Hōkūleʻa announced last week that it is being rerouted home in the wake of the Maui wildfires. But it does not appear to have had an impact on the crowds showing up to welcome her.
Hōkūleʻa is spending the week in Half Moon Bay, California, where crew members say they’re hosting canoe tours for several hundred people a day.
Captain Mark Ellis said the double-hulled canoe and her crew were welcomed at an incredible ceremony by the Indigenous people of the area along the shores of Half Moon Bay.
"Just imagine a different beach. It's a lot colder than in Hawaiʻi. And they built a fire, and they had that fire going. We had that arrival ceremony with them," Ellis said.
"And in addition to the First Nations, we also had members of the Hawaiian community dancing hula for us, playing music, you know supporting our mission of mālama hōnua."
Hōkūleʻa and her crew will be in town through Thursday hosting canoe tours, giving community presentations, and going on their own learning journeys, said Ellis.
"Half Moon Bay is home of the surf site Mavericks. And so we’re going to be meeting with one of the pioneers of Maverick’s and he’s going to tell us all about it, about that reef break and how it works," Ellis said.
He said every port stop along the four-year Moananuiākea Voyage is an opportunity to engage communities about the voyage’s mission of caring for the Earth. He said many of the community members in Half Moon Bay are originally from Hawaiʻi or have Hawaiʻi ties.
"There's a lot of Hawaiians living up here in the San Francisco area and here specifically in Half Moon Bay. There’s a lot of Hawaiians. A lot of em are supporting us," he said.
"Some of them own restaurants so they support us in that way," he laughed. "Yeah, so there’s an Italian restaurant that a lady from Hawaiʻi married an Italian. And she always takes care of us. I don’t know, I don’t know, I gotta lose weight!"
Hōkūleʻa will be leaving Half Moon Bay later this week, headed toward Monterey Bay where she will be docked at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Take a look at HPR's past coverage of Hōkūleʻa:
The remainder of the California tour includes Morro Bay, Ventura, Los Angeles, Newport, Dana Point and San Diego.
