Crew Blog | Kaʻohinani Kamalu: Learning from Legends

Written by Kaʻohinani Kamalu

It’s just been another beautiful day down here in Whangarei.  Despite all of the cold and wet weather that we’ve encountered today, the community has continued to bring its warmth and kindness to our ʻohana waʻa.  A few of the middle-school aged students from here in Whangarei were able to visit both the Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia today with curious minds, loads of questions, and school uniforms consisting of shorts and t-shirts.  Meanwhile the crews of Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia were completely dressed head-to-toe in their foul weather gear.  Being able to watch Uncle “Buddy” McGuire interact with the students about how to use the hoe for steering the waʻa was such an amazing experience. This individual has been voyaging with Hōkūleʻa for decades.  The wealth of knowledge that Uncle Buddy possesses about the wa’a and its progression through history is amazing.  Many of the visiting students were actually quite familiar with solar technology and were able to point out quickly some of the panels on the back of each wa’a.  After enjoying each other’s company, the students left and returned to school while the crews started on lunch.  I’ll have to admit that I somehow still managed to get hungry again after eating a magnificent Thanksgiving feast the evening before.  I hope that everyone at home in Hawai`i is enjoying their Thanksgiving weekend with friends and ‘ohana.  All of us in Aotearoa wish you folks a Happy Thanksgiving. Mālama Pono!

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