Waters along the leeward side of the island just became safer with the donation of a new rescue boat at the Kailua Fire Station from the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation.
The west side of the island has been without a rescue boat for over four years when it was determined that continuing to dump money into repairing the 44-year-old Radon boat was no longer feasible and a new boat was desperately needed.
On Saturday, the journey to securing the vessel came to fruition with the blessing of a brand new Hoku Marine 27-foot boat with twin 300-horsepower Yamaha motors, named Palekana, which means to be safe and protected. A traditional Hawaiian blessing was performed by Council member Holeka Inaba. Inaba relayed a message from Danny and Anna Akaka, who normally perform the Sayre Foundation blessings.
“If they were here, the approach would be to speak life, protection and intellect onto this vessel,” said Inaba.
Inaba then had an oli and pule with all attendees joining hands surrounding the boat. The Sayres and Fire Rescue Captain Chad Sohriakoff combined the wai (water) and pa‘akai (salt) which Inaba sprinkled around the boat.
Laura Mallery-Sayre, co-founder of the foundation with her husband Dr. Frank Sayre, explained that about four years ago the old Radon needed to be refurbished yet again, this time due to the fuel lines no longer working. Over $100,00o worth of repairs had already been sunk into the aging boat.
“It kept on breaking down and breaking down and I said ‘I don’t want to put another $89,000 into this boat, let’s just get a new one.’ That’s what set the pace for for working on this,” said Mallery-Sayre.
She said it was imperative to get going on it fast, since the nearest rescue boat was at the Coast Guard Station in Honolulu.
“You have to know how to tread water for a long time if you have to wait for the Coast Guard,” she said.
She went to the foundation’s main benefactor, Mark and Lynne Benioff, who gave the department a Sea Legs vessel to use for near shore rescues while the rescue boat was being built, but an off-shore option was still needed. The Benioffs agreed to donate half of the money needed for the boat, but wanted the community involved when raising the rest of the money.
Mallery-Sayre was able to receive a $100,000 donation from an anonymous foundation. She learned from that foundation that there was grant money available for the remaining $50,000 needed to finance the boat from the Gary Sinise Foundation, who had recently opened up grants for first responders. She approached the Sinise Foundation who told her the grant needed to go directly through the fire department, however the county finance director at the time said that couldn’t be done because the money would go into the general fund. When Mallery-Sayre went back to the Sinise Foundation to reluctantly turn down the grant offer, their board voted unanimously to award the Sayre Foundation the funds.
“It was the first time ever that a non-profit has received a grant from them and the first time a grant was awarded in Hawaii,” she said.
The foundation had raised enough money to build the boat, but the accessory equipment still needed to be purchased, but thanks to the generosity of community contributors, the funds were raised.
Tawny Hanakeawe, general manager of the Harbor House said the restaurant has donated a portion of their sales to the Sayre Foundation’s boat fund because her father and two of his friends were rescued by the old boat after their fishing boat was capsized by a rogue wave in the middle of the night.
“They were able to be plucked out of the ocean because they had the (rescue) boat at the time,” she said. “We don’t do the big donations, but I believe if we work together as a community, it can make a huge difference.”
Fire Rescue Captain Chad Sohriakoff said the new rescue boat is essential for the safety and effectiveness for rescue operations on the west side of the island. “This vessel is equipped with state of the art technology for swift and effective response involving water rescues,” he said.
The boat is equipped with sonar, radar, GPS, auto-pilot, loud speaker and a remote spotlight.
“The donation of this boat is not just a gift of material value,” he said. “It is a testament of the unwavering support of this community.”
Mayor Mitch Roth expressed his gratitude to the Sayre Foundation and all the donors who made the dream of a new boat a reality.
The mayor said equipment is hard to come by when putting together the county budget.
“Especially when you have buildings being held up by termites holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya,’” said Roth. “I look at this boat and think about all of the things the Sayers have given. I’m sure that the number of lives the foundation has saved is huge and this is going to be another piece of equipment that’s going to help save lives on this island, which is one of the things that makes us the most fortunate island, the most fortunate place to live in the whole world.”
To date, the Daniel R. Sayre foundation has donated over $30 million in equipment and training to the Hawaii Fire Department.
“When I see this boat, I’m very selfishly centered to it because it provides a better platform for my firefighters to go out and actually do their job,” said Deputy Fire Chief Eric Moller. “It provides safety for these firefighters so they can do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons.”
To donate or learn more about the foundation visit danielsayrefoundation.org