Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 4, 1 April 2016 — Part One: It Takes a Community [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Part One: It Takes a Community

By Lurline Wailana McGregor n addition to the tremendous aeeomplishment of navigating and sailing Hōkūle'a safely aeross vast stretehes of open oeean from one port to the next, there is another story of sueeess with eaeh arrival and departure. Charts for waterways, a flag of the eountry, doeking information, insuranee, erew doeumentation, transportation, lodging and perhaps above all, permission to land must all be seeured and in plaee before the eanoe arrives in a port, and that is only the beginning of the eheeklist. Hōkūle'a is now three years into its four year Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, whieh began in 2013. Between the time of her departure from the Hawaiian Islands in May 2014, to her arrival in the British Virgin Islands in Mareh 2016, the wa'a had made 58 stops in 17 countries. During this 22-month period there were 18 crew changes, or a total of over 180 sailors from all parts of the Pacific who have taken part so far in this journey. The length of time on shore at any

given port has been as short as a few hours and as long as six weeks, when Hōkūle'a underwent drydock in Cape Town, South Africa. The average length of stay is around five days, depending on whether the stop is for reprovisioning, crew change, educational visits or sitting out inclement weather. "Actual planning for the trip began in 2010," explains Lita Blankenfeld, a core member of the volunteer group that has done mueh of the behind the scenes planning and support for the voyage. "We started with a group of about a dozen volunteers. As needs were identified, tasks were then categorized, smaller committees were formed and the group expanded to about two dozen." One such committee was the Cultural Engagement Committee, headed by Randy and Jamie Fong. Their six-member team was charged with creating new oli, kāhea and pule that all crew members would learn so they could properly introduce Hōkūle'a and themselves. Committee volunteers researched the customs and protocols of eaeh

country Hōkūle'a planned to visit to be sure that crew members and other representatives of the Mālama Honua mission would know how to conduct themselves properly. A makana eommiūee was soon spun off, whose assignment was to ensure that there would be appropriate gifts on hand to give out as needed, including to such people as dignitaries, people helping with logistics and families who host crewmembers. The committee members developed levels of gifts, such as plaques made fromrecycled 'iako (outrigger booms) inscribed with 'Mālama Honua,' medallions, note cards and even intangible gifts like dances, oli and songs, that could be offered to groups of people. There are committees for logistics, communications, education, dry dock, safety, weather, health and supplies, and a medical officers group, to name a few. Some have as many as a dozen people while others may be primarily one knowledgable and experienced person. A mission security group was later created to advise on threat assessments for eaeh port Hōkūle'a was

scheduled to visit. Even though Hōkūle'a is well over halfway through her journey around the planet and iniīial planning and preparations have been completed, logistical work is ongoing as Hōkūle'a makes her way home. Advance knowledge of weather, puhlie heahh dangers, other safety and political situations and community invitations all factor into the decision of where the eanoe will sail to next. "A key thing is always finding a dock that is safe and secure for the eanoe," says Blankenfeld, a member of the logistics team. "Onee we determine that a site is feasible, a team member sends out letters of introduction to first peoples, educational partners, shipping agents, docking agents, government officials and any other contacts we ean gather. We give them the specifics of who we are and what we do and what we ean share with their community." The logistics team must learn the harbor entry protocols and procedures of eaeh country where Hōkūle'a docks. They must research the approaching waterways to know if the Gershon, Hōkūle'a's escort vessel, ean tow in the eanoe or if a different tow will need to be arranged. If Hōkūle'a has to set anchor in the harbor rather than next to a pier, there will need to be water transportation prearranged for the crew to go back and forth between the shore and the eanoe. Port fees must be paid, all crew members must clear customs before they ean disembark, whieh includes passports, visas, and any necessary shots. Housing must be arranged before the crew arrives on land, including housing for fresh crews who have flown in for the next leg. Air transportation must be arranged for eaeh arriving and departing crewmember to and from destinations throughout the Pacific. Reprovisioning of food, water, propane and other supplies for the next leg also begins before Hōkūle'a docks. Food orders must be planned well in advance to be sure that there will be adequate amounts of everything the crew of 12 to 14 will need to survive several weeks at sea. "We piek menus

that we will likely be able to acquire ingredients to prepare. We have had to transfer ounces and pounds into grams to be sure we are buying the right quantities, and we have had to translate our orders into other languages," says Blankenfeld. "We try to buy online where we ean and then send crew members to piek up and shop for other food and supplies. The food and water that is stocked aboard the wa'a has to be safe. "Everyone we have eome across has been amazingly kind, gracious and generous," says Blankenfeld. "We thank them over and over for being so willing to take extra steps to care for us and accommodate our needs. Their help is every bit as integral to the success of the voyage as is the commitment of our volunteers." Heidi Guth, Chief Operating Officer, and Ramona Ontiveros, Administrative Service Specialist are the two Polynesian Voyaging Society staff most involved with logistics. "The volunteers do a lot of the research while staff makes the decisions and does acquisitions," says Guth. "We have to know what's going on in all the committees so we ean keep tabs on everything, answer questions, and send people to the right plaee. We work in two time zones - the canoe's and our own. We have to be ready to answer crew questions no matter what time of day or night they eall, so our work days are regularly longer than twelve hours. Considering everything that has to be done, we wouldn't be able to function without our volunteers." "Hōkūle'a has been doing long distance voyages for 41 years," says Guth. "There are volunteers who were involved at the beginning, whether as crew or as support, and are still involved today, like Lita Blankenfeld, and they inspire me every day. Our volunteers for the Mālama Honua voyage have given us four years of their lives, whieh is time away from their full time jobs and families. It is an honor to be part of this." ■

Lwīine Waūana McGregor is a writer, television producer and author of Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me. Next month: Crew Preparations

BEHIND THE SCENES OF MĀLAMA HONUA WORLDWIDE VOYAGE

Arrangemen1"s need to be made for eaeh stop Hōkūle'a makes. So far on the worldwide journey, the eanoe has made 58 stops in 1 7 countries. - Phoīo: 'Oiwi ĪV