Posted on: Sunday, November 12, 2000           Reprinted with permission of "The Honolulu Advertiser"            

Dancing tugs swing into action
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

She wore a lei around her neck, moving gracefully to the song "Hanalei Moon."

The tugboat Tiralani yesterday may have been the largest hula dancer at 216 tons, but her captain, Paul Kaipo Pomaikai, gave her the finesse of a ballet dancer.

Tiralani’s performance was part of the first-ever tugboat hula contest at the inaugural Honolulu Harbor Festival. The event to promote Honolulu Harbor and its maritime operations was the brainchild of Advertiser columnist Bob Krauss.

It was only Tuesday when Pomaikai’s boss at Sause Bros. Ocean Towing Co. asked him if he could participate in the tugboat hula contest.

He said he couldn’t turn down a friendly challenge from the other entrant, Hawaiian Tug & Barge, which had two tugs — Mamo and Eleu — competing yesterday.

"Their two tugs were practicing hard to synchronize their dance movements," Pomaikai said. "I just came back from a family vacation, so I sort of had to wing it for my routine."

But Pomaikai had a secret weapon: his family. They spent three days creating a 2-ton green-colored skirt made of unraveled nylon rope to dress the Tiralani, along with lei for the ship’s bridge.

So what if the Tiralani was a little "bottom-heavy," Pomaikai made her dance with the best of them, enabling the boat to rock, move sideways and spin 360 degrees.

Kumu hula judged the competition. The Tiralani swept the competition for best hula and costume, and carried off the trophy.

"The latest technology and her 4,400-horsepower is what allows today’s tugboats to perform these moves," said Pomaikai, a tugboat captain for 21 years who lives in Ma‘ili. "You need that maneuverability because the tugs need to get into very tight spaces."

"Mahalo to the Honolulu Advertiser for granting us permission to reprint this article."  - Sause Bros., Inc.