Blog | Kalā Baybayan: Continuing to Explore

Posted on 29 Jul 2014
In Crew Blogs, Voyaging

This post was written by Kalā Baybayan.

The second leg is a continuation of maintaining the fluidity of navigating as on the first leg, but this leg is different in that we will be sailing farther south in latitude.

Because of my years of preparation to set the foundation for the voyage and learning the talk of the sea, I’ve gained so much knowledge in my 15 days spent voyaging to Tahiti on the canoe. The sea-time has taken all the at-home study to another level and transformed it into something else. The immersion and focus of being at sea, uninterrupted by my every day responsibilities on land, allowed me to refine my skills in using the sun and stars at certain times to find my position, the wind and swells for directions, and the clouds to forecast the weather. The concentrated time spent out on the ocean put me into a flow where I was comfortable and confident of my observations as I collaborated with other young navigators in determining our position and progress along our reference course line.

Hikianalia and Uncle Bruce are amazing teachers, so it feels really good to be continuing on the second leg aboard Hikianalia. The Hawaii-Tahiti leg was the longest crossing I have ever experienced. I no longer have the worry of acclimating myself to life at sea for more than 48 hours or getting into the flow of non-instrumental navigation.

The second leg is a continuation of maintaining the fluidity of navigating as on the first leg, but this leg is different in that we will be sailing farther south in latitude so I will be using stars that correspond to those latitudes. Also, on the second leg my teachers are Tua Pittman and my father Kalepa Baybayan. I am so excited to be learning from Tua and his style of teaching as every teacher is unique; and it’s also nice to be in the presence of sailing and bonding with my dad again.

As we progress through the months and latitudes, we will also have to consider the changes in the points where the sun will be rising and setting on the horizon. On the first leg I relied heavily on these points for direction, and I will continue to do so on the second leg. Saki Uchida will also be continuing on the second leg with me. We were both apprentice navigators on the first leg and share a special bond as sisters because we have experienced a lot together and I rely on her when she is up on watch working on the canoe and I am down below sleeping. I really admire her sharpness and attention to detail when she is navigating, and feel very inspired by her.

So the second leg is a continuation of the first, building on what has been established and exploring new techniques and styles of navigation from other teachers.