On Sunday people, swam, stood and drove cars into the way of the Superferry in order to block its arrival and stop the cars from departing from the ship. It was not quite successful and eventually the Superferry docked and unloaded.

On Monday night they tried again this time 65 protesters were in the water and over 200 were cheering them on from the shore. They erected a human barricade of people. After 3 hours the Superferry turned away, defeated.

The people of Kauai are protesting the lack of an environmental study done by the Superferry to make sure that the super fast ship will not harm the migrating whales or carry over any invasive species that could attach to the bottom of the ship.

A judge had previously overturned a ruling saying the Superferry was exempt to the study but did not specifically halt the Superferry’s launch thus the Superferry launched anyway.

A judge in Maui however blocked the ship from coming there with a court order issued Monday.

The people of Kauai had to be the ones to stop it from docking at Nawiliwili.

“Based on our current assessment of the situation in Nawiliwili, we made a recommendation to the state that it would not have been a safe transit into the harbor. … In this instance, the risk level was too high for the vessel, its passengers and for the protesters,” said Capt. Vince Atkins, the Coast Guard’s Captain of the Port, Honolulu, in a statement.

“These surfers, swimmers, and other protesters in the water place themselves and the ferry in danger when they disregard the law. … We have used the minimum force necessary to ensure safety to this point. Safety and security is a shared responsibility, and I don’t want anyone to underestimate the risks they undertake when they challenge the law.”

Garibaldi said ferry service to Kaua’i would be suspended “until we can assure ourselves that we can operate in a safe mode. Our whole goal is to provide a safe and reliable ferry system for Hawai’i’s residents. And until we can satisfy ourselves that we can provide that service, it’s on indefinite suspension.”

Govenor Linda Lingle has also urged the Superferry officials not to try any more trips to Kauai saying, “I’m concerned about the safety of people. We have reason to believe (protesters) … would be in the water again trying to stop a huge vessel on a surfboard, and that’s a recipe for a serious problem. So we’re asking Superferry, ‘Don’t go in. Let’s make certain that the public safety is protected.’ ”

Gov Lingle says she is saddened by the whole situation saying, I respect everybody’s point of view, but it’s just sad. It’s really too bad what they’re doing.”

Vacationers taking a much anticipated trip to Kauai on the ferry were unduly upset over the situation and the Superferry offered them $25 per day for meals, a paid night in a hotel, reimbursement for cab rides, and five free future trips on the Superferry to pacify them.

Hawaiian and go! Airlines are also giving the disgruntled passengers special fares to the neighboring islands.

“I’m so mad,” said Osthoff, who also was on Monday night’s voyage that ended with the Alakai sitting offshore. “We caught TheBus all the way from ‘Ewa Beach.”

“It was my opportunity with a reasonable rate to go,” Teresa Osthoff said who was making the trip to visit her son, a Kauai policeman who is on his way to a military deployment to Iraq, and her grandson. “It’s not fair,” she said.

The protesters were happy that the ordeal was over.

“Things are quite volatile and need to be dampened,” said Sandra Wright of Kilauea.

Tony Lydgate of Wailua Homesteads, Kaua’i, said: “I cannot tell you how relieved I was. I sure wasn’t looking to going down to Nawiliwili tonight, but I was planning to go.” Lydgate also said he likes the idea of the Superferry but wants the environmental study to take place. He said that their decision to begin service immediately after the courts decision was a poor one and sparked a lot of the current ire.