Makali`i Voyaging Trip 2003: The Experience of a Lifetime

        There are many things a person can experience throughout a lifetime, but there are very few that actually make an impact.  The Makali`i experience is one of these few.  For me this trip started out as something fun to occupy my time this summer.  There is no way I could have known just how much `ike or knowledge I would be walking away with at the end of these short eight days. 

       As we, a small group of Lahainaluna High School students and our chaperones sat in the Kahului Airport awaiting our Kona flight we were all filled with anxiousness about the upcoming week.  After a long day of sitting in airports and driving in vans we finally arrived at our "home sweet warehouse" in the beautiful Kawaihae harbor.  Our stomachs filled with butterflies as we stood in lines to do our `ai ha`a or protocol chants.  This was our first learning experience because should we make a mistake, permission to board the canoe would not be granted to us until it was done flawlessly.  We repeated this protocol everyday, everywhere we went for the remainder of this trip.  Protocol consisted of the chants Ha`a Hokule`a, E o Makali'i, Ia Wa`a Nui, and I Ku Mau Mau.

       Being that this trip revolved around sailing on the voyaging canoe, Makali`i, our training in water safety was crucial.  The crew well prepared us in both man over board and huli (flip) situations through extensive drills.  It was vital that we learned how to work together as one crew.  Being able to trust your crew as well as yourself knowing that your life is in their hands and their lives in yours is a key concept in sailing.  We were put through a grueling water safety test where we had to tread water for an hour and a half, without talking, and swim laps for forty five minutes in which we were only as fast as our slowest teammate.  Although exhausting, it taught us to stick together as a team when it would matter the most.

       For the duration of our trip we stayed at Kawaihae Harbor in Kona.  This is where Makali'i was docked and where we did all of our pre-sail training.  From Kawaihae we sailed to Mahukona, the home of “Ko`a Heiau Holomoana” and the crew house.  Here we learned that Holomoana was an ancient school of navigation.  Baby boys were brought here and trained through their adolescence on navigation, wind patterns, the rising and setting of the stars, sun, and moon and the rising and falling of the tides.  Due to bad weather our sailing time was limited so we drove instead to other historic sites.  In Ka`upulehu we visited the petroglyph field with some of the first dates and words ever inscribed in stone.  We also visited the giant stone star compass which we learned is exactly aligned with the North Star, Hokupa`a.  Another place we went to was Pu`uhonua o Honaunau also known as the city of refuge.  In the past the ancient Hawaiians would swim through the shark filled bay in hopes of escaping of being pardoned for breaking a kapu or committing a crime.  After being pardoned one could return home without fear of being killed.  On the mauka slopes in Kohala there is a small piece of land affectionately called Kukui.  Here Aunty Nani and her daughter Punahele are hard at work restoring the land and cultivating many Hawaiian plants and animals to be used as a hands-on learning facility for children and adults who wish to learn more about Hawaiian culture.  We were fortunate enough to be able to kokua in this effort of restoration.  In the words of Aunty Pomai Bertelmann, sailing is only a very little part of voyaging.  Knowing where you came from and how you got to where you are make up the bigger picture.

       On clear nights the group participated in stargazing.  This enabled us to be able to locate stars and star lines and also to visualize the rising and the setting of each star. We also familiarized ourselves with the Hawaiian star compass and its components.  We went over the houses, quadrants, and degrees of important stars used in navigation.  We were taught the difference between a chart and a map and practiced how to plot sailing courses on a chart.  We learned the degree of the angle in which a canoe can sail into the wind before it eventually stops moving.  On our sail, we had the opportunity to put these two things together, by plotting our own course and determining the direction in which we sailed using a chart and the position of the sun.  Even though it was a hard task we were able to pull it off with the mana`o (knowledge) we acquired from our alaka`i, leaders. 
On the plane ride home I came to the conclusion that in the end it's all about Ho`oku`ikahi, unifying as one and unifying as a crew, as a culture, as a people.  When I look back, it's a good feeling to know that I've truly partaken in the experience of a lifetime.  It was an experience that I, as well as my fellow LHS voyagers will never forget.  One should never pass by the opportunity to learn something, even though it may be difficult, especially an experience like this. I'm glad that I stuck it out and I learned that you should always finish what you start.  The people, the places, the friends, and the things I learned are all memories that cannot be erased.  I'd like to take the time to thank the crew of Na Kalai Wa`a Moku Hawai`i,  the chaperones and the Queen Liliu`okalani Children’s Center for sponsoring and sharing with us all the knowledge they've acquired throughout their years of experience, without them this trip would not have been possible.  Mahalo Nui Loa and Aloha, Vi Nguyen, Lahainaluna Academy of Travel & Tourism and Voyaging program.