view from Hōkūleʻa as it arrives at Miloliʻi, photo courtesy Polynesian Voyaging Society

(BIVN) – The Hōkūleʻa voyaging canoe arrived in Miloliʻi on Saturday, for the first Hawaiʻi island stop on the Pae ʻĀina sail. 

Before Miloliʻi, the crew was in Kahoʻolawe. They sailed directly to South Kona due to weather. 

The seven-month Pae ʻĀina voyage around the Hawaiian Islands will cover 3,000 miles, before Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia resume the Moananuiākea Circumnavigation of the Pacific in March 2025. 

From the Polynesian Voyaging Society:

Hōkūleʻa’s voyage through the Hawaiian Islands continues with visits to Kahoʻolawe and Miloliʻi. Early Friday morning, Hōkūleʻa, along with Maui’s voyaging canoe Moʻokiha O Piʻilani of Hui O Waʻa Kaulua, departed Māʻalaea, Maui and arrived at Kahoʻolawe after sailing about seven and a half hours. The crew was welcomed at Honokanaiʻa by the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana (PKO) and Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC), which have a long-standing history and connection with the canoe.

The brief but emotional overnight stop at Kahoʻolawe included a visit to the island’s sacred navigation platform and the sharing of stories from the last 50 years of work to reclaim, restore, and heal this special place. In the 1970’s, the stopping of the bombing of Kahoʻolawe and the birth of Hōkūleʻa to revive ancient Hawaiian voyaging were simultaneously part of the movement of what would become the Native Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance.

photo courtesy Polynesian Voyaging Society

At 6 a.m. Saturday morning, Hōkūleʻa departed Kahoʻolawe and arrived in Miloliʻi at 5:30 p.m. Originally, the crew planned to sail to southwest Maui’s Keoneʻōʻio Bay, also known as La Perouse, which voyagers call “the gate” to one of the most dangerous channels in the world, the Alenuihāhā channel between Maui and Hawaiʻi Island. However due to weather, they sailed directly to Miloliʻi. The canoe will be in Hawaiʻi Island for a more than two-week engagement that includes Miloliʻi and Honaunau (Oct. 28 to Nov. 1), Keauhou (Nov. 1-8) and Kawaihae (Nov. 8-15). A public engagement schedule will be announced soon.