Captain J’s Offshore Adventures

If you are on Kauai, you will definitely be tempted to get out on a boat. There are two major types of boats that most people will go on an adventure with.
Catamarans are larger, can be more catered experience, often with lunch and beverages, and have a larger ratio of staff members to guests. They are also slower, can be crowded and don’t always do as well on the really large waves on the North Shore (if you are going in winter) because of their large size and slower speed.
Zodiacs are for the adventure seeker. They are small, faster, can get closer to wildlife and navigate easier meaning better in large waves, but you will get wet, won’t have the amenities, and they can be hard on the backside. 😂😂
When I was doing my research, I knew I wanted to book multiple boat tours in case one get canceled due to the rough conditions of winter waters on the North Shore in Kauai. (One did cancel, so this strategy worked!)
I came across Captain J’s Offshore Adventures and was SOLD. In my opinion, this is the best combination of both type of boats. This outfitter runs “luxury super rafts”. Kind of like a large zodiac, but where everybody gets a forward facing seat, and there’s a bathroom on board. The boats are 37 footers and seat up to 28 passengers. You do not feel crowded and you still get the fun ride.
Fareharbor.com
After popping some Bonine just to be precautionary (WAY more effective than Dramamine) and eating some fruit at the resort, we jumped in the car and arrived to their office in Port Allen at 6:45am for our 7:30am tour. We got some free coffee and waited excitedly with our our fellow adventurers, getting to know each other.
Captain Matt did roll call. We immediately liked and trusted him. Probably because he was from Michigan and spent a ton of time on the island. He earned his sea legs on Lake Superior, and if you know anything about Midwest boating, it can be worse than the ocean. Our second guide was an island native and knew more history about the island than almost anybody else I encountered on our trip. They were an amazing pair.
We took the first two seats, of course. I don’t get seasick and wanted the bumpy ride. The weather was beautiful. We were told because of the wind and rain that many tours had been canceled during the week and we were going to have the best day to go out in the last few, but also that we probably wouldn’t get to snorkel. That was OK. We came to see the Napali Coast. ❤️🌈
Off we went. We were immediately laughing because of the waves, and had to hold into our hats to keep them on. These boats were fast!! We quickly started passing catamarans and other boats as we sailed down the coast. A rainbow came out. We ran into a part of spinner dolphins and got to watch them frolic and hunt.
Both guys knew a ton of information about the island, we learned about much of the history of the Napali coast, including ancient tradition and burial sites. As Captain Matt navigated the massive waves like he had been doing it his whole life, we squealed with laughter. They just got bigger and bigger and at some point they were 15 feet high. He was a pro. We only whacked our butts a couple of times and barely noticed because of the beauty of the North Shore.
What can I say about the coast line? It’s a different perspective. Sitting on the water line and looking up as the sun is rising behind those peaks. They start to change color and you can see the waves crashing. We were lucky enough to get close to the sea caves, despite the time of year and Captain Matt even got me underneath a waterfall so I could touch it. That waterfall is supposed to bring fertility, so it had us both laughing.
They served chips, gingerbread cookies and beverages on board and were so kind and courteous towards taking care of the guests there and making sure they were OK. Two people on board to get sick, but they were well cared for.
On the way back, we got to see a pair of humpbacks on the surface. They were magnificent. Captain Matt also was able to navigate the ride so we avoided a passing rain burst that was navigating right for us. We got back to the docs around 12:30 PM, safe and so happy!
I cannot say how grateful I am for such an amazing experience. We will definitely do this excursion together. Next time we are the island. The crew made it so much fun and taught us so much!

[@avinashravichandran4635]

Nice Video!
Is this boat small enough to get in through one side of the double door cave and come out of the other? Or only the smaller Zodiacs are capable of doing that?