Polynesian Voyaging Canoe Hikianalia to Visit Ventura County Coast
UPDATE: Do to wind and swells, the arrival of the canoe will be postponed until Sunday, Oct 7th at 8am. Sorry for any inconvenience to your plans! We are wishing them a safe trip to our harbor and look forward to their sunday morning arrival.
After a 2,800-mile voyage from Hawaii to California using traditional non-instrument navigation, solar and wind-powered Polynesian voyaging canoe Hikianalia and her crew will sail into Ventura County Coast on Oct. 6, and will make stops in Ventura Harbor (Oct. 6-10), Channel Islands Harbor (Oct. 10-14) and the Channel Islands National Park – Santa Cruz Island (Oct. 14-16) (weather-permitting). The canoe made its first landfall at Half Moon Bay on Sept. 10, 2018, and held the first of its public engagements along the California coast in San Francisco on Sept. 16. During the stops in Ventura County, the crew will host a crew presentation and dockside canoe tours, which will give the public an opportunity to learn about traditional Polynesian voyaging and the mission of the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Alahula Kai o Maleka Hikianalia California Voyage. See tentative schedule below:
Ventura County Coast Public Engagement Schedule (weather-permitting):
Sunday, October 7, 7:45am Harbor Entrance & Arrival at the Ventura Harbor Village “C” Dock (Located in front of Brophy Bros. Restaurant & Clam Bar)
8am – 10am – Welcome Ceremony at Ventura Harbor Village in the Channel Islands Courtyard – Public Invited
- Chumash Welcome by Julie Tumait-Stensile
- Traditional Hawaiian Performances by: Hlau Hula O Pualanina‘auali‘ioha, Kumu Rona Koe (Camarillo) /Hula Hlau O Puananiha`aheo, Kumu Sylvia Puananiha`aheo Edgar (Ventura)
- Welcome by Brian Brennan, Vice Chair of the Ventura Port District Board of Commissioners
10am – 4pm Dockside Canoe Tours at Ventura Harbor Village at “C” Dock (Located in front of Brophy Bros. Restaurant & Clam Bar)
Public is invited to go aboard the canoe and visit with the crew. Tours are scheduled times between 10 am and 4 pm. Please visit the HIkianalia booth on the Village Promenade to sign a waiver and be assigned a particular Tour time.
Noon- 3 pm –Hawaiian performances in the Ventura Harbor Village on the promenade near the canoe featuring: Lorien Sanders & Da Band / Halau Hula O Pualanina`aulai`ioha (Kumu Rona Koe) of Camarillo/ Hula Halau O Puananiha`aheo (Kumu Sylvia Edgar) of Ventura
6-7:30 pm – Hikianalia Crew Presentation at Visitor Center at Channel Islands National Park is complimentary and will take place in the Visitor Center Theater located at the end of Spinnaker Drive in Ventura Harbor. Parking and entrance are free.
Channel Islands Harbor Visit
Wednesday, October 10
4 pm – Welcome Ceremony at Channel Islands Maritime Museum
Friday, October 12
6-8 pm – Crew Presentation, Channel Islands Maritime Museum
Saturday, October 13
10 am – 4 pm – Dockside Canoe Tours, Channel Islands Maritime Museum
After the one-week stop in Ventura County Coast, Hikianalia is scheduled to depart for Santa Cruz Island, one of the five islands which comprises the beautiful Channel Islands National Park. Below is a tentative port schedule for the California Voyage. Please check www.hokulea.com for the latest updates:
Tentative Hikianalia Port Schedule (subject to change)
- Ventura Harbor/ Ventura Harbor Village – Oct. 6-10
- Channel Islands Harbor – Oct. 10-14
- Channel Islands National Park, Santa Cruz Island – Oct. 14-16
- King Harbor (Los Angeles) – Oct. 17-22
- Dana Point – Oct. 23-30
- San Diego – Oct. 30-Nov. 5
The Alahula Kai o Maleka Hikianalia California Voyage is a continuation of the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s M?lama Honua campaign to inspire action toward an environmentally and culturally thriving world. The name of the voyage, Alahula Kai o Maleka, honors the “frequented pathway,” alahula, across the ocean between Hawai?i and California, kai o Maleka. Kai o Maleka, literally means “sea of America,” a traditional reference to the Pacific waterway connecting the Hawaiian Islands and the West Coast. Additional purposes of the voyage are to celebrate the Polynesian communities of California; connect, learn and share the M?lama Honua message with schools and communities; continue developing the next generation of voyaging captains, navigators and crewmembers; and to share the story of Hikianalia, a canoe that blends ancient wisdom and modern solutions to address the environmental and cultural issues of today.
