At least 50,000 people showed up to welcome Hokule’a from a world wide voyage Saturday morning at Magic Island. I was able to witness this beautiful vessel glide thorough the mouth of the Harbor and dock as Hawaiian chants greeted the crew as they stepped off the Hokule’a. Some people started their day at 4am to get a good spot and parking at Ala Moana. This was a historic event for so many individuals who marveled at the thought of a vessel, used by their ancestors using only the stars to navigate. There is so much more to the Hokule’a. There are historical and cultural significance as well. There were articles written that Hawaii was discovered by accident, when in fact that is not TRUE! As a matter of fact, that is far from the truth. The Hokule’a proved that ancient Hawaiians were master navigators, skilled and voyaging via canoes that resembled the Hokule’a. They were explorers, they were navigators and experts at reading the stars, the winds and land.
The day at Magic Island also featured speechless from the crew, hula from different Halau’s and a performance from several local groups including Auli’i Carvalho from Moana.
