Hokulea is docked in Tacoma as crew undergoes cold weather training ... in Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hokulea went on a different type of voyage recently — to Tacoma, Washington on a container ship — as the canoe’s crew prepares to circumnavigate the Pacific Ocean.

After arriving on the West Coast, the canoe was then towed to the Maritime Museum at Foss Waterway Seaport, where crew members got a view of Pacific Northwest seafaring culture.

Hokulea will stay there until May 1, then get towed to Seattle and loaded onto a barge for Alaska.

“The idea that we can go back and pay back just little bit of that aloha that was given to us,” said crew member Chris Blake. “Those are the kind of things that help to inspire not only myself but hopefully its able to do the same for others around the world.”

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Back in Honolulu, the crew got cold weather gear training from the experts at Patagonia and learned about getting over-exposed to the elements can be life-threatening.

“Your body can go unconscious within sure minutes in cold water so understanding that fact, I think it’s imperative to understand the gear and understand how to put it on, how to use it, take it off and being ma’a use to it,” said crew member Kaiwi Hamakua Makue.

Patagonia has designed foul weather gear that’s water- and windproof specifically for members of the Polynesian Voyaging Society.

“These guys are exposed to the elements more so anyone out on the ocean,” said Bremen Schmeltz, managing director of Asia Pacific Business.

At the Marine Education Center at Sand Island, Hokulea’s sister canoe, Hikianalia, is undergoing finishing touches after being dry-docked for repairs for eight months.

The Hokulea begins a four-year Pacificwide voyage in mid-June.

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