About

Keahi truly has a lifetime of sailing experience. Keahi’s sailor father is 5th generation from Oahu where he grew up. Cruising the Channel Islands of California as an infant, the family sailed to Hawaii at the age of 5. Soon after coming to Hawaii his father began a career as a charter boat captain, which introduced Keahi to the business side of sailing. Keahi spent countless days going on snorkel cruises to Molokai and Lanai, whale watches and sunset and dinner cruises. When Keahi Ho was in high school his father bought him a small boat that he began to race. His passion for racing followed him to college where he began sailing for the University of Hawaii Sailing Team. At the time the UH Sailing Team was ranked in the top five in the country. Hawaii had a very active offshore racing scene while Keahi was in college on Oahu. Keahi sailed dinghies during the week and larger boats on the weekends. It was during this time that he acquired his 100 Gross Ton USCG Captain’s License. After four and a half years of college sailing that included a trip to the Olympic trials in 1996, Keahi began work as a charter boat captain on Maui. First he operated the Macgregor 65 First Class. Later Keahi took over the 65 foot, 37 ton, vessel America II. America II was a twelve-meter class sailboat that was raced in the 1987 Americas Cup in Australia. America II offered whale watches, performance sailing, and sunset sails. Keahi managed to stay active in the local racing fleet both on Maui and Oahu. He also managed to participate in the Pacific Cup, and the Transpac, which are two of the premier ocean races from California to Hawaii. Keahi Ho bought the GungHo Lidgard in December of 2008. Over 15 years, he completely refitted the boat, removing as much hardware from the deck as possible to prevent trip hazards and make the boat operate more efficiently. He added cockpit coamings, which keep the passengers more secure and comfortable. He installed a new rudder that is stronger and more efficient. The entire boat was been rewired and a refrigerator was installed. Since purchasing the boat in 2008 Keahi has raced and cruised the boat with his family throughout the Hawaiian Islands, and sailed to Tahiti and back in 2015. In addition to running GungHo Sailing, Keahi is a Fire Fighter for Maui County. He is a certified First Responder and has real experience performing First Aid, CPR, ocean rescues, car accidents, brush fires and structure fires. He is a former Junior Sailing Coach with the Lahaina Yacht Club. He is a US Sailing Level I Instructor. Keahi has a lifetime of sailing and looking forward to sharing his knowledge with others.

Ali and Keahi met sailing aboard the GungHo Lidgard, RIL. Keahi’s passion for sailing was infectious and soon their courtship led to regular sailing and surfing excursions around Hawaii. When they met, Keahi was just starting out his sailing business and soon thereafter Ali joined him to run operations: from the books to marketing and first-mating. Ali shares: “Sailing and surfing are experiences I didn’t know were missing from my life until I moved to Maui and met Keahi. I grew up on boats fishing, water skiing and cruising, but my sailing experience was minimal besides my father shoving me out on our old sunfish and telling me to give it a go. Our lives now revolve around planning sailing and surfing trips and I have to pinch myself on a daily basis. The sailing lifestyle gives me great joy, constant learning and many adventures off the beaten path.” On August 8th, 2023, Keahi was the acting on-duty officer and fought heroically along with his MFD brothers and sisters to stop a fire that proved to be unstoppable. Keahi and Ali lost their home in Lahaina and the GungHo Lidgard in the fire. They are operating an interim vessel, the GungHo Hunter 27X, a Lahaina vessel that was dry-docked in Ma’alaea Harbor. Keahi and Ali reopened GungHo Sailing in late 2023 after the devastation of the Lahaina Fires. They are enjoying sailing the Hunter and sharing their favorite new snorkel coves with their guests. Keahi and Ali are hopeful to bring back employees Captain Marty and First Mate and daughter Mihana upon the reopening Lahaina Harbor.