Securing a legacy: Hokule‘a unites cultures

After circumnavigating the globe on a mission to spread aloha, one last critical mile remained.

The Hawaiian sailing canoe Hokule‘a slipped into the Ala Wai Harbor on Saturday, where tens of thousands of spectators, many of them having arrived before dawn, crowded the edges of Magic Island to greet the vessel and laud its safe return from the most ambitious voyage in its 42-year history.

The arrival there capped a three-year, 46,000-mile worldwide trek dubbed Malama Honua (“Care for the Earth”) — a voyage to rally better protection of the planet’s natural resources — and it sealed the latest chapter in its legacy as one of Hawaii’s most enduring modern symbols of cultural pride.

The crowd’s mana, or energy, was palpable. A flotilla of seven other canoes from across the Pacific whose creation the Hokule‘a helped inspire came into the channel first, their crews led onto land by royal kahili bearers.

Then, at about 9:42 a.m., a cacophony of “chee-hu’s” erupted as the Hokule‘a floated in, the double-hulled vessel carefully towed by an escort boat after sailing thousands of miles in treacherous, unfamiliar waters. Dozens of paddling canoes and stand-up paddleboards also greeted its entry into the harbor.

Aboard the Hokule‘a on Saturday were a mix of veteran voyagers, key partners who helped make Malama Honua possible, and future leaders who helped guide the canoe home on its final leg. The scene at Magic Island in many ways mirrored the canoe’s first return to Oahu at that site 41 years ago following her maiden voyage to Tahiti — except for the thousands of smartphone cameras recording the moment Saturday.

“Our culture lives. Our knowledge lives. And because so, our kupuna live,” Office of Hawaiian Affairs CEO Kamana‘opono Crabbe told the crowd during a post-arrival ceremony.

Amid stops in more than 150 ports and 19 countries, the Hokule‘a’s crews collected the mo‘olelo, or stories, of communities working to protect their natural environments. Voyage organizers often compared the journey to sewing a lei.

“The lei has been completed,” kahu Danny Kaniela Akaka Jr. said during the ceremony’s opening blessing.

Along the way they also trained more than two dozen apprentice navigators and cultivated new leadership.

The Rev. Mpho Tutu, who along with her father, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, greeted the Hokule‘a’s 2015 arrival in Cape Town, flew halfway across the world to welcome the canoe to Magic Island on Saturday. Also present were oceanographic explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau and Palau President Tommy Remengesau, who is widely considered a strong advocate for conservation.

Pwo (master) navigators from New Zealand and the Cook Islands also traveled to Hawaii for the event.

During an emotional speech Saturday, Hokule‘a captain and Polynesian Voyaging Society President Nainoa Thompson visibly struggled to process the public outpouring of support for the voyage.

“It never sunk in until I came into the channel and looked around,” Thompson said. “The constant nagging question we have in leadership is, is Hokule‘a still relevant? Does it still have value, or is it too old? Has the racing of the 21st century outpaced it so much that things old, we don’t care about anymore?

“Thank you, Hawaii. Thank you for the moment,” he added.

He paid tribute to Hokule‘a’s original pioneers, including PVS co-founder Ben Finney, who died May 23 in Kaimuki, just weeks before the canoe’s arrival. Thompson said he visited Finney two days before his death in hospice, where a nurse told Thompson that Finney, one of his mentors, was no longer responsive.

“I held his hand and I said, ‘Hey, Ben, your children are on the ocean right now. Pomai (Bertelmann) is the captain. Ka‘iulani (Murphy) is the navigator. They’re coming home.’ … He squeezed my hand. And I said, ‘They’re on your wa‘a, Hokule‘a,’ and he squeezed my hand.”

Thompson also told the crowd that the voyage’s purpose — to promote protection of the planet’s environment for future generations — outweighed the risks of piracy, rogue waves, crew illness in far-flung ports and other potential dangers.

The push to make Hawaii the first U.S. state to individually adopt the Paris climate accords after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would pull out “started with Hokule‘a,” according to Gov. David Ige.

“We have seen that humans have the power to destroy,” Ige told the Magic Island crowd Saturday. “But we also have the power to change the sail plan, to restore and protect. … And Hokule‘a has inspired us to stand up and be counted.”

Hokule‘a crews first sighted Hawaii on June 8, just over three years after it departed Hilo Bay to launch the international journey. The 2014 departure ceremony from Hilo was filled with nerves and trepidation over the unknown and great risks ahead.

Saturday’s event, by contrast, was filled with relief. Nearby beachgoers at Ala Moana Beach Park displayed a large poster that read, “We had no doubt about it!” referring to Malama Honua’s success.

Auli‘i Cravalho, star of the Disney film “Moana,” which was inspired by the Hokule‘a and its canoe progeny, performed Saturday at Magic Island. Other renowned musical acts such as the band Kapena and Jonathan Osorio also entertained crowds.

The Hokule‘a arrival also featured ko kali‘i lima, a traditional but rare Hawaiian rite-of-passage ceremony that involves catching sharp wooden spears, once all the canoe crews were on land. Saturday’s kali‘i ceremony saw eight spears thrown — the most believed to be used in that ceremony since the reign of Kamehameha I, according to Sam Kapoi, a Hokule‘a crew member and one of about 30 men who participated in the event while wearing traditional malo.

The group started rehearsing those rites for the welcoming ceremony in February, Kapoi said.

En route to Saturday’s massive Magic Island arrival ceremony, the Hokule‘a made more intimate visits to Kahoolawe, Kalaupapa and Kualoa. The canoe fleet could be seen at dusk Friday offshore in Maunalua Bay readying to sail early the next morning.

Emergency Medical Services reported responding to seven 911 calls for the festivities Saturday, with nearly all of them related to dehydration. Paramedics treated and transported three of those patients to emergency rooms, the agency reported.

Beginning in August the Hokule‘a crews plan to visit 30 ports across Hawaii and hear how local communities aim to help the environment. A three-day Malama Honua summit and fair begins today at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.

Click here for more coverage on Hokuleʻa’s journey.