Aloha all, just thought I'd give a brief on how the tsunami affected us in Oahu. We got the first notice around 2003 via our cell phone from the Pacific Tsunami Center which is located in Ewa Beach on Oahu....I'm a bit curious as to why it is located in an area that would be affected by a large tsunami but they never asked me before they built it there ;-) Hawaii has a very good alert system and the horns went off about hourly from 2110 till the first wave at around 0330. So everyone had plenty of time to make evacuate the low lying areas and move they boats out to deeper water. We left our dock at the Ala Wai Marina at 0030 and joined the several hundred boat procession out to sea. Though the channel is narrow and the swell picks up just outside the breakwater there were few boats that had a problem. They ranged in size from the small 20-odd footer up to 70/80'. Some had a top speed of 2 kts and other had a minimum speed of 5 in gear so there was a lot of clutching going on to avoid running up on the slow boats! Once we made it to the outer channel markers we could leave Swan Song in gear and thread our way at idle thru the mass of boats already out there. Many of the boat had no lights and other had but one or two so visual watch was imperative as a small boat would appear just under the bow reflecting our running light. I had our radar on and at one time counter more than a 100 returns inside 1 mile full screen. I had to run in manual tune mode as in auto the radar thought they must be sea clutter and tried to tune them out. Using our spot light was not an option as with so many boats they'd be blinded so just plan slow speed and good visual was the plan. We eventually worked our way out to 4 miles off Diamond head where there were fewer boats but there were still in the order of 25 or so within a mile radius. The seas were 4-6' with a 15 kts easterly tradewind. Lots of rolling about by the other boats as Swan Song just sits in that kind of a seaway sideways with our anti-roll tank (ART) doing its thing. Almost embarrassing well in a situation like this. I certainly would not have like to be out there all night rolling to the point that some of the sailboats were. Heck, I didn't even have to hold my coffee cup ;-) The reports of the first wave started to come in around 0330 as the reefs at Waikiki were exposed. Several boats that remained at the marina were on the bottom and listing over. At sea we felt nothing during the whole event. As the morning wore on more reports of boats caught under dock , breaking dock line and ripping fenders keep coming in. Many of the boats are owned by absentee owners so can't really leave on a moment's notice. We got some reports of docks breaking down at Keehi Lagoon but nothing much as it was still dark. About 0545 a friend called from Keehi to say that the Keehi Marine Center docks had broken away and the hundred or so boats and the marina were floating away back and forth in the Lagoon ramming into other marinas and dock. We had been expecting that we'd be able to go back in when the all clear signal was given for the land based residents. However the Coast Guard closed all ports on all the islands till they could do an assessment of damages and to make sure the channels were clear to return. The Ala Wai was opened at 1200 so we got in line and were at the entrance buoys around 1300 in a line that stretched into the harbor and back out to sea a mile or so. Now a tsunami isn't a single point of time event as it rings the ocean like a bell. The waves reflect off of everything so the sea is always moving. In shallow water this creates an ebb and flow that changes very quickly and can be several knots. It is also very unpredictable as to the velocity at any one time and varies from location to location ( I'm talking feet here) depending on the bottom and the eddies. Suffice to say that the lineup coming back into the harbor wasn't as straight as it was going out. Some folks that were unfamiliar with the situation or didn't have the power would be turned around in a few seconds which would tend to disrupt the one way traffic as everyone tried to apply their brakes and yet keep under control themselves. One 70' boat turned 180 degrees several times during this process but was lucky and didn't hit the breakwater or anyone else. As folks turned into the fairways the current would be pushing them this way and that so much so that missed approaches were the norm. The "ringing" was such that even 10 hours after the first wave the currents in the harbor were running 4-5 kts and reversing about every 7-10 minutes. We were following a twin screw 68' with a bow thruster and I was worried that he might have a missed approach which was the case. He decided to back down the fairway, which is about 100' wide, more or less sideway which meant I had to back down and ditto the folks behind me. Always adds to the pucker power as the current now changes and upsets the chessboard. Lots of 3 blasts going on and a few fivers! He gave it another go as we milled around more or less under control of the varying velocity and directions of the current. This time his approach was not even as close as the last time to his slip and he was preparing to collided with 3 boats already in there slips. However the current changed at the nick of time and pushed him back into the fairway so he decided to continue further down the fairway. Now it is Swan song's turn to delight the onlookers! Current direction noted? Check! Current velocity noted? Check! Wind direction? Check! Nancy ready to get the stern line off the pilling? Check! So I nudge the bow into the slip between the dock and the concrete piling just as the clock runs out on the current direction and the stern suddenly is heading 180 degrees from the bow! 3 toots a little hit on reverse and we are 3 slips down for ours but in the middle of the fairway. Now we have several minutes of this current direction to come back into the slip from the other direction....Ah fits like a glove, lines secured and that's the end of the pucker part. Now we have to deal with the water level variation of about 4' up and down in the same 7-10 minute period. This is always interesting to get used to as it's like a 12 hour tide change every few minutes. Some of the height changes are smaller and occasionally one is much larger. This goes on with a decreasing amount until late Saturday or 36 hours after that first wave. As a matter of fact even today there is still a rapid but small change happening. Keehi Lagoon is just now, Sunday, opening to a few boats, those folks have had to stay out at anchor since the beginning or try to find a slip in another harbor. Hawaii doesn't have any "spare" slips so doing so has been difficult. We are still getting damage reports from other areas but it looks like somewhere around 200 boats have been damaged or sunk. Again reports aren't easy to get and the coconut telegraph tends to add "story" to the real situation. However, the "news media" tend to underplay the damage as it might affect tourism. We left the Caribbean after many years of dealing with hurricanes, too many to even keep track of, and now in the last year we have had 2 tsunamis to deal with here in Hawaii; Chile and Japan. Personally I think the hurricanes are easier as they are much more predictably. If you look at the actual energy plots by NOAA of this event Hawaii was very lucky as there was a much stronger tongue of energy that was just to the west of us. If that had been close the on shore wave heights might have been double or even triple the 4-8' that has been reported. Very little of Hawaii's shore side structure would have stood up to that force. So the Hawaiian Islands have been lucky. For us boaters getting off the dock and into deep water certainly is the right thing to do if your boat is to have a chance to deal with the rise/fall of water and the currents it generates. For those of us who are self-insured it is the only way to deal with it. Those who have insurance can join the cue 3 boats down from me at the local insurance agent's onboard office ;-) Another beautiful day here in Waikiki with much Aloha! Dave & Nancy Swan Song Roughwater 58 Limin in Waikiki Beach