Fishing Island Inc. has quite a history. It all begins with Ray and Terry Nibert. Ray and Terry would frequently visit Kona. Their love and appreciation for the land and the people of Hawaii flourished until they made it their home in 1979.

   Originally a contractor in Alaska, Ray decided to make the move to Kona and try his luck as a Charter boat captain. They brought with them two daughters, Tanya and Trena. They purchased a charter boat, named it the Kelei and started on their fishing venture. The first captain Ray met was Wes Vanetta; he took Ray in and taught him the Hawaiian ways of fishing. His wife Ellie would often cook dinner for the families introducing them to Hawaiian cuisine. Ray has many fishing stories about his experiences with Wes and his sons fishing the Kona waters in the early days.

   He enjoyed the fishing scene and was always learning and brainstorming to perfect his techniques. He would often just head out fishing with his wife Terry and their two daughters, even if it meant missing school, Tanya caught a 417 lb marlin when she was 12 with Terry as the deck hand. Soon after they had another daughter Kealani who grew up fishing. They would take her Johnny jumper right out on the boat and she'd bounce around while they were fishing. She never fussed or complained.

   Terry had some friends from the mainland visiting and happened to be out at dinner one night and met Jesse Kunewa, A Hawaiian fisherman that had lived in the islands all his life often called “Capt Alii” and soon after she introduced him to Ray. They hit it off like brothers and immediately started fishing together. They have been Ohana ever since. After a long day of fishing Ray and Jesse were having a pau hana beer at the Kailua Pier and on the back of Ray’s truck sitting on the tailgate. This is where Fishing Island was conceived." A fishing Platform similar to a Fish aggregate device know as a fad buoy that would be a shelter for the schools of fish to bring the larger fish and so on". They were trying to “bring the fish to us rather than chasing the fish around. Well if you know Ray he was off and running with this idea, He hired Rick Gaffney and pulled in some investors and they began the long grueling process. It took 7 years to get the permits approved with the State of Hawaii. With the many approvals from many other agencies as well as the State Senate this was a time consuming, expensive and emotionally exhausting endeavor.

   The permits finally came and then it was the next phase a vessel large enough for the entire project, a 360 ft flat barge with many amenities such as a pool, private club, fishing round the clock as well as fine dining snack bars, bar , photo shop, etc. The preliminary plans were drawn, wind and wave studies, environmental studies, unanimously favorable town hall meetings, entire business plan etc. It was on the way. The cost of this barge to be built was estimated much higher than originally anticipated, the burden was to large for Ray and the investors. The investors backed out and Ray didn't have enough capitol to make the original project happen.

   In 1989 Ray then decided to put out a smaller boat to “test the waters” and prove the idea of a large FAD buoy . He purchased the "Double D". A 70 ft by 25 ft aluminum catamaran and set it to the mooring. This was a major accomplishment in itself they used a big concrete drum as a buoy and 6500 ft combo of chain and cable with links an long as your arm. Ralph Sill (Terry's Brother) invested in the project as well as working side by side with Ray. Jesse Kunewa shuttled the passengers to and from and and crewed during the shifts. Forrest Daley donated many long days and nights to the cause. . There was a huge amount of community support and many people pitched in their time, equipment and knowledge to help out the project. A special thanks to all of You!!.

   The Local Fisherman were thrilled that they could save their fuel only having to go 3 miles out to catch most of the time. They would circle around the largest FAD buoy in the world and the charters not only had action on their charter but could also see the action on Fishing Island and surrounding fishing boats. Most would say "It was the best day of fishing ever". The captains commented say "we can almost guarantee our charters a catch." We can go where the fish are rather than searching for them." Some boats would call Fishing Island on the CB and order up a lunch plate and the crew on Fishing Island would pass it to the boat with a long net. This concept was unique and a nice change from the usual cold lunch.

   Jesse shuttled them to Fishing Island on the Summertime II owned by Ray and his partner Bob Swanson. Looking off the boat you could see fish 360 degrees for about a mile. The recorder was solid black under the boat with aku and ahi. It was truly amazing. Ray had proven his idea will work. There was some fish that no one even knew existed in the Hawaiian Islands. Every day was an adventure as many visitors just loved the idea. The local fisherman also came frequently as they were able to take their fish home. The all night shift was the most popular with the experienced fisherman. It was an overwhelming experience, even for the die hards. One after another non stop action in the calming serene waters of Kona. "Amazing " is how it was described. They had visits from Mike Sakamoto; let’s go fishing – as well as other local fishing shows. They made their first commercial. It looked as things were going well and they were very excited. They started with 6 people in the beginning which is the limit unless the vessel is certified by the USCG. They began the process of certification only to learn the boat was not built to the specifications of the USCG and could not be certified. They had to turn away hundreds of customers. This was devastating to Ray and Terry who had already financially put everything they had in the business to obtain the permits and purchase the Double D. They continued working Fishing Island with Ray working to the bone and only coming home a couple days during the entire run. It was wearing on them both. Kea was still in school, so Terry had to stay at home with Kea, booked charters, correspond with the activities desks, and manned the radio. She would head out to Fishing Island With Kea every opportunity available. She had one of those old large handle radio phones to answer whoever she was.

   After 11 months anchored the swivel broke due to a substitution of swivels recommended by supplier. They lost the entire mooring. They were just heart broken and defeated. It was over. Several Fisherman from the Kona Charter Fleet got together and offered to replace the mooring . They didnt want to loose their FAD buoy. This was a wonderful gesture on behalf of the fisherman however there wasn't enough capitol to keep up the operation with a boat that could not be certified. Ray went back to work and they took there losses. They always kept up the permit for Fishing island. Always keeping in mind "someday we will be able to do this again."

