Written by Kaleimaile Robia

'Anakala (Uncle) Snake is married and has three children. He's been involved as a crewmember on the Hokule'a since 1975. He had to go through many classes before actually becoming a crewmember. These classes involve safety, learning about the stars, clouds, weather and tides.

'Anakala mentioned that on his first voyage he really didn't know what to expect. Today, the Hokule'a crew is much more experienced and come up with strategies for the sail. He told us that when there are storm clouds or a squall approaching, the wind comes in funny and blows in different ways. The crew used to just close the sail and wait for the squall to pass. Today they utilize the winds of the squall to the canoe's advantage.

I really admire 'Anakala Snake and everyone else on the crew for practicing our Hawaiian values. We need to keep our culture strong and this is one way of doing it. I enjoyed 'Anakala coming and speaking to us. I wish him luck in all his voyages across the Pacific.

Check out Uncle Snake at the Polynesian Voyaging Society web site.

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