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We were again fortunate to work with Chris in 1990, who bought-into the idea of an ultimate-thrills racing catamaran for his $350 million Kaua’i Lagoons Resort on the Island of Kaua’i. She was to be capable of providing the thrills of a 60-ft. racer, but with a load of paying passengers while still meeting burdensome U.S. Coast Guard regulations. To add to the challenge, the boat would be operating in steady trade winds in excess of twenty-five knots for much of the year. At an overall length of forty-four feet, KIELE VI had a beam of twenty-eight feet - only three feet narrower than AIKANE X5, a sixty-footer. Despite the harrowing conditions at Nawiliwili, from where she operated, KIELE VI was granted a 25 Mile license-at the time, the longest route for a boat of her size in the State and a testament to her seaworthiness. With her Randy Smyth-designed wing mast and sail plan and extra-wide beam, even in twenty-five knot winds she was exceptionally stiff and could be steered with one finger. Sadly, in 1992, after only two years of operation, KIELE VI was totally destroyed in Hurricane Iniki. Meanwhile, back in Honolulu, during over two decades, from 1970 to 1990, Aikane Catamarans was highly profitable, carrying over 250,000 passengers annually with revenues of over $4 million. Our dinner cruise operation was the “mistress” that prevented our involvement in design projects and for much of the time we considered only our own vessels, the last of which were each over ninety-five feet in length; planned future vessels were over 120 feet in length. But the beginning of the Gulf War launched the State of Hawai’i, almost solely dependent upon tourism, into a recession that still lingers and caused a chain reaction throughout the visitor industry that forced the eventual closing of Aikane. Today, the worldwide recognition of multihulls as outstanding platforms for the widest imaginable applications inspires Choydesign to apply over a half-century of experience in their design, construction, and operation, whether as private yachts, commercial passenger vessels or racing record-setters. |
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