Hundreds welcome Hōkūleʻa crew in Marina del Rey

Hōkūleʻa and her crew departed Ventura Tuesday morning and set sail for Marina del Rey where they arrived in the afternoon greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds.

The canoe was escorted by a flotilla of outrigger canoe paddlers who spread fresh flowers on the water as Hōkūleʻa sailed into the marina, and two fireboats saluted the crew with a festive water show.

Once the canoe was docked the crew initiated a kāhea (call out) to the tribal hosts, the Kizh Nation Tribal Council, for permission to come onto their lands.

After conducting Hawaiian and tribal landing protocols, the crew disembarked the canoe and walked over to Burton Chace Park for a welcome ceremony hosted by Marina del Rey’s Hawaiian community.

The program included ceremonial rituals, tributes to Hōkūleʻa and its crew including remarks by Andy Salas chairman of the Kizh Nation Tribal Council (Gabrieleño Band Of Mission Indians) and Kumu Lilinoe Kaio. Her hula school Hālau ʻo Lilinoe performed in honor of the occasion.

Hōkūleʻa will be in Marina del Rey for five days of engagements including dockside canoe tours, presentations and the Hōkūleʻa Community Festival at Chace Park on Saturday, October 28, 9am to 5pm. Visit hokulea.com or @hokuleacrew on Instagram and Facebook for the latest schedule of events and upcoming port visits.

The Marina del Rey stop is part of the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s four-year Moananuiākea Voyage, a circumnavigation of the Pacific.