Historic vessels keep history and culture alive

Nick Beck, Hanalei, Kauai, Hawaii 

Holopuni—in Hawaiian it means to sail everywhere—is the name I gave to the original three-man outrigger canoe in which I set sail in 1981 to explore the coastlines of each of the Hawaiian Islands. I’ve since crossed every channel in the State of Hawai‘i. My outrigger canoeing explorations and adventures have taken me from the Big Island to Ni‘ihau as well as throughout the islands of Tahiti. When I began my island explorations I decided that if my journey were to take me into Hawaii’s past, then it would be the inaccessible coastlines I must explore.

There would be no stoplights, roadside stands, or even trail markers along my route. Yet, I would be on perhaps the most well traveled route of the ancient Hawaiians. As a state, Hawai‘i ranks 46th in total land area, yet it ranks 4th among all of the states when considering its coastline distance. The tidal shoreline of the State of Hawai‘i covers 1,052 miles. The major islands are also separated by some of the roughest ocean channels in the world.

While planning the Holopuni’s maiden voyage, I researched what the Hawaiian Islands were like as far back as I could find written records. Samuel Kamakau, (1815 – 1876 Ed.) a noted Hawaiian historian, included much information about travel in my accounts of old Hawai‘i. In doing so, I consistently found that the best means of travel was by sea in an outrigger canoe. Since I would follow the coastline and cross the channels by sea in search of Hawaii’s past, then my time capsule must be an outrigger canoe. The prime motive of my trip would be to explore, photograph, record, document and experience what remained of “old Hawai‘i” in the existing isolated areas of this state.

My canoe travels have been documented in local newspapers and magazines, and will soon be published in my book,   The Voyage of the Holopuni: An Outrigger Canoe Journey into Hawaii’s Past.