Captain Cook, Hawaii by Honaunau-Napoopoo. Hawaii Route 11, part of the Hawaii Belt Road, passes through the community, leading north to Kailua-Kona and south to Naalehu. Hawaii Route 160 diverges from Route 11 in Captain Cook, leading south by a winding road to Napoopoo on Kealakekua Bay. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Captain Cook CDP has a total area of , all of it land. Most of Captain Cook lies between the and elevation, which makes it ideal as a coffee-growing region. It sits on the top of an ancient fault which created the famous Kealakekua Bay. Prior to the
Kidnapping of Kalaniʻōpuʻu by Captain James Cook when the dismayed and insulted chiefs refused, Cook proceeded to give orders to ascend the Morai, break down the fence and load the boats with it. John Ledyard also tells of an episode where Captain Clerke accused a native chieftain friend of stealing the Resolution's jolly boat. The boat was soon found unstolen and the native chief soured from the false accusation. After staying in the bay for 19 days, Cook and his two ships sailed out of the bay. On 6 February Cook's ships unmoored and left Kealakekua Bay. They were met with an unexpected hard gale which wrenched