Hometown
Waimea, Hawaiʻi
Voyage(s)
Moananuiākea Voyage – Leg 11 | Hōkūleʻa: Mauliola to Hilo, Moananuiākea Voyage – Leg 14 | Hōkūleʻa: Tahiti to Rarotonga
Bio
Kaniela was a student at Kanu o ka ʻĀina Public Charter School on the island of Hawaiʻi when, together with the UH program Nā Pua Noʻeau, he found one of his passions. They brought him on board the voyaging canoe Makaliʻi and gave him his first taste of sailing on a waʻa kaulua, off Kawaihae in 2008.
Kaniela is an audio, visual, staging and rigging technician. He is also a crew member of Na Kalai Waʻa Moku o Hawaiʻi and Laiopua. He sailed on both Hikianalia and Hōkūleʻa on Mālama Honua, the Worldwide Voyage. “Hōkūleʻa is our Mama nui,” he says. “She stands with Papa Mau in the genealogy of canoes. I am so grateful that I was able to become a student and product of one of Hawaiʻi islands voyaging canoes Makaliʻi. And because of these opportunities I’ve gained a better understanding of how much Hōkūleʻa loves Hawaiʻi and its wonderful Keiki, Haumāna, Aukai. Hōkūleʻa is my Kupunahine who showers us with endless amounts of support and aloha. When the call to Kōkua and spend time with Kupunahine, you don’t let that slip.”
To Kaniela, the Moananuiākea voyage is an opportunity to continue to be of service to the canoes and he hopes, by voyaging, that those who have paved the way “can feel confident that they can take a rest from the paddle and be confident that we can hold the line.”
Kaniela says when he’s not sailing, he misses the simplicity of being at sea, with just the canoe and ʻohana on board. No distractions. Just “peace, the excitement, the bonds.” He craves the crew’s moments together, “like a song of many memories. That when we come together and reminisce, it becomes a symphony of stories.”
Kaniela is an audio, visual, staging and rigging technician. He is also a crew member of Na Kalai Waʻa Moku o Hawaiʻi and Laiopua. He sailed on both Hikianalia and Hōkūleʻa on Mālama Honua, the Worldwide Voyage. “Hōkūleʻa is our Mama nui,” he says. “She stands with Papa Mau in the genealogy of canoes. I am so grateful that I was able to become a student and product of one of Hawaiʻi islands voyaging canoes Makaliʻi. And because of these opportunities I’ve gained a better understanding of how much Hōkūleʻa loves Hawaiʻi and its wonderful Keiki, Haumāna, Aukai. Hōkūleʻa is my Kupunahine who showers us with endless amounts of support and aloha. When the call to Kōkua and spend time with Kupunahine, you don’t let that slip.”
To Kaniela, the Moananuiākea voyage is an opportunity to continue to be of service to the canoes and he hopes, by voyaging, that those who have paved the way “can feel confident that they can take a rest from the paddle and be confident that we can hold the line.”
Kaniela says when he’s not sailing, he misses the simplicity of being at sea, with just the canoe and ʻohana on board. No distractions. Just “peace, the excitement, the bonds.” He craves the crew’s moments together, “like a song of many memories. That when we come together and reminisce, it becomes a symphony of stories.”