Mike Friedges and Jim Terwedo of Jordan, Minn., ignored the whir, gurgle and gush of raw sewage pouring into the Ala Wai Canal yesterday and pledged that neither rain, nor dam burst nor flowing effluent would ruin their 16th consecutive trip to Hawai'i.

Friedges and Terwedo canceled their flight to Kaua'i after the Kaloko Reservoir broke two weeks ago, killing seven people. And with O'ahu soaked with rain for nearly all of the two weeks they've spent here so far on a monthlong trip, Friedges said, "We've been doing way more shopping than beach time."

The city has been pumping millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai Canal daily since Friday when a sewer main ruptured. The city expects to continue pumping sewage into the canal for as much as a week as crews work to repair the damage.

Even the smell, sound and sight of raw sewage couldn't dampen the mood of Friedges, Terwedo and other visitors walking, running and strolling along the canal yesterday.

"It's a mess. It's a true mess," said Mary Riesland of Lake Geneva, Wis., who is here on a monthlong visit with her husband, Dave.

"But it hasn't bothered us at all," she said. "It's still 80 degrees and the sun's finally shining. Back home in Wisconsin it's 30."

The Rieslands had planned to spend more time in the ocean but have stayed away because of box jellyfish invasions, a shark attack on the North Shore and now the smell of effluent pouring from the Ala Wai into the ocean.

Out of three consecutive winter visits, this one has "definitely, definitely been the worst," Mary Riesland said. "I'm probably not going to go back home with a very good tan. But it's OK."

Luckily for Waikiki's visitor industry, currents have kept the effluent flowing 'ewa out of the Ala Wai and away from Waikiki resorts, beaches and tourist-oriented businesses that sit on the diamondhead side of the Ala Wai.

"As far as we know, the sewage spill has not affected our area of the beach," said Cynthia Rankin, spokeswoman for the Hilton Hawaiian Village, one of the resorts closest to the mouth of the Ala Wai.

But the Waikiki Yacht Club and Hawai'i Yacht Club that sit on the ocean end of the Ala Wai each canceled junior sailing programs yesterday and have had warning signs up since Friday urging boaters and others to stay out of the water.

"I do worry about people getting in that water and getting a staph infection," said Peter Dietrich, general manager of the Waikiki Yacht Club. "This happens all the time when we have the heavy rains. Anybody who's been here for years knows it. All we need is a couple days of sunshine to clear it up."

At the Hawai'i Yacht Club, commodore Linda West's 8-year-old daughter was among the children who had their water time canceled for the 8- to 12-year-old junior sailing program yesterday.

Instead, the junior sailors watched sailing videos and practiced their rigging.

"Folks are still taking their boats out," West said. "It smells when you're driving to the harbor and entering the club. It's not intolerable, but it's noticeable."

On the 'ewa side of the Ala Wai, water-based businesses that operate off Kewalo Basin said they had canceled tours because of the rain — but not because of the sewage.

So visitors like Ian Lawrence of Calgary, Canada, have been stuck waiting for sunshine.

"It's been rain, rain, rain, rain," said Lawrence, who has spent nearly five weeks of his planned six-week trip dodging O'ahu's series of storms.

"We've been coming here since '78 and this is the worst winter we've seen," he said. "But what the heck? At least you never have to shovel rain."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.