Hometown
Lahaina, Maui
Voyage(s)
Moananuiākea Voyage – Leg 15 | Hikianalia: Rarotonga to Aotearoa
Bio
Kalā’s first experience on a waʻa kaulua was from Mauliola (Sand Island) to Lahaina in 2006 on the voyaging canoe her father, Pwo navigator Kalepa Baybayan, founded: Hōkūalakaʻi. She is a navigator and has voyaged on both Hikianalia and Hōkūleʻa.
To Kalā, Hōkūleʻa means “ʻOhana.” She says “Growing up and watching my dad voyage and seeing all of my uncles and aunties voyaging as well, the canoe has always made me feel like I was home with family and she continues to make me feel that way.”
With the Moananuiākea Voyage, Kalā says it’s an opportunity for training and practice “as well as continuing to build and strengthen relationships with our Moananuiākea ʻohana, waʻa, honua and ourselves.”
Kalā is a Kumu Kaiapuni and Hui o Waʻa Kaulua Education Director. She says “the waʻa, our honua, the process of voyaging and all the relationships that we nurture when we voyage inspires me to voyage and to bring that back home to my community and teach it to our ʻōpio.”
When Kalā is voyaging, she misses her family “and cannot wait to see them when I reach land.” And when she is back on land in her everyday life, she says she craves “the deep uninterrupted learning that I gain from being out at sea.”
To Kalā, Hōkūleʻa means “ʻOhana.” She says “Growing up and watching my dad voyage and seeing all of my uncles and aunties voyaging as well, the canoe has always made me feel like I was home with family and she continues to make me feel that way.”
With the Moananuiākea Voyage, Kalā says it’s an opportunity for training and practice “as well as continuing to build and strengthen relationships with our Moananuiākea ʻohana, waʻa, honua and ourselves.”
Kalā is a Kumu Kaiapuni and Hui o Waʻa Kaulua Education Director. She says “the waʻa, our honua, the process of voyaging and all the relationships that we nurture when we voyage inspires me to voyage and to bring that back home to my community and teach it to our ʻōpio.”
When Kalā is voyaging, she misses her family “and cannot wait to see them when I reach land.” And when she is back on land in her everyday life, she says she craves “the deep uninterrupted learning that I gain from being out at sea.”