Alahula Kai o Maleka honors the “frequented pathway,” alahula, across the “ocean between Hawaiʻi and California,” kai o Maleka, over the past 150 years. Kai o Maleka, literally “sea of America,” is a traditional reference to the Pacific waterway connecting the Hawaiian Islands and the West Coast. Whether for school, to visit family, to work, to settle, or to simply find a new life, this ocean path to the American coastal gateway has been well traveled for generations. Since the turn of the 20th century, telegraph, telephone and fiber optic cables have crossed this waterway to enable two-way communication between Hawaiʻi, the continental U.S., and the entire world. And for over three-quarters of a century, this familiar path has been traversed conveniently by air eventually replacing oceanic transport. It is also within this kai o Maleka that we stumble into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – the plastic archipelago of synthetic waste products from modern human activity.

Alahula refers to any path that is well known and well travelled, a familiar route that is time-honored and revered. Dreams, fears, love, money, knowledge, ambition, politics – all of these have lured people back and forth along the kai o Maleka waterway. Visitors travel this path. Ideas are exchanged across this path. Hostility and hope have taken this path. Whatever reasons we have for traveling this alahula, feelings for Hawaiʻi always tug at our heart. Inevitably we find ourselves returning along this sea road from the West Coast, and back to our beautiful island home – whether in person or in spirit.

As we seek permission from California’s First Peoples to enter their ancestral lands, we acknowledge an indigenous kinship, and strive for spiritual oneness between the sacred environment and its caretakers, humankind.

We dedicate this sail to all of the vibrant California-based communities of Hawaiʻi islanders who have represented the heart and soul of Hawaiʻi for over 150 years. We also celebrate the many island-continent relationships that reflect a shared vision for a sustainable Island Earth, a thriving future for our children, and a global consciousness towards human kindness. This sail in the fall of 2018 is critical as we develop younger generation leadership and prepare for an unprecedented trans-Pacific voyage in 2020. For now, we invite you to join us on this exciting West Coast journey: Alahula Kai o Maleka – Hikianalia California Voyage.

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About Hikanalia
Hikianalia is the Hawaiian name for the star Spica, which rises together with Hōkūleʻa (Arcturus) in Hawaiʻi. They are sister stars because they break the horizon together at the latitude of the Hawaiian islands. Launched on September 15, 2012, Hikianalia was designed specifically for the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage. The canoe started as an escort vessel to Hōkūleʻa and is now used as a floating classroom blending ancient wisdom with modern solutions. Hikianalia specializes in scientific exploration of marine resources and training for the next generation of voyagers. Values and behavior practiced on the deck of the canoe including how to conserve resources, care for our oceans and fellow crewmembers are shared as a model for how we can live sustainably on islands or anywhere in the world. She combines the latest ecological technology with the heritage of voyaging tradition: each of her hulls contains an electric motor powered by onboard photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight to electric propulsive energy. With a zero carbon footprint, her design supports the “Mālama Honua” (care for Island Earth) mission.