KAWAIHAE, Hawaii >> Former Big Island businessman Woodson "Woodie" Woods will return to his old home in style today, sailing into port at Kawaihae on the 78-foot, War-of-1812-inspired schooner Lynx. Schooner Lynx sails back
in time to Big IslandBy Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.comA greeting party was being prepared with paddling canoes, said Woods' daughter Margie, who lives on the Big Island.
Woods, who now lives in Newport Beach, Calif., is the former owner of several businesses including Royal Hawaiian Air Service, Mauna Kea Motors in Waimea, and the Waimea Village Inn, said Woods' longtime friend Pete Hendricks.
The Lynx was built and launched last year in Rockport, Maine, as an "interpretation," with modern safety modifications, of the original Lynx of 1812.
That ship was a privateer, a private vessel fighting the British Navy, since America largely lacked a navy at the time.
Woods has created the modern Lynx as an educational vessel, instructing people in both sailing skills and the history of the period, a Woods statement said.
On the current voyage from Newport Beach to Kawaihae, four teenage students have joined the crew for the first time.
They are Californians Joel Buffa, 14, of Anaheim; Alexandra Williams, 16, of Huntington Beach; Eric Loss, 16, of Laguna Beach; and South Dakotan Jessica Jones, 17, of Rapid City.
Their stay in Hawaii will include tours of cultural and geological sites like Kilauea Volcano and the summit of Mauna Kea.
The ship will be open for public visiting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Saturday, Hendricks said. For more information, see www.privateerlynx.org.