There's no harbor, and the ship lies some distance off shore..... then the camera pans and a tender has to be sent out amidst the rough water.
It's not how we think of Hawaii in those days, neither the idyllic Polynesian land, nor the big waves that Robert Bonine would shoot on this trip to the Big Island. It's an interesting bit of geology, a peninsula produced by smooth lava flow into the ocean.... and it looks rough and choppy.
Bonine loved Hawaii..... he was born in Altonna, so clearly he thought the winters were milder. He retired in 1907 and stayed in the Islands.