Aloha mai Kāua, Chris here!
It’s been a while since I was writing substacks but I’m so grateful that Keʻili has been diligent in sharing our updates. I hope you enjoyed the Hoʻi I Ka Piko episodes! Now that they are Pau, we have more time to dive deeper into details
Mahalo to those who attended my workshop last week! Here is a little overview ,
The two pathways of learning
The heavenly realm - expanding the imagination
The physical realm - tangible learning
The celestial sphere, including concepts such as
kahalawai - the meeting place
kaho’okui - the juncture
pa’a iluna - steadfast above
pa’a ilalo - steadfast below
ke ala ma’awe ula - the traveled red pathway ( western )
ke alaula - the dawning path ( eastern )
Applying concepts to design. Basic tessellation repeat blueprints
Here are some photos from the workshop curtesy of our dear friend Noel!
Future workshops, TBD!
Anywho . . .
We have been having a beautiful time sailing ‘A‘ā around Kaneohe bay, but life might be calling us else-wear. It would be amazing to have ‘A’ā at a place where we can host community days.
I have been running around seeking availability from Marinas and Harbors but have not found the right place yet. Recently, a dear friend reached out with the a very hospitable offer, but her dock requires passage under a low bridge. At first I deemed it not possible until I was flipping through Haddon and Hornell’s Canoes of Oceania book and noticed a wide variety of sprit/lateen style rigs. My imagination is going wild.
Here is what I found, resources from the Society islands, Fiji, Tonga, Palau, Papua and Micronesia . . .
Notice how the mast is really small yet the raised yard and boom have a much bigger sail area? Seems ideal for getting into smaller places yeah? Imagine the rivers and canals we can explore!
Here is where my crossroad begins. Either I leave ‘A‘ā with her performance cutter rig that I am comfortable with, have to pay for a really expensive slip fee… but we are equipped with an offshore ready vessel.
OR
Explore the different rigs, be able to fit into smaller areas and get closer to my understanding of our Kupuna and how they navigated their canoes.
Do any sailors who read this have any mana’o they would like to share with the design of these rigs? I would like to leave my forestay to run a jib or Genoa to balance the aft sail area, but not sure how far forward I should run my mast.
My goal is to do this with the free resources around me, I have been foraging for parts everywhere, so if Akua provides, we will try!
There must have been a reason for these rigs and I’m excited to find out. Looking forward to the update, in the following substacks!
For now, here are some photos of Ke'ili and 'A'ā being beautiful
