BORN FROM THE "TE AU O TONGA"

The Te Au O Tonga ("the mist of the South") is a reconstruction of a vaka Moana, a double-hulled Polynesian voyaging canoe. It was built in 1994 by former Cook Islands Prime Minister Thomas Davis and the Cook Islands Voyaging Society.

The Vaka is built of laminated wood, is 72 feet long, has a displacement of 10 to 12 tons, and has a crew of 18. It has inspired other designs, being used by the Okeanos Foundation for the Sea as a model for a group of fiberglass-hulled replicas, including the Cook Islands Marumanu Atua, the Hawaiian Hikianalia, the Samoan Gaualofa, the Haunui in New Zealand, and the Fa'afaite in Tahiti.

On May 13, 1995 I assisted at the Historical Gathering of voyaging canoes at Pier 38, Honolulu, and took the following pictures of the Te Au O Tonga.

Notice the elevated stern of the HIKIANALIA with the one of the TE AU O TONGA

A similar bow can be seen on the HIKIANALIA