Sailing from the Lahaina Harbor to the Ma'alaea Harbor during sunrise is always beautiful, but seeing whales breaching made the early morning that much better! Sailing during this time of the year is magical. We met up with the rest of the Blue'Aina volunteers at the Ma'alaea Harbor. We had a great big group including a bunch of people who come out with us every month. We appreciate your support! Included on the boat were our sponsors, GoodFellow Brothers Construction Company, the recipients, East Maui Watershed, and food sponsor, Maui Flavors. We got really lucky to have such great people involved this month, and every month. On the sail over to our snorkeling spot, the group was excited to see whales close to the boat. We snorkeled at Coral Gardens, right off the Poli Highway where everyone had a great time. They had bags and scissors to gather and cut fishing line left by fishers. After the snorkel we enjoyed a delicious lunch of kalua pork sandwiches, and a chef salad donated by Chef Bailey from Maui Flavors. Chef Bailey is a caterer for Trilogy Excursions as well as other boat companies out of Maalaea. Bailey recently made a special menu for our exclusive Captain's Sunset Dinner Sail that sails a few nights a week.

The January sponsor was GoodFellow Brothers Construction. Starting in 1921, they have been in Hawaii for 49 years. They are an eco friendly company, who care about the community and want to give back. We love how engaging they are with the community, and have created a very positive local reputation. They graciously donated $1,000 to the recipient, East Maui Watershed. Allison from East Maui Watershed was on board to accept the money and educated the volunteers about their community outreach program and how to get involved. They started in 1991, when a group of land owners in East Maui decided to take action and keep the forest and land around them safe. Those involved work on a variety of projects such as maintaining trails, removing evasive species, and educating the community to take care of the 'aina.

Mahalo to all of our Sponsors and Volunteers who come to support the Blue'Aina Program! We hope to see you all next month. Aloha!