Hawaii residents bid a final aloha Wednesday morning to the Falls of Clyde, the historic ship that had graced the waters of Honolulu Harbor for decades.

In predawn darkness, two tugboats towed the 146-year-old ship from its berth at Pier 7, where it had practically become a permanent fixture, and out onto a calm sea.

A small audience watched quietly as the tugs pulled the Falls of Clyde, afloat, with its four masts still intact, along a channel and toward a deep-­water site about 25 miles to the south for a watery burial.

Susan Yamamoto, a maritime history buff who knew the ship well, felt a mix of emotions — sadness and disbelief —as she documented its departure.

“It was expected,” she said, equating it to saying farewell to a grandmother on her deathbed. “You know, I come down to the

See Full Page