Oct 2 (HST 8:25 PM) (from Crew Member Heidi Guth): The crew is hoping to leave on Oct. 8 (Oct. 7 Hawaii Time) … but the weather looks like it will stay quite chilly, damp and grey. Replacement engines were delivered today and are going to be installed tomorrow, then tested.

Oct. 3 (HST 5:48 PM) (from Crew Member Kaleo Wong): For the crew list, see “Hikianalia Crew List: Aotearoa To Tahiti, 2012,” under the Hikianalia: Aotearoa To Hawai‘i tab in the top menu.

Welina mai ke aloha maia Aotearoa mai. The bright kulu moon illuminated the clouds and the ocean below us as the last of us left the comforts of our home in Hawai‘i and the familiarities of our everyday lives. Accompanying me on the flight were Chris Baird, Heidi Guth, and our Kapena/Ho’okele uncle Bruce Blankenfeld. After landing and acquiring all of our checked baggage, the cool air greeted us as the airport doors opened to the outside world. We loaded into two vehicles and headed off to make a quick stop at the home base, the Takapuna Oaks hotel, before we continued on down the road about 15 minutes to join the rest of our hoa holo wa‘a (sailing companions) and ike maka (set eyes upon/fully experience) Hikianalia, our mother that will be carrying us across the ocean to Tahiti.

We arrived at the site of the canoe, and as we began exiting the vehicles, a loud “Tsua” rang out from down the pier where Hikianalia was tied up. The familiar sound brought smiles to our faces. It felt good to be with the rest of our crew, some whom have been tirelessly working on Hikianalia for the past month. We walked around the Salthouse buildings to get to the exposed pier leading to Hikianalia. Hu ka makani huihui! (The chilly wind was ripping!). Howling through the boats and canoes tied up in the area, the relentless winds and the regular, but occasional cold showers that pass through are somewhat shocking, but really allowing us to ike maka what it may be like as we sail east to Tahiti.

Kealoha Hoe and Gary Yuen, some of our hoa holo waa who have been working and living on the canoe, gave us a tour and showed us the workings of the all the amenities on board. What a different wa‘a Hikianalia is compared to Hokule‘a! Besides being of a different shape, length, and width, the living quarters are downstairs in the hull, fully dry and plush; and there is a toilet, a hale on top for the kapena, and inboard motors, just to name a few differences. There is a good feeling amongst the crew as we are all finally together. We still have some work to attend to before the canoe is ready to go. However, as individuals and as a crew, we have all prepared ourselves spiritually, mentally, and physically, and are all ready to begin our life out on the open ocean as the wa kupono (right time) arises.

By Hikianalia Watch Captain Mike Taylor

Two additional crew members, Gary Yuen and Saki Uchida, arrived a couple of days ago. We got them settled then headed for Hikianalia to train them on what we have learned about this terrific canoe.

We began anchor watches, with Kealoha Hoe’s watch having the honor of first ever to sleep aboard.

The next night was Maka’s gang and, finally, my turn came.

I had a great evening learning my way around at night. The best part was uninterrupted time to tend to some of my kuleana:  mounting the EPIRB, GPS and other electronics; installing a rain/splash protector for the batteries; etc.  I was really happy and feeling good around midnight and unrolled my sleeping bag against the cold night air.  If only I hadn’t decided to make a check of the electrical system!  All the red lights and the large black (empty) battery icon for the starboard system was not good!

After an hour and a half of checking the system from A to Z, shutting everything down and rebooting, etc. – and many emails back and forth with the designer in the Netherlands – we found another electrician had left some sensors unplugged and others misrouted.  At last we saw what we were looking for.  So all is well on Hikianalia and we are enjoying many learning experiences with Hokule’a’s sophisticated younger sister.

Magnus Danbolt, Frank Kane, and I were able to fill Hikianalia’s last electronic need, the Automated Identification System (AIS), which helps vessels at sea to see each other and communicate.

We went to the Auckland Boat Show and our friend, Jonathan Gravit (second from left) Managing Director of Safety at Sea, which has provided all our safety gear, helped guide us to the right system.