KAHULUI, Maui — Hawaii Superferry completed an uneventful visit to Maui this morning, its first sailing since Feb. 13.

With a Coast Guard escort, the 350-foot Alakai arrived at Kahului Harbor around 9:40 a.m., about a half-hour ahead of schedule.

Except for a handful of fishermen and homeless campers and a couple of surfers riding 1- to 2-foot swells in the harbor, there was no one to welcome or protest the ferry.

Unsure of what kind of greeting the high-speed would receive, the Coast Guard dispatched several vessels and a helicopter to monitor the Maui visit, which went largely ignored by those on shore.

The high-speed catamaran pull away from Pier 2C at 11:10 a.m. To begin the return trip to Honolulu.

The Alakai had left Pier 19 in Honolulu shortly after 6:15 a.m. with about 100 passengers and just a few vehicles were on board this morning's voyage.

It is the first sailing for the Superferry in six weeks because of mechanical problems that kept it in drydock.

The ferry's return to service came shortly after the closure last week of Aloha and ATA airlines.

"It's just coincidental," Superferry CEO John Garibaldi said of the Alakai's return to water two weeks earlier than initially planned. "We're just anxious to get sailing again. This is the best time of year for it."

The Alakai left Pier 19 in Honolulu shortly after 6:15 a.m. today for its nearly four-hour trek to Maui, where it will stay for an hour before returning back to port in Honolulu for the night.

It is the first sailing for the Superferry in six weeks because of mechanical problems that kept it in drydock.

About 100 passengers and just a few vehicles were on board this morning's initial voyage, which was just fine with Garibaldi.

"We consider this a soft opening and we'll ramp it up as our employees get in the groove," he said. "All we did for this one was send out a press release. I think it's going to grow. We were just anxious to get back in the water and sailing again."

Wayne Swan of Honolulu said he's been wanting to take the Superferry since its initial sailing last year. Court cases, mechanical problems and rough seas have prevented the Alakai from completing most of its sails since its inception, but with all of those problems apparently in the past, Swan said he was taking advantage of $39 one-way fares to sightsee on the Alakai.

"I missed the initial sailings so when I heard about this last week I booked it," he said. "We're just going to Maui and coming back right away."

Rajnikant Ray and his family are visiting the Islands from New York. He said they found out about the ferry service yesterday while walking around in Waikiki.

"It cost us $267 for six of us," Ray said. "It's a chance to enjoy another island."

The Alakai is capable of carrying 866 people and 282 cars. More than half the company's 300 employees were furloughed while the Alakai was in drydock, and most were back on the job today.