Warm congratulations go out to every person, be they crew members or involved behind the scenes, for taking part in Hokule‘a’s sensational round-the-world voyage navigated by the stars.
It is a voyage that will be remembered as long as sailing ships are gliding across the seas. It is also a voyage that may never have happened if it were not for Nainoa Thompson.
I knew the master navigator’s parents, Laura and the late Myron “Pinky” Thompson, and wish Pinky were here to celebrate this incredible sailing achievement. He died on Christmas Day 2001, at 77. Hokule‘a crewman Kiks Hugho and his close friend Eddie Aikau were part of the canoe’s early years along with the Thompsons, Bruce Blankenfeld, David Kawika Lyman, Ben Finney, Herb Kane, Tommy Holmes and Mau Piailug, a master navigator from the island of Satawal in Micronesia. Kiks has tremendous praise for Pinky, Nainoa and Bruce.
Kiks and Eddie were urged to make the canoe’s second voyage to Tahiti in 1978; Kiks said neither would go unless the other was also going. Kiks said they made a promise to each other before the voyage that if by any chance there was a mishap and one of them didn’t make it back home, the other must tell the whole story.
The canoe departed from Magic Island at 6:30 p.m. on March 16, 1978, and five hours later was 8 miles south of Lanai when it capsized in stormy seas. (Kiks said he is working on a documentary on the story.) The crew kept together, hanging onto the port side of the canoe and staying close for 25 hours before being rescued by the Coast Guard after a Hawaiian Airlines pilot saw their flare.
Before the rescue, Eddie and Kiks were next to each other in the water. In the morning, Eddie decided to get on a surfboard that had been on the overturned canoe and paddle to Lanai to get rescue help. Kiks said two other crewmen had tried to paddle for help but gave up and came back after a short time, about 15 minutes. Eddie took the surfboard and prepared to head for Lanai. (In 1968, he was the first lifeguard hired by the City and County of Honolulu to work on the North Shore. He made many rescues in towering waves at Waimea Bay.)
Kiks talked to him for a half-hour and along with others tried to discourage the expert waterman from paddling the surfboard away from the Hokule‘a because of the huge waves in the stormy seas. They were not successful in stopping him. Eddie would go! He was never seen again.
Kiks said they were lucky to have been rescued and that many safety precautions were made regarding the canoe after the capsizing. He said Pinky later “held us together and encouraged us to keep sailing.” Kiks, 67, is a retired Honolulu Harbor pilot boat captain. He is also an artist and an accomplished professional sign painter. He has painted and repainted the canoes’ names, Hokule‘a and Hikianalia, whenever needed since they were built …
ROLLING WITH ROLO
University of Hawaii head football coach Nick Rolovich had lunch at Murphy’s Bar and Grill recently when I was there and I was happy to meet him for the first time. I went crazy with joy when he threw eight touchdown passes and UH clobbered BYU, 72-45, in 2001 with June Jones as our head coach.
I told “Rolo” I was happy with what he’s doing up there at Manoa and thanked him for keeping local boy and interim coach Chris Naeole on his staff when he took over in 2015. After praising Rolo, I then confessed that I was pulling for Jones to get the head football coach’s job when it opened up. When Rolo got the position, I wrote in a column that I would be rooting for him. I think I am forgiven, as he smiled after my confession and made it clear I was a welcome supporter …
Ben Wood, who sold newspapers on Honolulu streets during World War II, writes of people, places and things. Contact him via email at bwood@staradvertiser.com.
