Hikianalia Update | Sept 23 & 24, 2018: The Ocean that Connects Us

Posted on 26 Sep 2018
In Hikianalia Updates, Photo Galleries, Teachers, Updates

Under the Bridge

Sept 23 | Hikianalia Update by Hana Yoshihata

Yesterday morning we said our goodbyes to Sausalito and made our way through San Francisco Bay towards the Golden Gate Bridge on our way to Half Moon Bay. Our sunny weather persisted, but with the temperature drop from being on the water and added windchill, most of us layered up in our foulies to insulate against the cold.

We planned our departure around the tides in order to ride the ebb tide under the bridge and out to sea, leaving around 10:15 .a.m. Getting to approach and go under the Golden gate aboard Hikianalia was a special experience for all of us–spirits were high as we passed below and emerged into the first leg of our coastal journey in Leg 2 of the Alahula Kai o Maleka Voyage. We made several attempts to set our documentation camera on a timer and take a group photo with the bridge, but hilariously each time the crew perfectly blocked the bridge! At least we still ended up with a great crew photo, though!

Once outside of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate, we tacked multiple times in order to make our way further out to sea and clear the headlands. The fair weather held up for our entire sail to Half Moon Bay, with around 12-15 knots of wind outside the bay until we reached Pacifica, where it died down to around 10 knots or less.

The crew was very excited to pass through whale feeding grounds on the way to Half Moon, and got to see a lot of whales! We arrived 34 miles south to Half moon Bay under the rising light of a stunning full moon at around 7:15pm, where we were greeted in chant by Hālau Nāpua o Kalei Maoli Ola.

After tidying up Hikianalia, the crew made our way out of the biting cold and into the warm and welcoming home of Gail Evenari, Director and Producer of the film Wayfinders, where we enjoyed a wonderful homemade meal and kanikapila session. The crew is well rested and ready for our public canoe tours here in Half Moon Bay today, where the fog is beginning to burn off and the temperature is, thankfully, rising.

The Ocean that Connects Us

Sept 24 | Hikianalia Update by Hana Yoshihata

Today the crew woke to the canoe surrounded by fog in Half Moon Bay and started out the day by tidying the waʻa for public canoe tours. The crew split into two groups of 5, stationing one group on the canoe for tours, leaving the other free to tend to laundry. Tomorrow there will also be tours from 12pm to 5pm, and the groups will swap. The crew that ran tours today estimated they received around 150 visitors throughout the day, including returning members ofHālau Nāpua o Kalei Maoli Ola that welcomed us last night, who graced our deck with a gift of hula.

For dinner, we were hosted by the lovely De Fierro ʻohana at their family restaurant and were welcomed with beautiful lei and so, so much aloha. No matter where we go on our voyages, it is always striking the amount of generosity and aloha we receive from hosts and communities, and tonight Mark Ellis, while introducing our canoes and crew to our hosts and friends, reminded us of the Alahula Kai, or well-worn ocean pathways, and how the ocean connects rather than separates us. From what I have seen in my short time sailing with Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia, I believe aloha can be found in every corner of the world, and is in it’s own way, an Alahula that connects us all to one another, much like the ocean.

Hikianalia Update | Sept 23 & 24, 2018: The Ocean that Connects Us

Under the Bridge

The Ocean that Connects Us

Sept 24 | Hikianalia Update by Hana Yoshihata

Photos © 2018 Chris Leung for the Polynesian Voyaging Society