Hokule‘a waits in Mozambique before heading to South Africa

The double-hulled sailing canoe Hokule‘a was arriving at its destination near Maputo Bay in the Republic of Mozambique — a safe harbor away from an impending storm, according to satellite tracking information Wednesday night.

The canoe, which is on worldwide voyage, was entering Maputo Bay about 9 p.m. Hawaii time, Hokule‘a officials said.

The Hokule‘a, along with its escort vessel Gershon II, was headed to Maputo as an alternate destination to avoid running into a possible so-called perfect storm.

The canoe is expected to anchor off Maputo Bay before heading south to Richards Bay in South Africa.

Crew members won’t be landing in Mozambique. Instead, they will remain on the canoe, thereby avoiding the need to go through customs and passport review, Hokule‘a officials said.

Hokule‘a spokeswoman Heidi Guth said Wednesday that Maputo Bay is regularly used as as safety port by vessels attempting to avoid foul weather off the eastern coast of Africa.

The storm from the south, combined with the Agulhas Current flowing south, can create a storm with some of the largest rogue waves in the world.

The South African Weather Service advised the Hokule‘a to head north to Maputo Bay rather than directly cross a lower pressure zone to get to Richards Bay.

Hokule‘a planners said the crew will be waiting for the weather to clear, and they don’t know when the sailing canoe will leave.

Maputo is about 227 miles north of Richards Bay, where crew members are scheduled to make landfall and crew changes.

The crew left Port Louis, Mauritius, for the African continent on Oct. 4.

This portion of the worldwide sail was described as “complicated” by its navigator, Nainoa Thompson, in an earlier blog.

“The Indian Ocean has two hurricane seasons and two monsoon seasons and high incidence of rogue waves,” he wrote.

“It’s a place where you have to be careful, pay attention, and you can sail well.”

Crew members have been training for this leg for six years and are relying on meteorological research and forecasts by the South African Weather Service.

According to satellite tracking information, the Hokule‘a was about 50 miles northwest of Maputo on Tuesday and was within 30 miles of it Wednesday night.