The canoes next plan to visit Ulithi Atoll, which they could reach by the end of the day Saturday. Then they move on to Yap.

The canoes have been sailing fast in good wind.

"We were doing 10 knots at times, then the waves came up and we had to reduce sail," said Hokule'a captain Nainoa Thompson.

The crew members will be putting away canned food for the next day or two, and will be eating fresh tuna.

"We just hooked into a massive ahi, the biggest fish of the voyage," said crew member Na'alehu Anthony, via satellite phone. "It's sashimi for all the boats tonight, and tomorrow."

Anthony said the visit to Woleai, an atoll with several small islands inside, was an emotional time for the crew.

"They sent an escort boat out to guide us in through the reef. These guys had never seen a big voyaging canoe before. When Makali'i (a Big Island voyaging canoe) was here, they bypassed Woleai," he said.

The island's residents seemed deeply appreciative of the canoes' visit, he said.

"They were just stoked to see everybody."

Thompson said trip leaders are concerned about meeting the voyage mission of visiting this part of the ocean, but also of moving on before the typhoon season in these waters begins in earnest. The cultural exchange is being rushed, but the crew is trying to give as many people as possible exposure to the voyage.

"We're going to try to capture as many islands as we can, as fast as we can," he said.

The next stop, Ulithi Atoll, is the home island of crew member Max Yawaramai, who now lives on the Big Island.

"It's a pretty big atoll. It has 35 or so islands, four islands with people. The width of the atoll is about 12 miles," he said. He estimated 600 people live on the island.

Yawaramai said the trip with the voyaging canoes has been an important family reunion for him. He has family on Satawal and Woleai, but had never been on those islands and had never met those family members. Onboard the canoes, he has done so.

"It's really good to meet the other side of my family, the families I never met," he said.

At Yap, the canoes plan to spend about four days getting provisions. A container with supplies has been shipped to Yap to allow Hokule'a to stock up on food eaten during close to a month of sailing—at times with as many as 22 people on board.

Thompson said the canoes will sail from Yap for a three-day visit to Palau, then return to Yap, where Hokule'a will begin a wait for favorable weather for its two-week dash north to Okinawa and a tour of the islands of Japan.