By Brad Kaʻaleleo Wong
Day 0. It was a whirlwind day packing for this huakaʻi to Nihoa, with the added kuleana of preparing the waʻa and serving as a watch captain for this voyage. Our tradewinds disappeared last week and we are supposed to meet up with the vessel, Searcher, in a few days to assist with ʻopihi and nearshore fish surveys. Hopefully we get there in time. Captain Kaleo is confident, so holomua! It’s exciting to get back on the moana, especially to Papahānaumokuākea and aboard Hikianalia.
Day 1. Sailing off Waiʻanae was fantastic. We got all the way to Kaʻena last night, but the wind died again and now we’re stuck in the middle of Kaʻieʻiewaho. It’s HOT today and the ocean is flat, a complete mirror. Earlier, a school of nehu took refuge under the waʻa as aku darted nearby. Isn’t that what happened in the moʻolelo of Paʻao when he was traveling from Kahiki to Hawaiʻi? Not even a single bite either. Hopefully better luck with fish and wind tomorrow.
Day 2. We made it to Lehua! A little bit of south wind off Kauaʻi, though it died earlier this evening. We’ll drift here overnight. Duane made saimin for dinner, so ʻono! With the weather really nice, Kaiwi and I brought out the ʻukulele for some post-meal kanikapila. Shoutout to Bones on the harmonica! Not sure if we’ll make it to Nihoa with 120 miles to go and no wind, but we’re making the best out of the less-than-ideal conditions.
Day 3. The akua heard our pule and gifted us a perfect wind coming from the southwest and we are making way at around 4-6 knots. Perfect conditions to get there by tomorrow morning! It’s an epic evening. Stars everywhere and minimal clouds. Excellent for navigation! Kaleo and Jason are giving lessons. I noticed how prominent ʻiwa kealiʻi is during this time of year – a great navigation tool going to these islands. Riding the ʻiwa to Kuaihelani like in Keaomelemele perhaps?
Day 4. Aue ua hiti e ua hiti e Hikianalia e! We made it. Sighted Nihoa off our starboard manu in the dim light of pre-dawn, right on target. It’ll be a long day today with the intertidal monitoring crew. We’ll also have dinner on the Searcher with them, complete with ice cream! Guess it’s nice to have motored vessels sometimes.
Day 5. We left last night a few hours after dinner. The current on the west end of Nihoa switched directions and we were drifting. It’s slow going with south winds and we can’t really go the direction we want. At sundown we saw another sailboat on the horizon – Makani ʻOlu returning from Mokumanamana. Kekuewa mā were on-island for Ke Ala Polohiwa a Kāne, the most mana-ful way to experience the island. We greeted them with oli and mele. It was my favorite experience to see them, another group of Kānaka traveling the ocean. What was awesome were the two captains, Kaleo of Hikianalia and Kalei of Makani ʻOlu, conversing over the radio in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. A powerful moment for the lāhui.
The winds turned more favorable the next day, and we were able to sail directly to Lehua and return home safely. There were so many hōʻailona on this trip and many good laughs with great friends.
