71
Crewmember Ha'o climbs aboard the Hokule'a in Apia Harbor.
After an action-packed week in Apia, it’s time to go. Kawai Warren and I kept watch on Hokule’a last night, sleeping above deck on the navigation cots, underneath the light of the super moon on Apia Harbor as the canoe gently rocked. There are seriously worse ways to wake up, even with the lingering effects of some Fijian rum from the night before.
Ryan Hanohano, Mary Ann Enriquez, Kula Barbieto and Saki Uchida kept watch on Hikianalia maybe 70 yards away. The morning has been busy clearing out the mess of our packed rooms at the Pasefika Inn. We’re loading up the canoes and should be Tokelau-bound about 2 p.m. local time. Travel time should be about 40 hours, to get about 250 miles north, and we’ve timed our departure to try to get there after daybreak. The apprentice navs inform me Tokelau’s three islands are about 90 miles across, so the trick is to, you know, not miss them and sail past.
The small atoll chain dealt with an outbreak of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus recently so it’s maybe a coin flip at this point whether we make it onshore there, or simply drop anchor off shore for a little while. Here’s hoping…
