Hau‘oli lā piha makahiki, Hōkūle‘a! Happy Birthday, Hōkūle‘a!

METC, Honolulu, Hawai‘i—

Hau‘oli lā piha makahiki, Hōkūle‘a!

At 38 years young, Hōkūle‘a is at her strongest, fastest, lightest and most watertight she has ever been.  She is back in the water and, with her sister canoe Hikianalia, is sailing every week in preparation for the upcoming Worldwide Voyage.

Hōkūle‘a was launched at Kualoa on March 8, 1975.  Since then she has logged more than 130,000 nautical miles.  She links us to our culture, the wisdom of our ancestors, our heritage of navigation and wayfinding.

Hōkūleʻa’s birthday lei

Mahalo to Michelle Kapana-Baird and her ‘ohana for creating this exquisite lei for Hōkūle‘a’s birthday.

Hōkūle‘a is Hawai‘i’s canoe.  Come see her.