Hokule'a

The voyage to Rapa Nui

Joyful crew
gets a peek at
Island of Spirits

Cheers of relief erupt as the
sailing canoe nears the Marquesas

By Susan Kreifels
Star-Bulletin

The Island of the Spirits called them through the night, and this morning at dawn, amid cheers and relief, the Hokule'a crew got its first glimpse of the Marquesas Islands.

Captain and navigator Bruce Blankenfeld took down the sails during squalls last night after different wave patterns and other signs of nature told him that land -- the small island of Eiao in the Marquesas -- was near. The Hokule'a had been tacking back to the Marquesas Islands after missing them by about 200 miles west last week.

Meanwhile Nainoa Thompson, senior navigator with the Polynesian Voyaging Society, knew they were only 14 miles from the uninhabited Eiao, which translates to the "Island of the Spirits." Thompson was on the telephone through the night with the escort boat Kamahele.

Thompson talked with Blankenfeld early this morning.

"The squalls cleared and the island was right there," Thompson said.

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Hokule'a to Rapa Nui
Jun. 7, 1999
Rapa Nui, the Loneliest Island
Jun. 14, 1999

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"He was relieved and so happy. They've been constantly searching for these islands. It's mental, visual, instinctual.

"When you use all parts of the body like they've been doing for a week, it's exhausting.

"I could hear the crew cheering in the background. It sounds like quite a celebration."

Thompson predicted the canoe would arrive at Nukuhiva tonight and probably wait until morning to sail into the island. There, a celebration will await the crew.

The Hokule'a is on a historic voyage to Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island. The celestial navigators on board use only the stars, waves and other signs of nature to guide them, just as their Polynesian ancestors did thousands of years ago to immigrate throughout the Pacific Ocean.

Thompson said crowds of people in Nukuhiva will greet them. Over the weekend the local press and dignitaries flew in helicopters to find the Hokule'a, but Thompson asked them to stop.

The crew does not want any clues to where they are.

Thompson had worried last night that the Hokule'a might sail too close to reefs during the night. If the canoe had approached too closely, Thompson would have had the responsibility of telling the crew to stop for safety reasons.

But the Hokule'a made it downwind of the reefs and into safety.

The escort boat stays within visual distance and constantly monitors the location of the Hokule'a without giving the crew any information.

The Hokule'a left Hilo on June 15 and expects to complete the more than 4,600 miles to Rapa Nui toward the end of the year.

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The public can track the progress of the Hokule'a on the World Wide Web at http://leahi.kcc.hawaii.edu/org/pvs/

Photographs from the Hokule'a are slated to be available later this week at http://www.hokulea.net