Molokai: But how much does it REALLY cost?

righto, the afterglow of the Big O! means Molokai is on the radar...but just how much does this scheme dent the savings account? come on people, give me the real oil......get there, hire a ski, hire a support boat & crew, accom, food, get home (NZ based).......

Nathan Faavae did it last year do you know him (from NZ)? Could be worth sounding out. If you don't know him I could try and find out some costs for you but I believe he is in Fiji a the moment.

I have somewhere to stay over there, but I would also love to know about all the other costs.
This is something I would love to do.

I'll start with the easy bits:

Registration: 325
Escort Boat: 720-750
Transport to Molokai (inc shuttle bus to race start): 150 (x2 if you want a crew)

I lused my own ski so I'm not sure of the ski rental however I vaguely remember seeing it for about $300 for the week. Besides flight/accom costs (which seem to vary greatly) another small cost which comes to mind is the great shuttle service for training ($10 per run).

Finally, a probably un-needed plug for the race. It was well organised and fantastic fun (I would have had a different answer mid channel). As this was only my second race ever, I don't have much to compare it with however provided I'm still on island next year I definitely be on the start line.

I don't think you can/should count food tutukakapaddler as you have to eat wherever you are , and you will consume nothing but liquids during the race itself

Latman,

Last year I found the trip to be expensive, but worth it.

You need to count the cost of food. You are paying tourist prices. On Molokai itself, take the expensive tourist price and triple it.

Getting healthy food is not the easiest thing to do. The best quality (and funnily enough best value) food I experienced in Waikiki was at the Outrigger Club. If you are coming from Aus, pay to join the Tatersol (sp?) club in Sydney so you can get a guest membership. As a guest member, you can also store your ski there.

Only a few of the hotel are set up for storing skis - contact Geoff Graff to find out which ones. I stayed at the Queen Kapiolani. Nice place, bit tired decor (they were/are remodeling) but the staff were awesome. I recommend it. Just make sure you have a water view.

If you have a woman in your life who will let you go, race, and bug out home ? then you've won the lottery - marry her now! Mine wouldn't let that happen. there was no chance in hell I was going to get to go without her getting a week of "her" beach time. For some reason being my beach support didn't qualify ??? So you should probably plan on that.

On Molokai there is only one place to stay - the Kaluikoi resort where the race starts. If you book online, you must book three nights. Geoff says you can stay just one night, but you have to call. I suggest staying over a night or two and relaxing. the day I flew over, there were two flights that returned to Waikiki for emergencies. I'd suck to miss the race start due to a flight delay.

And I've been getting reports from coworkers who say that the inter-island flights have been getting harassed by the TSA. So yet another reason to go early.

Also, getting the skis off the container is fun and you'll get to meet some of the other paddlers.

There are other small expenses like buying disposable cell phones, but they are minor. Cabs are crazy expensive and often have to be arranged in advance ($70 from Molo airport to Kaluikio)

All told I can in somewhere about $6 or 7k for three weeks and three Islands in Hawaii.

Its an experience to be had. The place is beautiful and surreal at the same time. The real question is:
Can you afford not to do it ?

A great way to reduce costs would be to team up with some mates and stay at a vaction rental. Most of these have a minimum number of nights (not normally greater than 5) however this ties in well with getting over jetlag. Due to the absence of hotels, there are a plethora of places available on the windward side and it ends up being a lot cheaper than staying at Waikiki (and a lot better). You can easily get a place within close walking distance to the beach and have very easy access to great paddling! Google "VRBO Hawaii" to get an idea of prices. Also solves the issue of finding healthy food.
May not help in keeping the consumption of alcoholic beverages down though.