Originally, we had planned to continue on cruising to other islands in the Hawaiian Islands chain. Actually, as it turned out, that worked out pretty well, as it gave us time to do some more leisurely and extensive touring of this interesting island. Visiting yachts, including U.S. vessels, are required to check in with Customs, Agriculture and The Port Authority.
Mooring is restricted to a small yacht basin, Radio Bay, at the eastern end of the bay.
You may anchor in the yacht basin, or stern-tie to a concrete wall. Actually that is not exactly correct, as I found out to my chagrin, they would take as many coins as you would care to feed them, but you still only got power for a maximum of one hour. Back to running the engine for power. There are free water outlets on the dock and after you've been exposed to Hilo's renowned rainfall for a while, you'll understand why that isn't any problem. It rains often and a lot.