Because the West Coast of the United States was not part of the M?lama Honua Worldwide Voyage, the Polynesian Voyaging Society and crew are looking forward to engaging with the California communities. While Hikanalia is sailing to California, H?k?le?a will remain in the Hawaiian Islands to complete the Mahalo, Hawai?i Sail.
About Hikanalia
Hikianalia, the wind- and solar-powered canoe built by the Okeanos Foundation for the Sea is the sister vessel of the famed H?k?le?a. Hikianalia is the Hawaiian name for the star Spica, which rises together with H?k?le?a (Arcturus) in Hawai?i. They are sister stars because they break the horizon together at the latitude of the Hawaiian islands. Launched on September 15, 2012, Hikianalia was designed specifically for the M?lama Honua Worldwide Voyage. The canoe started as an escort vessel to H?k?le?a and is now used as a floating classroom blending ancient wisdom with modern solutions. Hikianalia specializes in scientific exploration of marine resources and training for the next generation of voyagers. Values and behavior practiced on the deck of the canoe including how to conserve resources, care for our oceans and fellow crewmembers are shared as a model for how we can live sustainably on islands or anywhere in the world. She combines the latest ecological technology with the heritage of voyaging tradition: each of her hulls contains an electric motor powered by onboard photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight to electric propulsive energy. With a zero carbon footprint, her design supports the “M?lama Honua” (care for Island Earth) mission.
Click here for California Voyage Fact Sheet
Click here for an overview video of Hikianalia
Click here for fact sheet, file photos and b-roll of Hikianalia
Meaning of Voyage Name: Alahula Kai o Maleka
Alahula Kai o Maleka honors the “frequented pathway,” alahula, across the “ocean between Hawai?i and California,” kai o Maleka, over the past 150 years. Kai o Maleka, literally “sea of America,” is a traditional reference to the Pacific waterway connecting the Hawaiian Islands and the West Coast. Whether for school, to visit family, to work, to settle, or to simply find a new life, this ocean path to the American coastal gateway has been well traveled for generations. Since the turn of the 20th century, telegraph, telephone and fiber optic cables have crossed this waterway to enable two-way communication between Hawai?i, the continental U.S., and the entire world. And for over three-quarters of a century, this familiar path has been traversed conveniently by air eventually replacing oceanic transport. It is also within this kai o Maleka that we stumble into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – the plastic archipelago of synthetic waste products from modern human activity.
Alahula refers to any path that is well known and well-travelled, a familiar route that is time-honored and revered. Dreams, fears, love, money, knowledge, ambition, politics – all of these have lured people back and forth along the kai o Maleka waterway. Visitors travel this path. Ideas are exchanged across this path. Hostility and hope have taken this path. Whatever reasons we have for traveling this alahula, feelings for Hawai?i always tug at our heart. Inevitably we find ourselves returning along this sea road from the West Coast, and back to our beautiful island home – whether in person or in spirit.
As we seek permission from California’s First Peoples to enter their ancestral lands, we acknowledge an indigenous kinship, and strive for spiritual oneness between the sacred environment and its caretakers, humankind.
We dedicate this sail to all of the vibrant California-based communities of Hawai?i islanders who have represented the heart and soul of Hawai?i for over 150 years. We also celebrate the many island-continent relationships that reflect a shared vision for a sustainable Island Earth, a thriving future for our children, and a global consciousness towards human kindness. This sail in the fall of 2018 is critical as we develop younger generation leadership and prepare for an unprecedented trans-Pacific voyage in 2020. For now, we invite you to join us on this exciting West Coast journey: Alahula Kai o Maleka – Hikianalia California Voyage.
About Polynesian Voyaging Society
The Polynesian Voyaging Society was founded in 1973 on a legacy of Pacific Ocean exploration, seeking to perpetuate the art and science of traditional Polynesian voyaging and the spirit of exploration through experiential educational programs that inspire students and their communities to respect and care for themselves, one another, and their natural and cultural environments. For more information about the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the Worldwide Voyage, visit www.hokulea.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.