On the first day of the year, while many were resting, I found myself at the He’eia State Park. There, inside the open-air canoe shed (Halau), a quiet kind of magic was happening.

I imagined the master craftsmen working on several Koa outrigger canoes. These vessels are more than just canoes; they are living lineage of wood and water. Some were in for minor “tender loving care”, while others were undergoing massive restorations.

One particular canoe caught my eye- half of the hull was being entirely reconstructed. To ensure the new koa plank followed the original lines of the canoe, the builders used wooden templates resembling bulkheads. These ribs act as a guide, keeping the hull’s iconic “U” shape true to the original shape as the new pieces of wood are placed and glued down.

I saw custom-made clamps designed to apply pressure at just the right angles, grafting new koa onto sections where the original wood had succumbed to time or rot. It’s a slow, precise process- a labor of love that ensures these “old souls” will eventually return to the sea.

For me, who has been dealing with canoes for so many years, albeit on scaled down dimensions, there’s something so moving about seeing those koa canoes in the middle of a “healing” process.

Big Mahalo to the Foundation for perpetuating this craft. It’s not just about building or repairing canoes; it’s about carrying a culture forward, it is about “mana”.