Anchorage· Maui· Hawaii
Kealia Offshore Moorings
20° 47.0′ N · 156° 28.4′ W · approximate
The east side of Maalaea Bay off Kealia and north Kihei holds one of DOBOR's two designated offshore mooring areas on Maui's south coast, a strip of open roadstead in front of the condos and Sugar Beach.
Practical
Approx: plotted about 0.4 nm offshore of the Kealia Resort shoreline (OpenStreetMap) on North Kihei Road; DOBOR publishes no buoy coordinates for this area. DOBOR's Maui facilities page says offshore mooring is available at Kealia and Makena. These are permitted private moorings (application, Army Corps Section 10 permit and engineered installation, HAR 13-235), not transient balls; a 2025 Land Board request said there was no available space in any designated Maui mooring area. Visitors should anchor rather than pick up a private buoy. Coast Pilot calls Maalaea Bay only a fair anchorage: fresh trades sweep across the isthmus, the bay is completely open to kona storms, holding is poor, and the central and east bottom is irregular. A reef fringes the shore for 3.5 miles south of Kihei; off Kalepolepo a 14 ft spot lies 0.5 mile out, and broken ground with 3 fathoms lies about 0.7 mile WSW of the old Kihei wharf. Strangers should pass well offshore. Nearest fuel, water and harbormaster: Maalaea Harbor (VHF 68).
Best for
Knowing what the buoys off north Kihei are before you pick one up
Season
Trade-wind season only; exposed in kona storms and summer south swells
Nearby
- Kihei Canoe Club0.6 NM away
- Kihei Farmers Market0.6 NM away
- Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge0.9 NM away
- Maalaea Bay Afternoon Trade Wind Acceleration1 NM away
- Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (Kihei)1.4 NM away
- Kalepolepo Beach Park and Koieie Fishpond1.4 NM away
- Coast Guard Station Maui2.2 NM away
- DOBOR Maui District Office and Maalaea Harbor Office2.2 NM away