Hokule'a rookies raring to go

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

If youthful drive and enthusiasm could kick up a breeze, there would have been no problem. The sails would have billowed and Hokule'a, the newly refurbished canoe that inspired a generation to follow the ancient mariner's course, would have sailed out to the open ocean.

Ocean Learning Academy student Maile Nu'uhiwa, left, and Hokule'a crewmember Ka'iulani Murphy adjust the canoe's steering sweep at the HCC Marine Education and Training Center on Sand Island. The Hokule'a went on a short tour and training session. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

At one end of the tow line, on the escort boat, was Nainoa Thompson, veteran navigator from the early days of the Polynesian Voyaging Society renaissance. Aboard Hokule'a were some of his students from the Ocean Learning Academy, the charter high school in which Thompson combines lessons on navigational skills with learning general environmental sciences and conservation ethics.

Also aboard were his successors at the helm, two men and two women who have signed on to focus their training toward leadership roles on the society's voyaging canoes, as captains and navigators.

It's a daunting proposition for someone like 23-year-old Kawai Hoe who, in the waning days before departure, is hard pressed to find a moment's quiet.

"The mind is continually thinking about what needs to be done," Hoe said, going from one pre-departure chore to the next. "There's so much to learn, and I'm just going over different scenarios in my mind."

Russell Amimoto, 25, has kept his mind occupied with completing canoe renovations and improvements in the past few weeks, leaving him in the position to worry as media and students trod on decks newly varnished and hanging onto canvases newly lashed in place. Would they ding his baby?

"Hopefully not!" he said grinning, and then he prepared to cast off.

Among the recent additions to Hokule'a: a bronze plaque set into the deck, in memory of legendary Hokule'a crewman Eddie Aikau. A quarter-century ago on Monday, Aikau was lost at sea when he paddled out in search of rescuers for the crippled canoe.

"No greater love has a man than this: That he would lay down his life for his friends," the plaque reads.

Hokule'a is filled with little touches like this that illustrate its importance in the rebirth of Hawaiian culture. Different parts of the canoe are inscribed with other names from the past. "Kapu na keiki" refers to Thompson's father, the late Myron "Pinky" Thompson, for his dedication to children as "sacred" resources. "Mau" is for Mau Piailug, the master navigator-instructor who helped the Hokule'a set sail at the start.

Amimoto will captain a crew of the first leg of the statewide sail, bound for Hilo, but the rest of the assignments weren't clear yesterday. In addition to Hoe, the vanguard among the crew also includes Ka'iulani Murphy, 24, and 36-year-old Catherine Fuller. All four of them recently earned a captain's license from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Training is important, Thompson said, but nothing can prepare the crew for voyaging better than the experience. That's why, throughout the sail and especially during the crossing to the Big Island, Thompson will be there for assistance. 'Alenuihaha Channel, between Hawai'i and Maui, is considered among the most perilous in the island chain, he said.

While the state sail isn't exactly a formal test of crew leaders, Thompson said, "we're constantly evaluating their ability to maintain safety at all times and their ability to complete the mission."

It's a bit easier for Murphy and Amimoto to schedule their sailing commitments, because they're on staff at the society and don't need to broker with employers for permission. The job has given Murphy, who had hoped to become a Hawaiian studies teacher, an opportunity she never envisioned.

"There's no better classroom than this," she said.

Fuller took time off work to train for the past year, although in the fall she will return to work as a social studies teacher at Iolani and sail when she can get away.

Becoming a leader aboard Hokule'a is the fulfillment of a dream that began when, at 10, she watched coverage of the Hokule'a arriving in Tahiti.

"I remember thinking, 'Hawaiians have come home,' " Fuller said.

Now the canoe is her home.

Reach Vicki Viotti at 525-8053 or vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com.