Too bad Larry Ellison doesn't surf. You know, the eccentric American billionaire (sixth richest person in the world) who purchased the Hawaiian island of Lanai for something like $500 million. If that guy were into shredding as much as boating, those who know and love Honolua Bay wouldn't have anything to worry about.
But like Charlie, Larry doesn't surf. So Maui surfers are a little trepidatious of the future.
Much of this fear stems from conceptual development plans submitted back in January 2007 by Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. (ML&P), which included a golf course, 40 luxury home sites and a surf park/cultural area overlooking the spiritually, culturally and historically rich surfbreak. A frustrated chunk of the community assembled to argue that private commercial development would threaten the break, as the coral reef ecosystem has already suffered alarming decline. The Save Honolua Coalition (whose mission is "to maintain open space and public access while revitalizing the ecosystem of Honolua Ahupua'a through community-based management utilizing Hawaiian practices and values") rallied to speak out in favor of official Preservation, and 16,000 people signed petitions. The battle appeared to have been won as ML&P withdrew their plans.
