After nearly three weeks in the Alaskan Panhandle, Hōkūleʻa is making her way toward the Canadian border with a fresh set of crew members.
Koʻolaupoko native Kaʻiwi Hamakua-Makue is one of a dozen Hōkūleʻa crew members who flew into Ketchikan, Alaska over the weekend to take up this next leg of the Moananuiākea Voyage.
"It was awesome to just see a different scene, a lifestyle. And then of course eating and engaging the community," Hamakua-Makue said.
"I was just thinking about the word ʻāina momona because they provide a lot of their food from the land, whether it's salmon or moose."
Hamakua-Makue said one of the most crucial kuleana in these crew changeovers falls on the quartermaster.
"A quartermaster inventories everything on the canoe," he explained. "It's just making sure that we know what's on the canoe."
Hōkūleʻa and her crew left Ketchikan Tuesday and arrived in Metakatla, one of the last islands above the Canadian border.
Hamakua-Makue said the cold climate and dramatic tides are factors they must take into account.
"[Boats] really have to time everything by the high and low tides because they don't want to end up washing ashore or hitting something," he said.
The crew is preparing for a nearly 100-mile sail to Hydaburg, Alaska with Prince Rupert, Canada as their final destination.
Stay tuned for HPR's coverage of Hōkūleʻa as reporters interview crew members and track their progress through the Pacific:
