August 31: Hikianalia – a new sister canoe for Hōkūle‘a

Hikianalia – a new sister canoe for Hōkūle‘a – will be launched this year in Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand) and sailed to Hawai‘i to join Hōkūle‘a on her upcoming Worldwide Voyage as a support vessel and an additional educational platform.

The canoe is named for the star Spica, which appears south of Hōkūle‘a (Arcturus) in  the star line known as Iwikuamo‘o (“Backbone”).

Photos courtesy of Paul Hiapomalulani Elderts. (See his page of Hikianalia Photos.)

The new voyaging wa‘a is being built by Dieter Paulmann, founder of Okeanos Foundation. Hikianalia is modeled after the vaka moana of Okeanos Foundation/Pacific Voyagers  that visited Hawai‘i in 2011.