‘Overwhelming’ gift

Turns out the koa canoe that found its way back to Hawaii island after 50 years on the East Coast had one last leg on its remarkable journey home — back into the arms of the family of its carver.

Tony and Kim Allard, who purchased the 40-foot outrigger canoe intending to decorate their winter home, instead surprised the family of Theodore Vredenburg last week by giving it to them.

It was a touching scene on the beach at Kiholo Bay on the Kohala Coast when family members learned of the gift.

"When he said it, it was a surreal moment. It only sank in when several people near me started crying," said La’i Mitchell Chong, Vredenburg’s great-granddaughter. "I’m still in shock. It’s like getting back a family member you knew was out there but never met."

The Allards were unaware of the Hawaiian canoe’s origins when they bought it from a Delaware estate a few years ago, spending nearly $50,000 to purchase, ship and restore the vessel.

But Tony Allard said he had absolutely no qualms about giving it away. He said it was simply the right thing to do after meeting the family, learning about the canoe’s history and its importance to them.

"So as much as we have come to appreciate it and love the whole story of it coming home, the canoe could never mean to us what it means to them unless they accepted it as our gift," said Allard, a Canadian who owns an investment firm in West Vancouver, British Columbia.

Vredenburg, a master carver with Scottish, French, Dutch and Hawaiian ancestry, created the canoe in his spare time during World War II while he was the manager of Huehue Ranch in North Kona. He carved the vessel from a single koa log with the guidance of a canoe expert from Honaunau.

Over the years the rancher refused offers from canoe clubs to buy the boat and succumbed to a sale only after vacationing members of the prominent Du Pont family of Delaware offered to pay $5,000. Vredenburg did like the idea of his boat being taken care of and appreciated as a piece of art rather than getting beat up in racing competition, family members said, but it was still hard for him to part with it.

The canoe had ascended into family legend and lore even before Vredenburg died in 1973 at age 76 — it was frequently discussed at get-togethers and always on view in a photograph hanging on the wall.

So when a koa canoe from the East Coast arrived on Hawaii island and word got out last year about a refinishing job, Kahu Billy Mitchell, husband of Vredenburg’s granddaughter, Jenny Mitchell, arranged to view the canoe at Allard’s Kukio home, bringing with him enlarged photographs showing the vessel’s wood thumb print. He found an exact match.

Incredibly, the canoe had returned to a place less than a mile from where it was created about 70 years ago.

One thing led to another and the Allards, the Mitchells and other Vredenburg family members arranged to hold a formal blessing for the canoe on the beach at Kiholo and then take it into the water for a paddle.

The Mitchells surprised Allard by naming the canoe "Manuwai" (waterbird), which was the Hawaiian name of both Vredenburg and his father.

Then Allard revealed the secret he had been holding close to his heart for weeks.

"It was a huge surprise for everyone," Mitchell Chong said, adding that the family was humbled by the gift.

Family members — among them the carver’s 85-year-old daughter, Theone Vredenburg of Honolulu — were more than happy the legendary canoe had made its way to West Hawaii and found a good home, she said. No way did they expect to be offered possession of it.

"It was an overwhelming feeling," she said.

Mitchell Chong, a paddler, said she’ll never forget how easily the canoe cut through the ocean waves that day, riding high as if built for Kona waters. It was a gorgeous day, with all five Hawaii island mountains standing out in a sparkling vog-free day.

"It was a beautiful, beautiful moment," she said. "He gave my mom a morning with her grandfather, and that was very, very special to everybody."