Aloha nui ʻohana -Wanted to give you a quick update. I spoke to Kahapea on board the waʻa this afternoon. They were calling to let us know that they sighted "Nihoa". Great job gangeh! Kahaz shared "the canoe is solid and doing well, we are flying all of our jibs, now we have #51 up and were still movinʻ along at about 5-6kts. We caught two iʻa early this morning, prior to entering the monument, so we are happily eating fish, fish, and fish. We also drying fish. The food is SUUUPPPEEERRR awesome and so ono! Crew are happy, in good spirits and healthy as they continue on their way to the Keala Polohiwa a Kāne."
Yesterday, our tita Malia Makanani (Makalii crew member 1994-present, 1997 State wide sail and 1999 E Mau, Sailing the Master Home Voyage) was able to sail with Makaliʻi for a bit along the Nā Pali coast. With her son, Aʻaliʻikūmakani with her onboard her day job sailing vessel, like her father "Uncle Maka", these two were able to "carve into memory," their time spent with our waʻa as she makes her way into the magic.
From another family member, Our tita Kaui Fu who resides in Hanalei, shared this message "Had some Makaliʻi sightings off Hanalei. Ua nani no. Got us thinking about trying to get out and meet Makaliʻi on the ocean on the way home." Kaui is a second generation ʻohana Waʻa...Her father Jumbo Fu was an avid supporter of Hōkūleʻa through all of his life and was part of the Kauaʻi crew from her birth in 1976.
As Makaliʻi continues on her run, Aunty Pua Kanahele, the EKF ʻohana and the PKM8 teams, along with the crew of the Searcher, shoved off from Kewalo to rendezvous with Makaliʻi at Moku Manamana. Aunty and her have been working for a number of years, with work centered around the upright stone structures called manamana, that are believed to have played a critical role in ancient wayfinding."Each star when it lands on a manamana, there's a definite degree, like a compass a degree that the star will go along and you can use it to navigate," Nu'uhiwa explained. Ke aloha nui ia oe Aunty ..."go with Kanahele"...:)
CREW PROFILE: Pattiann Solomon
"Women voyage because we bring the balance to the crew. There should always be women on the canoe. Why not?"
-Joanne Kahanamoku Sterling, Kona, Hawaiʻi
Pattiann Soloman & Kathy Thompson Leighton Tseu & Pattiann Soloman
Photo Credit: Kathy Thompson Photo Credit: Kauhane Lee Panihera
"The navigator is the eyes The captain is the discipline The crew is the way If the canoe and her crew donʻt come together, the canoes goes no where."
-Pattiann Solomon, Kohala, Hawaiʻi
Mahalo Pomai for the update! Beautiful pics n so happy to hear that everyone is in good spirits n healthy! Most of all that our wa’a is strong n sailing gracefully to our kupuna! Be safe n have fun everyone!❤️