Hōkūleʻa and her crew are playing catch-up as they make their way down the coast of British Columbia.
A thick blanket of fog in Prince Rupert delayed the crew’s voyage by a couple of days.
Hōkūleʻa crew member Lucy Lee said she’s never experienced fog like she did in Canada.
"I was sharing a room with one of my crew members and I could hear these horns in the distance and I thought it was her alarm going off and I was getting slightly irritated because I was like why isn’t she turning off her alarm," Lee said.
"So we wake up and we open the window shades and you can’t see anything," she said.
The sound was fog horns from passing ships.
Once the blanket of fog cleared, the crew departed Prince Rupert, made a quick stop in Klemtu, and arrived in Bella Bella Tuesday.
Hōkūleʻa and her crew were greeted by two tiers of tribal leaders, including hereditary leaders.
"Those are the ones that are like by birthright or by whatever their genealogical hierarchy is they hold that title of chief or elder. But then they also have elected tribal representation," Lee said.
"Those were like a lot of the younger voices in the room. Especially cause I’m the youngest on the canoe, anytime I see young people, Iʻm like 'Oh yeah, young people.'”
Lee, who is only 22 years old, said she can’t believe this is only month two of the four-year Moananuiākea Voyage. She ran the calculations and realized they’d completed just 5% of the voyage.
"Which is so crazy, and I think that just speaks to, one, just how special and how awesome every single interaction with community we have is. I think another thing that it speaks to is just like how much room there is for everyone to get involved and to support. And how grateful we are to the people who made our voyages possible," she said.
The crew may be departing Bella Bella earlier than planned to make their way south. The next stop is Port Hardy.
Stay tuned for HPR's coverage of Hōkūleʻa as reporters interview crew members and track their progress through the Pacific:
