Carroll Cox