Makali‘i
A Tribute To Mau Piailug And The Voyaging Canoe Makali‘i, Posted on YouTube by maupiailugsociety.
Makali‘i, a third Hawaiian voyaging canoe (following Hōkūle‘a and Hawai‘iloa), was launched at Kawaihae on the Big Island on Saturday, Feb. 4, 1995. Her maiden voyage took her to Taputapuatea, Ra'iatea, in Tahiti Nui, and Nukuhiva in the Marquesas Islands in 1995, as part of the 1995 Voyage, Nā Ohana Holo Moana, The Voyaging Families of the Vast Ocean.
Makali'i was built by Na Kalaiwa'a (The canoe carvers), under the leadership of Clay Bertelmann, a veteran crew member of Hokule'a and a captain on the 1992 voyage to Tahiti, who captained Makali'i on her maiden voyage; and his older brother Shorty, a navigator of Hokule'a, who guided Makali'i on her maiden voyage. Other builders included Billy Richards, a captain from Hokule'a's 1992 voyage and a crew member of the original 1976 voyage to Tahiti; Tiger Espere, a veteran surfer and Hokule'a crew member; Chadd Ka'onohi Paishon, a Hokule'a crew member and currently a captain and navigator of Makali'i; and Pomai Bertelmann, Clay's daughter, a crew member and navigator in training.
The canoe was named after the star cluster known in the west as the Pleiades, whose appearance at the eastern horizon at sunset in the fall marked the beginning of the Makahiki, or harvest festival season in ancient Hawai'i. Makali'i was also the navigator of the canoe of Chief Hawai'iloa, who in one tradition is identified as the discoverer of Hawai'i.
Maximum length of hulls: 54' / Total Sail: 500 sq. ft./ Length at waterline: 47' / Displacement: 65 tons after lading / Draft: 31 / Crew: 10.
A double rainbow appeared at the launching of Makali‘i, an auspicious sign from the gods.
