Hikanalia Expected to Reach Home This Afternoon on Oahu

Hikianalia, Polynesian Voyaging Society’s new state-of-the-art voyaging canoe, is expected to reach Mokauea (Sand Island) mid-afternoon, Sunday, November 25. The latest estimated time of arrival is 2 PM to Marine Education Training Center.

Hikianalia is on its way home

Master navigator Bruce Blankenfeld and a crew of 18—including master navigator Chad Kālepa Baybayan, and several veteran as well as new crewmembers—left Friday night, anticipating a voyage with little-to-no wind.  This morning she could be seen from Kalaupapa Lookout; at 9 AM this morning, she was seen off Mo‘omomi Coastline, Moloka‘i.

Kalepa gives a pule for the safe passage of Faafaite on her voyage from Hawai’i to Tahiti in Nov. 2011. Crédits photo: Danee Hazama

Hikianalia reached Hawai‘i last week and has spent the week in Hilo.  She left Auckland, where she was launched in late September, and set sail on October 9.  The crew changed in Tahiti and again in Hilo.

Hikianalia will accompany Hōkūle‘a during the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s 2013-2016 Worldwide Voyage as her sister vessel, providing a second floating classroom, and the main platform for communication and technology.  Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia are Hawaiian star names for Arcturus and Spica, which break the horizon together in Hawaiian skies.  Neither uses fossil fuels; both rely on the wind in their sails and photovoltaics for their lights, communication and – in Hikianalia’s case – engines.

Hikianalia is scheduled to arrive on Sand Island on Oahu this afternoon

To review Hikianalia’s launch and journey from Aotearoa, and to learn more about the upcoming Worldwide Voyage, visit our website http://hokulea.org.

Related articles

• Hikianalia Arrives Home in Hawaii – Welcoming in Hilo Bay Tomorrow (damontucker.com)
• Hikianalia Sets Sail for Hawaii – Hōkūle’a’s Sister Vessel Will Be Important Part of Worldwide Voyage (damontucker.com)