A crowd of hundreds greeted traditional voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa as she arrived at Maunalua Bay’s Hawaiʻi Kai Towne Center on February 9th. The welcoming ceremony included the reading aloud of family names whose roots in the area go back generations. The voyaging canoe will be docked here until Thursday, Feb. 13 to engage with the Maunalua Bay community and schools.

The Maunalua Bay visit has been organized and is being hosted by many of the generational families from the area as well as Hawaiʻi Kai Towne Center, Kapiʻolani Community College, The Kahala Hotel & Resort and others in the community. Many of the crewmembers on board Hōkūleʻa this morning are from the Mauanalua Bay area.

Hawaiʻi Kai Towne Center at Maunalua Bay Events Schedule (weather-dependent)

Public Dockside Canoe Tours – Tuesday and Thursday (Feb 11 & 13), 3:30 to 6:30pm

Scheduled School Tours – Monday-Thursday (Feb 10-13)

Departure – Thursday, Feb 13

Other Maunalua Bay Public Events:

• Maunalua Bay Community Celebration honoring Polynesian Voyaging Society & Hōkūleʻa
  • Monday Feb 10, 5:00 to 7:00pm, Kapiʻolani Community College, Makahiapo Lawn
  • Tuesday Feb 11, 5:00 to 7:00pm, The Kahala Hotel & Resort, Plumeria Beach House and Plumeria Grove
• Presentation by Pwo Navigator Nainoa Thompson – Wednesday Feb 12, 6:00 to 7:30pm, Kaiser High School Cafeteria

Since Hōkūleʻa started the Pae ʻĀina Statewide Sail in August 2024, the canoe and her crew have visited more than 25 ports throughout the Hawaiian Islands. The statewide sail offers a special opportunity for Hawaiʻi’s communities to step on board the deck of Hōkūleʻa, learn about the revival of voyaging and traditional navigation and the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s mission of Mālama Honua (caring for our Island Earth). After Maunalua Bay, the final stop on the statewide tour will be Hilo in May before Hōkūleʻa departs for French Polynesia to resume the Moananuiākea Circumnavigation of the Pacific.

The Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) is preparing to celebrate the 50th birthday of Hōkūleʻa on March 8, 2025. A series of public events have been planned for Hōkūleʻa’s 50th Birthday. This milestone marks a half-century of cultural revival, environmental advocacy, and a renewed connection to the earth and ocean.

Photo Gallery: Maunalua Arrival