(I used to work in these waters.)
The crossing of Alenuiha'ha:
by Jonas Stenstrom
The water between Maui and The big Island of Hawai'i ,the Alenuiha'ha channel (or I'll-end-you-ha-ha channel), has sometimes been referred to as the most dangerous channel crossing in the world. Bordered on the Maui side by the 3000m tall Haleakala and on Hawai'i by the massive 4100m shield volcano Mauna Kea, north eastern trade winds that get funneled thought the channel blow gusts of up to five times more velocity than the surrounding waters. This is the story of our hairy crossing across the channel in our jimmy-rigged Cal-25 sailboat.
http://www.explorebiodiversity.com/main ... ihaha.html