The voyaging canoe Hokule‘a remained in dry dock Saturday on the East Coast for routine maintenance before beginning its long voyage back to the islands through the Panama Canal.

The process was expected to last about three weeks at the Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Va.

Crew member Moani Heimuli said in a blog post the crew was impressed by the area’s autumnal colors.

“The view of Hokule‘a sitting on the lawn at the Mariners’ Museum and Park surrounded by the changing fall color leaves is just pure beauty,” she wrote.

Newport News sits on the James River, along which Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, was built in 1607.

While in dry dock, the Hokule‘a is also on display at the museum billing itself “America’s National Maritime Museum,” which is also home to the largest maritime library in the Western Hemisphere.

Hokule‘a’s visit coincides with a new exhibition there called “Polynesian Voyagers,” celebrating Polynesian wayfinding and the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s message of caring for the earth.

“This is an educational opportunity to display Hokule‘a’s beauty and history to an audience unfamiliar with the complexities and skills of Polynesian navigation,” Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, said in a statement. “It also allows us time to take necessary care of our seafaring home, our canoe.”

Hokule‘a’s crew is varnishing, repainting and repairing parts of the canoe, as well as replacing parts, such as the canoe’s main steering blade.

“It’s so important for any vessel to be examined and refurbished out of the water, but especially for Hokule‘a, as she journeys an unprecedented expedition that even motorized vessels don’t attempt,” said Bruce Blankenfeld, the master navigator overseeing dry-dock procedures.

Hokule‘a’s last dry dock was in Cape Town, South Africa, in December.

Hokule‘a will remain at the museum until early November. A farewell ceremony with Polynesian performances is scheduled for Nov. 5.

The Hokule‘a crew plans to embark on the last legs of its three-year voyage by sailing back down the East Coast, possibly stopping in Miami, and passing through the Panama Canal around the holiday season.

Since departing from Hawaii in May 2014, the vessel has been manned by more than 200 volunteer crew members and visited more than a dozen countries. The canoe is expected to reach Hawaii in June.