LOS ANGELES — While many 22-year-olds are navigating life after college, Lucy Lee is navigating the seas.
She is a student navigator and crew member aboard Hokulea, a performance-accurate deep sea voyaging canoe built in the tradition of ancient Hawaiian wa‘a kaulua.
Lee has been voyaging for four years, but her passion for exploration dates back to her childhood. She grew up in Papaikou, Hawaii, hearing stories of the Hawaiian goddess Pele, who is said to have traveled on a canoe from Tahiti to Hawaii. Though the folklore centers around a woman, the tradition of Polynesian voyaging is predominantly patrilineal.
“I’m just really thankful to be where I am and to hopefully inspire the next generation of girls to do whatever makes them feel like voyaging makes me feel,” Lee said.
Hokulea has been sailing from Southeast Alaska down the Pacific Coast since June, when the Polynesian Voyaging Society launched the Moananuiakea Voyage. Lee has been aboard for four legs of the journey: Leg 3 through southeast Alaska, Leg 5 through British Columbia, Leg 7 from Seattle to San Francisco and most recently Leg 9 along the California coast.
Though the members change, Lee says each crew forms a special bond.
“Everybody takes care of each other,” she said. “It’s a lot of teamwork and a lot of close quarters and seeing each other at your best and your worst. It really is like being like family.”
For Kim Burgo, the vessel is a reminder of her ancestry.
“Kupuna, or our ancestors, were actually responsible for going into the forest, cutting down the koa trees to build canoes,” she said. “So literally paddling and outrigger canoeing is in my blood.”
Burgo, a Gardena resident, was born in Hawaii and grew up canoeing.
“I moved to California when I got out of highschool,” Burgo said. “I lived almost my entire adult life — until I was about 40 — and found (paddling) again, and paddled until recently.”
She teared up watching Hokulea pull into the dock, and said she came to the welcome ceremony to support the Polynesian people and share in the “aloha spirit.”
The canoe arrived in Marina Del Rey Tuesday night to the delight of hundreds gathered at Burton Chace Park. After conducting Hawaiian and tribal landing protocols, Lee and the rest of the crew went ashore for a ceremony hosted by Marina del Rey’s Hawaiian community. The program included ceremonial rituals and remarks by Andy Salas, chairman of the Kizh Nation Tribal Council, and Kumu Lilinoe Kaio. Kai’s hula school Hālau ʻo Lilinoe performed in honor of the voyage.
Hokulea will be docked in Marina del Rey for five days of engagements ahead of the Hokulea Community Festival at Chace Park on Saturday, Oct. 28. A tentative schedule of events is available here and by following the crew’s journey on social media, @hokuleacrew.
When her sails go up again, Hookulea will continue sailing along the California cost, making several stops before a pause in the voyage to return home to Maui in the wake of the devastating wildfires.
Hokulea's schedule is as follows, with dates subject to change:
- Oct. 24-30: Marina Del Rey, Chace Park
- Oct. 30-Nov. 4: Newport Beach, Newport Scout Sea Base
- Nov. 4-8: Dana Point, Ocean Institute
- Nov. 8-14: San Diego, Maritime Museum of San Diego
Polynesian Voyaging Society CEO Nainoa Thompson previously told Spectrum News the Moananuiakea Voyage will resume following the visit to Maui (the length of time is yet to be determined) and be completed within the original timeframe, keeping commitments made to communities around the Pacific.