   Many years past and their oldest daughter had since moved away and was a Realtor in California. She visited her home in Kona frequently with her husband Chuck and their children. The moment Chuck set foot on the Islands he was immediately home. Originally from Arizona, He too fell in love with the Hawaiian ways, the land and the people of Hawaii. He wanted to move to Kona from the moment of his first arrival. They thought about the idea of moving back to Kona for a few years and then in Sept of 2004 while visiting Kona with Ray and Terry they came up with the idea to start the project again. After much hesitation from Ray as he knew what it would take to get the project going again he agreed. The excitement from the rest of the family slightly eased his mind.


   They started the search for a boat. They looked for a boat for a year with no luck. They did not want to buy anything that was not certified. Finally they settled on a boat builder out of Missouri to build the boat. He was to build a 40X 120 ft barge with a pool bar and grill and the fishing areas. They made their first payment and it was a very reasonable price. They were very excited and started to plan their move. Chuck and Tanya with the help of Tanya's best friend Kahea who was living with them in Sacramento geared up for the move. This took quite a few months to complete. Chuck and Tanya together have 6 kids, Hilary, & Aaron who had already left the house and Brandon, Mariah, Marissa and Kanani who were ready and excited to make the move. They rented their home, sold off most everything else, and made preparations for the business to be relocated and ran by Tanya's partner Dawn Seibert.

   Ray and Terry were also making preparations to move. They sold their home and their motorhome. Soon after they had all already committed to moving, the news came that they had been cheated. The boat builder had not even begun the project and was going thru lawsuits with other customers for non delivery. They cut their losses and just started looking for a boat again.

   They looked at several vessels all over the country. Hours and hours on the internet searching. Nothing was suitable for a fishing Platform and some needed too much work to get up to USCG requirements. They all still made the move on faith that something would come up. In August 2006 Tanya brought the kids and put them in school, Chuck arrived in September. Chuck went to work and Tanya’s job was to search and find a boat. Ray and Terry came in October and soon after they did find a boat.

   In Nov 2006 they found a boat in Oahu, the best thing was that it was in the Islands already and the expense for making the trip from the mainland to the Hawaii was not an issue. However it was not certified. They were a little nervous in purchasing this vessel as it was not certified but they were reassured that it shouldn’t be difficult to certify as it was an old Navy vessel. The old Ford Island Ferry. The Ferry used to shuttle military and civilians back and forth to Ford Island in Oahu before the road was put in. The vessel has a lot of history itself. It was up for auction at Marisco Marine as the previous owner abandoned the vessel. They went for it. “It’s all or nothing “they said and were very excited to begin the project. The vessel was purchased in January at the auction.

   They named the boat Hokulani O' Kona. Their is a background to this name. Hokulani (heavenly star) was Tanya’s Hawaiian name given to her by her hanai grandmother. So this name was chosen for the boat as a tribute to that name given by Emma Keonaonapua Makahi Johnson. a beautiful traditional hawaiian woman with a heart of gold. There is a special place in Tanya's heart for Emma . She also gave Tanyas oldest son his Hawaiian name and Tanya's sister Kealani her name .

   It is a story of two young girls bringing two families together as ohana. Tanya and Kahea have been best friends since middle school. Their parents also became ohana. Puaala and Terry became very close during the years Kahea and Tanya were growing up. The two girls were always at one house or another. Either way they were home. Emma  lived with her daughter Puaala and her grandchildren Kahealani, Rocco and Julia. This was Tanya's second home Tanya has many fond memories of their Grandmother and had the upmost respect for her. . Emma has since passed but will never be forgotten by the little "haole" girl that loved her so very much. Her kindness and traditional Hawaiian ways can be remembered as you look out into the ocean and see the "Hokulani O Kona" floating there and realize the history behind it and the great hawaiian women behind the name.

Hokulani O' Kona means Heavenly Star Of Kona.

   The plans for the Hokulani O Kona are currently under plan review with the Marine Safety Center in Washington DC. The mooring is being engineered by Makai Engineering and should be set sometime at the end of this year. They plan to make the journey from Oahu to Kona around October 08" . They are very confident the boat will be certified it is just a very time consuming process. The plan is to certify the boat for 299 persons. Eventually they plan to offer much more than fishing. Luaus, Weddings, Pool Area, Fine Dining, Etc. These are all in phase 2 of the project. Fishing island has also purchased a USCG certified shuttle boat for 49 persons to bring out the visitors to Fishing Island. All in all what a history and a sheer determination from a family to make this project happen.

   Ray, Terry, Chuck and Tanya would also like to say a Big MAHALO to our Ohana and Friends for all their contributions this past year!

   Tracy and Louva Demers, Fred Anawati and the Marisco Crew, Jesse and Jaque Kunewa, Makai Engineering, Jeff Kelton, Bob Dupuis, Richard Owen, Aaron Asher, Keith and Penny McIntyre, Jeff Livingston, Bob Swanson, John Rea, Bill Newton, Rick Gaffney, Sean Jimenez, JB and Sharon Loomis, Kahealani Gaspar, Mark Jernigan, Pamela West, Mike Krochina, Hilary Benske, Shawn Stibora, & Kealani Nibert all of you have dedicated your time in helping Fishing Island.

 A special thanks to Marvin and Treena Black for their confidence and interest in our project.

We will keep you posted on the process as things come about. Check out our photo blog for a visual on this history.

We should be open sometime in 2008 . Watch for updates, We would love to see you out on the "Island"!

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