Hōkūleʻa spends time in waters off west side of Hawai‘i Island

The Polynesian Voyaging Society’s traditional double-hulled voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa arrived at Keauhou last week after spending a few days at the historic Hawaiian fishing village of Miloliʻi and on the bay off the shores of Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau.

Hōkūleʻa is sailing this weekend to Kawaihae, the last stop on the west side of Moku O Keawe during the vessel’s Pae ʻĀina Statewide Sail, and her crew is also engaging with communities and schools during their 2-week visit to Hawaiʻi Island.

The traditional double-hulled voyaging canoe was greeted by several other canoes and jumping dolphins as she arrived at Hōnaunau after departing Oct. 30 from Miloliʻi. Pwo Navigator Bruce Blankenfeld presented the evening the vessel and her crew arrived at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Park.

Students from Hoʻokena and Hōnaunau elementary schools got to meet the crew the following day and learn more about Hōkūleʻa and traditional Polynesian voyaging, courtesy of the national park.

Crew members were given a cultural send-off by Kamehameha Schools Preschool and Konawaena High School students at the end of last week when the canoe departed at the end of last week from Hōnaunau.

The crew blew a pū (shell) and Hawaiʻi Island crew member Kanani Enos offered an ʻoli (chant) to honor the people of that land as Hōkūleʻa passed through Kaʻawaloa on her way to Keauhou.

Keauhou Canoe Club members along with kumu Keala Ching and his hālau welcomed the vessel and her crew as they arrived at about 1 p.m. Nov. 1 at Keauhou. Ching and his hālau also visited Hōkūleʻa the following day.

The crew has been conducting school, teacher and community tours since docking at Keauhou Bay.

About 150 students from Innovations Public Charter School, Kuleana Education, Kona Pacific Public Charter School and Ke Kula ʻo Ehunuikaimalino had educational tours of the voyaging canoe Monday.

Tūtū & Me, a Kealakehe teacher group, along with other educators participated in a professional development workshop Tuesday hosted by ʻIlima Choy.

The crew also went on a learning journey with Hawaiian cultural specialist Mahealani Pai that afternoon to the Keauhou hōlua rock slide and then to Heʻeia at the bottom of the slide 1 mile away. The huakaʻi was followed by canoe tours and an imu dinner hosted by the Keauhou Canoe Club.

The Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa hosted a Hōkūleʻa crew “Talk Story” event Wednesday evening, allowing the community to hear personal stories about voyaging and more details about future plans for the canoe.

Hōkūleʻa is expected to depart Saturday morning from Keauhou Bay and head to Kawaihae, where it will spend a few days before returning to Oʻahu.

The purpose of the Pae ʻĀina Statewide Sail is to engage with communities throughout the Hawaiian Islands through cultural and educational experiences and exchanges focused on Hōkūleʻa’s larger mission of mālama honua (caring for our island Earth).

Each stop allows students and the general public alike to connect with the legacy of exploration, environmental stewardship and aloha ʻāina that Hōkūleʻa embodies.

The 7-month voyage around the Hawaiian Islands will cover 3,000 miles, connecting with dozens of ports and communities, before Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia resume the Moananuiākea Circumnavigation of the Pacific in 2025.

Visit the Polynesian Voyaging Society website and follow it @HokuleaCrew on all social media platforms for the latest updates about the Pae ʻĀina Statewide Sail and more information about the traditional double-hulled canoe and its voyages.