Blog | Noelani Kamalu: Sisters at Sea
This post was written by Noelani Kamalu.There are so many people who long for and deserve this opportunity and we are so fortunate to have two of us from our family were able to experience this.
Nui kuʻu haʻaheo i ko’u kaikaina. Ua hana nui ʻo ia no kekahi mau mahina ma o ka hoʻomākakau ʻana no ka holo ana i Kahiki. I ka haʻalele ʻana o nā waʻa iā Hilo, ua ʻike ʻia ka hopena o ia hana nui, a manaʻolana au ua maika’i ka huaka’i nona. Ua aʻo au i nā mea he nui mai Lehua mai. Ua kōkua ʻo ia iaʻu me ke kilo hōkū, a ua aʻo pū au i kekahi mau mea hou aku e pili ana i ka waʻa. E aho au e hoʻi i Hawaiʻi i mea e kōkua aku ai iā ia me nā hana nui i koe no ka huakaʻi holo puni honua. I kuʻu manaʻo, ua pōmaikaʻi koʻu hoʻokele ʻana me koʻu kaikaina. Nui ka poʻe e makemake ana e hoʻokele ma nā wa’a, a ua koho ʻia ʻelua kānaka o ka ʻohana like. Inā hiki, makemake au e hoʻokele hou me ia, a i ʻole kekahi o ko’u mau kaikaina, ʻoiai he ʻehā haumāna hoʻokele ko mākou ʻohana. He ʻohana holokai nō hoʻi.
A year ago, I was surprised that Nainoa invited me to help navigate the waʻa to Tahiti. I knew my younger sister would be on the waʻa, and I really didn’t think another person from our own family would be offered the opportunity. So, I jumped at the opportunity. When we were young, Lehua and I did everything together. We went to swim class together, even hula, and so on. So we are really used to be around each other all the time. There is no doubt that the ʻohana factor makes a difference on the waʻa because we are both so used to each other and we can react to each other quickly.
I am so proud of my sister. She worked really hard for months prior to leaving for Tahiti. And when the waʻa finally left Hilo, we saw all the hard work come to fruition, and I hope she was able to enjoy the journey. I learned so much from Lehua. She gave me great pointers on nagivating and all sorts of things on the waʻa. I look forward to going home and helping her with all the other work to be done for the remainder of the voyage.
It was really a blessing to be able to voyage and navigate with my sister. There are so many people who long for and deserve this opportunity and we are so fortunate to have two of us from our family were able to experience this. If possible, I would love to be able to sail with her again or any of my sisters since there are 4 of us who are learning to navigate. We are a family that really loves to sail together.
No nā kūmole a ʻikepili no ka Huakaʻi Holo Puni Honua, ʻo Mālama Honua, ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi!
