This photo was taken this weekend on a sailboat race from Maui to Oahu, This is about 200 to 400 yards from shore. We had light winds but a great trip.
The Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement National Landmark District, which includes the Moloka`i Lighthouse, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January of 1976. In 1980, President Carter signed Public Law 96-565, establishing Kalaupapa National Historic Park. The lighthouse received its own entry on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, the Moloka`i Lighthouse was made available for free to eligible government entities and non-profit organizations, and was officially awarded to the National Park Service.
The long northern shore of Moloka`i is lined by sea cliffs that rise 1,700 feet above the ocean, making them the highest in the world. Extending out from roughly the center of the northern shore is the Kalaupapa Peninsula. Kalaupapa means 'flat leaf' and is an accurate description of the peninsula that was formed by a low volcano, which broke the surface of the water long after the rest of Moloka`i was formed. The peninsula is an isolated place, surrounded by the ocean on three sides and the sheer cliffs on the south.