Crew Views: Keala and Darienne
Keala and Ono
November 3: Blog from Keala
Howzit gang/crew!
We are a few days out and the score is: Fish — 2, Keala — 1.
The potential for injury is very real. I always considered myself pretty good on a boat. But the other day we had a man down (me) due to fishing.
While setting the hand lines on the first day, not too far from Tahiti, the whole crew watched as a good-sized ono came in and tried to grab the lure. He hit and missed it three times, and on the fourth hit, the lure stuck. The ono maxed out the rubber on the hand line.
As I braced for the battle, the fish flew me from the aft deck to the very back of the boat, where I wedged myself until the gear broke and left me with the biggest black and blue thigh I have ever had. So, right from the get-go: Fish — 1, me — 0!!!
It seems that in the morning when I set the lures, we get the strikes. The second day, as I was setting the other side’s hand line on the wa’a, I had the line wedged and pinched by standing on it, but when I tried to tie the hand line off, it went completely off! The whole rig gone. Fish — 2, Keala — 0! (Sorry, Bruce.)
But later that day we scored an ono — about 15lbs. Yeah! Keala — 1!!!
We are fishing hard from sunup ’til sundown. On sailing vessels, it’s not that easy. Trying to hold a course and get somewhere does not help the fishing.
ʻTil next time, aloha Crew!
Keala
Keala Cutting up Ono
November 3: Blog from Darienne
Aloha mai!
Our journey beyond Pape’ete has been as smooth as peanut butter thus far. After initially trimming our sails, we’ve been able to maintain our course using just the hoe (steering paddle).
Aside from a few small, refreshing squalls, the sky has been quite clear, allowing us to steer by the moon (at times) and Huinakolu (the Navigator’s Triangle of Pira‘etea (Deneb), Keoe (Vega) and Humu (Altair). (See Hawaiian Star Lines.) We even got to enjoy fresh ono sushi today! In other words, we’ve been blessed with optimal conditions (especially for us newbies) for transitioning to life at sea.
Although our primary hopes for this journey are to arrive in Hilo in a safe and timely manner as well as to become ma’a with our mother Hikianalia, we also look forward to opportunities to increase our repertoires of mele/oli (so that we may all share in the kuleana of protocol) and to deepen our understanding and appreciation for the legacy of which we are now a part. Some of us have been designated with the kuleana of “education” within this particular crew, but we all feel especially fortunate to be sailing with and learning from true masters of their crafts. Every moment has been a gift and a lesson.
In addition, it has been an honor to be working, learning, and laughing alongside my so many talented, generous, intelligent, and capable wahine crew members, who make up nearly half of the crew. Like the constellation, we are Nā Hiku (“The Seven” or the Big Dipper) helping guide Hikianalia north toward our (and her new) home. Increasingly, both wāhine and kāne have been discovering their strengths and weaknesses and have been adapting accordingly and humbly. But thanks in part to Keli’s amazing cooking, we get stronger as a crew every day.
A hui hou,
Darienne
Fa‘afaite Bidding Hikianalla Farewell from Tahiti
(For more on Keala and Darienne, see Hikianalia Crew List: Tahiti To Hawai‘i, 2012.)
