Trilogy crew member, Captain Mario, couldn’t believe his eyes:

Here on an island where there aren’t any any people, an entire stretch of golden sand was buried under mountains of plastic.

Laundry baskets, fishing floats, colorful tangles of nets; just thousands of pieces of evidence of man—yet there weren’t any humans to be found.

He, along with Trilogy crew members Gabe and Aaron, joined a team of volunteers from Malama Maui Nui and Kaho’olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) for a four day, three night trip to Kaho‘olawe—the island off Maui’s southwestern coast that’s famously covered in bombs.

It’s no secret that the crew here at Trilogy is proud of the islands we call home.

Which is why, since our founding in 1973, three generations of this family-owned company have worked to malama, or take care of these islands—even in capacities not directly related to our Maui snorkeling tours.

What happens mauka, or upland, on these islands, eventually affects all things makai (by the sea), and it’s important for us as island stewards to look at our Maui ocean activities as part of a greater whole.

It’s also important for our company leaders to constantly connect, engage, and learn about cultural practices, local history, and core Hawaiian values, so we can foster that ‘ike (knowledge) and share it with guests—who are not only looking to go snorkeling in Maui—but also want to develop their own sense of appreciation for these islands.